Using genetically informed quasi-experimental research designs to further understand the association between poly-victimization and substance use

• In Event: The Continued Expansion of Biosocial Criminology

Abstract

A long line of developmental research has found positive associations between early life victimization and individual differences in substance use later in life. Quantitative behavioral genetic research has also shown that variation in victimization, cigarette use, alcohol use, and marijuana use is accounted for by genetic and environmental mechanisms. Despite this wealth of knowledge on the origins of victimization and substance use, very few studies have used genetically informative methods to assess the link between poly-victimization and trajectories of substance use over time after taking into account co-occurring genetic and environmental processes. The present study aimed to address this gap in the literature by assessing the effects of between-sibling differences in poly-victimization during early adolescence on rates of change in alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use from adolescence to adulthood. Estimates from a series of preliminary models controlling for between-family covariates revealed that poly-victimization was positively associated with starting levels in substance use and growth in alcohol and cigarette. After partially controlling for co-occurring genetic and shared environmental processes, however, results revealed only a significant association between poly-victimization and growth in cigarette use. The implications of these results for future research on poly-victimization and substance use are discussed.

Authors

• Eric J. Connolly, Pennsylvania State University, Abington

• Eric J. Connolly, Pennsylvania State University, Abington