Research People and Projects

The goal is to examine the antecedents and health consequences of alcohol misuse from adolescence through early midlife (the 30s). There is a paucity of longitudinal studies on alcohol misuse that extend through early midlife in the general population, and the existing knowledge base comes from studies of singletons, which are prone to confounding. We propose to address these limitations by bringing together two longitudinal studies of Finnish twins, FinnTwin12 (FT12) and FinnTwin16 (FT16), ns = 5178 and 5563, ~50% female. The innovative longitudinal twin design, which allows us to control for confounding factors through the comparison of exposures and outcomes within families and within individuals, will add much needed rigor to our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of alcohol misuse through early midlife. FT12 was recruited at age 12 and subsequently assessed at ages 14, 17, and 22. Under this renewal, we will conduct an early midlife (age 35) assessment of the FT12 twins (online surveys regarding their current health, behavior, and environments; a salivary DNA sample; and, for a subsample of participants who have been intensively studied since age 14, diagnostic psychiatric and life history calendar interviews and laboratory-based neurocognitive and health measures) and the twins’ spouses (online survey only). FT16 was recruited at age 16 and subsequently assessed at ages 17, 18, 25, and 35. Finland offers a unique environment for conducting the proposed research, including record linkage to comprehensive national registries and a modern biobanking infrastructure. Guided by a multilevel developmental contextual framework, our aims are to: (1) Characterize patterns of alcohol misuse from adolescence to early midlife. (2) Identify factors associated with trajectories of alcohol misuse between adolescence and early midlife. These include person-level factors such as polygenic predispositions, personality, and neurocognitive functioning; environmental factors such as parents, peers, spouses/partners, life events, parenthood, employment, and education; and internalizing, externalizing, and other substance use problems. (3) Examine the health outcomes associated with trajectories of alcohol misuse, including measures of physical health, sleep, and life satisfaction. Finally, we will examine the generalizability of effects using the U.S. nationally representative Add Health sample (n = 20,745), which has comparable measures and assessments, including a sibling component. The results will provide important information about alcohol misuse and its consequences through the understudied early midlife period. Through partnerships with collaborators in the arts and mass communications, we will translate and disseminate our findings to the public through nontraditional creative content to increase accessibility of scientific results. In sum, this project will contribute to NIAAA’s goals to identify factors associated with alcohol misuse across the lifespan; delineate the effects of alcohol misuse on health; and enhance the public health impact of research.