Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Stress has been implicated in the development of substance dependence, possibly as a consequence of maladaptive coping behavior. This relationship was previously examined separately with respect to drugs and alcohol using a representative sample of nearly 1800 community residing young adults (most aged 19-21) in South Florida. The relationship between level of lifetime exposure to adverse experiences and the initial onset of both alcohol and drug dependence consisted of independent effects stress measured both distally and proximally. This pattern of relationship held in the context of controls for prior psychiatric disorders, AD/HD and conduct disorder, as well as gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and time. While stress was shown to be an important predictor of drug and alcohol dependence disorder, variation in stress exposure failed to explain social group differences in either type of dependence. The observed statistical patterns were the same for alcohol and drug dependence, but most of the affected individuals were different people in the two analyses. This paper explores whether finding the same pattern of relationship with respect to different substance dependencies is redundant, or whether the largely independent manifestation of alcohol and drug dependence in different stress-exposed individuals has sociologically significant meaning.