Environmentally derived subgroups of preadolescents with family history of substance use exhibit distinct patterns of psychopathology and reward-related behaviors: insights from the ABCD study.

Background: Family history of substance use (FHSU), along with sociodemographic and psychosocial factors, has been identified as a key risk factor for adolescent substance use and progression to substance use disorders (SUD). However, the interaction between distinct sociodemographic and psychosocial profiles in adolescents with FHSU and constitutional factors, such as psychopathological symptom severity, impulsivity, and reward processing, remains unclear. Given the complexity of these factors, it is crucial to explore how these elements contribute to the differential vulnerability to SUD among youth with family history of substance use. Particularly as, the identification of clinically relevant subgroups of at-risk youth may inform precision prevention and treatment approaches to reduce adverse outcomes related to SUDs. Methods: Here, we used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study and grouped the participants (age: 9-10 years) into positive and negative FHSU [i.e., FHSU-P ( Results: K-means clustering revealed five subgroups within FHSU-P: Subgroups 1 ( Conclusion: These findings highlight significant heterogeneity within the FHSU-P group and emphasize the importance of stratifying adolescents based on sociodemographic and psychosocial factors. Such stratification can help identify adolescents at higher risk for psychopathologies, including SUDs, offering insights for targeted prevention and intervention strategies.