ADOLESCENTS AT RISK FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS

Course overview

Adolescents with alcohol-related problems often also use cigarettes and marijuana. Furthermore, early childhood characteristics that increase the risk for adolescent alcohol use disorders also increase the risk for problematic drug use. Identifying these characteristics early in childhood can be important for the prevention of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorders. As a result, researchers are seeking to identify liability factors and observable characteristics (i.e., phenotypes) that can predict substance use disorders (SUDs) across drug categories.