Negative Life Events and Alcohol Use of Chinese Adolescents: Mediation Effects of Depression

• In Event: Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

Adolescent alcohol use is an important public health problem in China. Among the multiple predictors of adolescent alcohol use are depression and life stress, with most researchers using cross-sectional analyses and looking at these predictors in isolation. There is a need to expand this to China, a country characterized by its drinking culture. We tested a longitudinal model whereby depression mediated the associations between life stress and alcohol use in this two-year longitudinal study.
Method
The data came from a larger longitudinal project focused on the mental health of adolescents in Shanghai, China. A total of 2143 sixth grade students (1090 boys and 1053 girls), 1829 seventh grade students (908 boys and 921 girls) and 425 tenth grade students (206 boys and 219 girls) participated in Year 1. Of which 1474 sixth grade students in the prior year (713 boys and 761 girls), 1297 seventh grade students (610 boys and 687 girls) and 305 tenth grade student (153 boys and 152 girls) were then assessed one year later (Year 2).
Measure included: Negative life events: Participants self-rated the negative impacts of 18 negative life events during the prior 12 months. The scale was adapted from the life events checklist (Liu, Oda, Peng, & Asai, 1997) and the stressful life events scale (Unger et al., 2001). Depression: Participants self-rated their depressive symptoms with a nine-item measure of depression adapted from of the Becks Depression Inventory. Alcohol use: Participants self-rated their alcohol use during the prior year.
Results
The most frequently reported negative events for both middle and high school students were school-related, such as “failed the test or school performance was not ideal”. The most severe event for both middle and high school students was “Death of friends or family members”.
Structural equation modeling using the Lavaan package in R was used to assess mediation. The mediator was the mean of the Y1 and Y2 depression scores. Y1/Y2 depression completely mediated the positive association between Y1 negative life events and Y2 alcohol use, controlling for Y1 alcohol use, indirect effect = .06, p < .001 (See Figure 1). Moderation effects did not emerge for either gender or age.
Discussion
The findings of this study extend our knowledge about the role of negative life events on adolescent alcohol use in China. The results revealed both similarity and differences compared with findings of Western adolescents. Like other studies, we found that Chinese adolescents experience very high academic pressure. “Death in the family” was always rated as most severe among negative life events in both Chinese and Western adolescent samples. The study provided strong support for the Self-Medication Model and Stress-Negative Affect Model as there was a complete longitudinal mediation link among negative life events, depression and alcohol use. Perhaps Chinese adolescents use alcohol to cope with negative affect that is induced by negative life events. Finally, the effect size of the indirect effect was small, and thus future research is needed to explore other important contributors to adolescent alcohol use in China.

Authors

• Keqin Zhang, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Presenting Author

• Xiaoru Li, Fudan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mengqian Shen, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Non-Presenting Author

• Doran C French, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Non-Presenting Author