ArticleAddictive behaviors2015
Progression to regular heroin use: examination of patterns, predictors, and consequences.
Article in Addictive behaviors, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness of medication for opioid use disorders in transition-age youth: A systematic review.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2022Pooled it
- The social exigencies of the gateway progression to the use of illicit drugs from adolescence into adulthood.Addictive behaviors · 2017Trial
- Polydrug overdose mortality caused by synthetic opioids and stimulants: current sex- and age-specific trajectories in United States national data for 2018-2024.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Effects of adolescent morphine exposure on brain stimulation reward sensitivity and dopamine neuron excitability.Physiology & behavior · 2025Article
- Mediational pathways among drug use initiation, use-related consequences, and quit attempts.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2024Article
- Patterns and contexts of polysubstance use among young and older adults who are involved in the criminal legal system and use opioids: A mixed methods study.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2022Article
- Using Mendelian randomization to explore the gateway hypothesis: possible causal effects of smoking initiation and alcohol consumption on substance use outcomes.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Article
- Bidirectional influence of heroin and cocaine escalation in persons with dual opioid and cocaine dependence diagnoses.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2022Article
- Adolescent cannabis and tobacco use are associated with opioid use in young adulthood-12-year longitudinal study in an urban cohort.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2021Article
- Female rats self-administer heroin by vapor inhalation.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2020Article
- Comparing the potential causal influence of two indicators of early alcohol use on later alcohol use disorder symptoms.Journal of abnormal psychology · 2020Article
- A Comparison of Substance Use Patterns Among Lifetime Heroin-Injecting Individuals By Racial Groups.Addiction research & theory · 2020Article
- Escalation of drug use in persons dually diagnosed with opioid and cocaine dependence: Gender comparison and dimensional predictors.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Observational
- Supraphysiologic-dose anabolic-androgenic steroid use: A risk factor for dementia?Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2019Review
- Predictors of transitions across stages of heroin use and dependence prior to treatment-seeking among people in treatment for opioid dependence.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2018Article
- Factors associated with sedative use and misuse among heroin users.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2018Article
- Developing a scale of domains of negative consequences of chronic heroin use.Addictive behaviors · 2018Article
- Non-medical Cannabis Self-Exposure as a Dimensional Predictor of Opioid Dependence Diagnosis: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018Article
- Circadian Rhythmic Characteristics in Men With Substance Use Disorder Under Treatment. Influence of Age of Onset of Substance Use and Duration of Abstinence.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018Article
- Mediational Pathways Among Trait Impulsivity, Heroin-use Consequences, and Current Mood State.Addiction research & theory · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe present study retrospectively evaluated the chronology and predictors of substance use progression in current heroin-using individuals.
methodsOut-of-treatment heroin users (urinalysis-verified; N=562) were screened for laboratory-based research studies using questionnaires and urinalysis. Comprehensive substance use histories were collected. Between- and within-substance use progression was analyzed using stepwise linear regression models.
resultsThe strongest predictor of onset of regular heroin use was age at initial heroin use, accounting for 71.8% of variance. The strongest between-substance predictors of regular heroin use were ages at regular alcohol and tobacco use, accounting for 8.1% of variance. Earlier onset of regular heroin use (≤20 years) vs. older onset (≥30 years) was associated with a more rapid progression from initial to regular use, longer duration of heroin use, more lifetime use-related negative consequences, and greater likelihood of injecting heroin. The majority of participants (79.7%) reported substance use progression consistent with the gateway hypothesis. Gateway-inconsistent individuals were more likely to be African-American and to report younger age at initial use, longer duration of heroin use, and more frequent past-month heroin use.
conclusionsOur findings demonstrate the predictive validity and clinical relevance of evaluating substance use chronology and the gateway hypothesis pattern of progression.
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