The Impact of Adversity and Family Conflict on Risk for Future Substance Use Among Young Adolescents in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study): A Cohort Analysis.

The outcome was self-reported risk for future substance use, not actual substance use or substance use disorder. Data were self-reported and can be affected by recall and social desirability bias. ACEs were coded from baseline items only, so family criminal justice involvement and racial discrimination were not included. The sample may not be nationally representative because rural families were under-recruited and families with higher education and income were overrepresented. Low variability in risk scores and young age may have reduced the chance of detecting a family conflict moderation effect. Y3 data collection overlapped with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when reported substance use decreased. Complete case analysis and prorating may introduce bias if missing data were not missing at random. The analysis treated each ACE category as contributing equally, which may not reflect different types, timing, or chronicity.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Funding is not reported in the supplied text.

Do not read these findings as proof that adversity causes later substance use or that reducing family conflict will lower risk. The study is observational, measured risk rather than actual use, and family conflict did not moderate the association.