Etiological processes for substance use disorders beginning in infancy

The chapter highlights results from the Buffalo Longitudinal Study, which began in infancy and was guided by a developmental cascade model. The chapter discusses the importance of the co-occurrence of parent alcohol problems with depression and antisocial behavior beginning in early childhood, and how these parental risks in infancy may predict the quality of parent-child interactions and infant-parent attachment. These processes in early childhood may set the stage for one of the most salient developmental issues at preschool age-the development of self-regulation. Together, the parent-child relationship and child self-regulation may predict one of the most clearly established pathways to adolescence substance use disorders-continuity of externalizing problems from childhood to adolescence. Finally, this chapter presents results from a developmental cascade model from infancy to adolescence, with implications for development of preventive interventions for adolescent substance use disorders.