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Longitudinal Methods in Substance Use Research

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Research Methods in the Study of Substance Abuse

Abstract

This chapter presents a review of longitudinal methods used in the study of substance abuse—epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. The distinction between repeated cross-sectional and panel designs for data collection is reviewed, including influential studies using each design type. A number of important longitudinal perspectives on the epidemiology of substance abuse are also reviewed, as well as important longitudinal prevention and treatment studies. Statistical techniques for the analysis of longitudinal data are briefly discussed. The chapter concludes with a number of recommendations for the future of longitudinal substance abuse research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Students who reported any past 12-month marijuana use were asked: “How many of the times when you used marijuana or hashish during the last year did you use it along with alcohol—that is, so that their effects overlapped?” In the analyses, any SAM use decreased from a high of 74% in 1980–82 to 62% in 2011. SAM use “most or every time” remained generally stable at around 20% through the mid-1990s, but then decreased significantly through 2011.

  2. 2.

    In 1999, the NSDUH began using computer-assisted interviewing. Consequently, caution is necessary when estimating trends in drug use before and after the methodological change, as their measurement may not be consistent.

  3. 3.

    NESARC surveys included extensive questions covering the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol- and drug-specific abuse and dependence for 10 classes of substances (sedatives, tranquilizers, painkillers, stimulants, cannabis, cocaine or crack, hallucinogens, Inhalants/solvents, Heroin, alcohol, and nicotine).

  4. 4.

    The study identified three subsets of individuals representing prototypical use trajectories of (1) consistently low alcohol and drug use during adolescence and early adulthood; (2) heavier alcohol and drug use in adolescence compared to early adulthood; and (3) persistent heavier alcohol/drug use through transition to early adulthood; all differing on a number of risk factors for persistent use into adulthood.

  5. 5.

    Both the 1999 and 1996 analyses utilize data from the same longitudinal evaluation of DARE that began in September 1987 with a 1987–88 6th grade cohort in a Midwestern metropolitan area with a population of 230,000. As can be expected, the major design and methodological confound is attrition over the lengthy follow-up period. However, analyses of attrition by condition at each follow-up showed little effect on the results, with missing participants more likely to be older males who reported using cigarettes in the 6th grade (Lynam et al. 1999).

  6. 6.

    The Project ALERT curriculum was developed using the social influence theoretical model.

  7. 7.

    This was not totally unexpected, as Project ALERT was designed to keep nonusers from becoming involved with drugs and both nonusers and experimenters from making the critical transition to user. It was not designed for committed users.

  8. 8.

    Subjects were followed up at multiple time periods. The evaluation used a modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) designed to reflect the DSM-IV criteria for determining lifetime, past year, and past month occurrence of substance abuse and dependence disorders.

  9. 9.

    For additional information on DATOS, see http://www.datos.org/aboutdatos.html. Also see Hubbard et al. (1997) for a detailed description of DATOS.

  10. 10.

    DARP collected data from clients admitted to federally funded treatment agencies between 1969 and 1972. Data on substance abuse were collected at intake, during treatment, and at a series of follow-ups measuring outcomes up to 12 years post treatment. The TOPS study was a longitudinal, prospective cohort design that collected information on clients of treatment programs in 10 cities between 1979 and 81. Follow-up data included interviews 1 and 2 years after treatment with clients admitted in 1979; follow-ups 90 days and 1 year after treatment of clients who entered treatment in 1980; and follow-ups 3–5 years after treatment of clients who entered programs in 1981.

  11. 11.

    For an extended discussion of this model, see Singer and Willett (2003) and Bryk and Raudenbush (1987).

  12. 12.

    For a more detailed discussion of growth mixture models, see Muthén et al. (2002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Brent Teasdale

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

    Jerreed Ivanich

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  1. Brent Teasdale
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Correspondence to Brent Teasdale .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA

    Jonathan B. VanGeest

  2. Survey Research Laboratory, Department of Public Administration, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Timothy P. Johnson

  3. Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA

    Sonia A. Alemagno

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Teasdale, B., Ivanich, J. (2017). Longitudinal Methods in Substance Use Research. In: VanGeest, J., Johnson, T., Alemagno, S. (eds) Research Methods in the Study of Substance Abuse. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55980-3_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55980-3_6

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