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Investigating the relationships between alcohol and other drug use, mental health, early-life factors and life-course outcomes: integrative analyses of data from four Australasian cohort studies

  • Research program: Alcohol policy and strategies
  • Project status: Completed
  • Start date: March 2014
  • Expected end date: July 2016
  • Completion date: March 2016
  • Funded by: NHMRC
  • Lead organisation: University of New South Wales
Project Description

This study has the broad aim of producing more robust findings about the impact of alcohol use on a wide array of psychosocial and functional outcomes from adolescence to mature adulthood. Specifically, the study aims to investigate the consequences of early alcohol use and the age-related changes in the consequences of alcohol use in relation to: (1) other substance use and mental disorders including anxiety, depression, suicidality and psychosis; (2) sexual and reproductive health including unplanned pregnancies and sexual risk-taking; (3) social adjustment including educational attainment, welfare dependence and domestic violence; and (4) quality of life and mortality. The study will achieve this aim by developing integrative analyses across four large and long-running Australian and New Zealand longitudinal cohorts.

PhD Student
PhD Supervisors
NDRI Project Staff
Name & Contact Details Role Research Program Location
NDRI Adjunct Project Staff
External Project Staff
  • Chief Investigator: Richard Mattick, University of New South Wales
  • Chief Investigator: Delyse Hutchinson, University of New South Wales
  • Chief Investigator: Louisa Degenhardt, University of New South Wales
  • Chief Investigator: Edmund Silins, University of New South Wales
  • Chief Investigator: Wendy Swift, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Project Contact
Sustainable Development Goals and Targets

This project aligns with the following Sustainable Development Goals and Targets:

Related Publications

Najman, J., M., Plotnikova, M., Horwood, J., Silins, E., Fergusson, D., M., Patton, G., Olsson, C., A., Hutchinson, D., Degenhardt, L., Tait, R., J., Youssef, G., Borschmann, R., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, J. and Mattick, R. (2019). Does adolescent heavier alcohol use predict young adult aggression and delinquency? Parallel analyses from four Australasian cohort studies. Aggressive Behavior. doi:10.1002/ab.21828 [RJ1135] View web page

Silins, E., Horwood, J., Najman, J., M., Patton, G., Toumbourou, J., Olsson, C., A., Hutchinson, D., Degenhardt, L., Fergusson, D., M., Becker, K., Boden, J., M., Borschmann, R., Plotnikova, M., Youssef, G., Tait, R., J., Clare, P., Hall, W., Mattick, R. and Cannabis Research Consortium (2018). Adverse adult consequences of different alcohol use patterns in adolescence: An integrative analysis of data to age 30 years from four Australasian cohorts. Addiction. doi:10.1111/add.14263 [RJ1426] View web page

Hutchinson, D., Silins, E., Mattick, R., Patton, G., Fergusson, D., M., Hayatbakhsh, R., Toumbourou, J., Olsson, C., A., Spry, E., Tait, R., J., Degenhardt, L., Swift, W., Butterworth, P. and Horwood, J. (2015). How can data harmonisation benefit mental health research? An example of The Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium (CCRC). Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49, (4), pp. 317-323. doi:10.1177/0004867415571169 [RJ1050] View web page

Silins, E., Fergusson, D., M., Patton, G., Horwood, J., Olsson, C., A., Hutchinson, D., Degenhardt, L., Tait, R., J., Borschmann, R., Coffey, C., Toumbourou, J., Najman, J., M. and Mattick, R. (2015). Adolescent substance use and educational attainment: An integrative data analysis comparing cannabis and alcohol from three Australasian cohorts. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 156, pp. 90-96. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.08.034 [RJ1101] View web page

Silins, E., Horwood, J., Patton, G., Fergusson, D., M., Olsson, C., A., Hutchinson, D., Spry, E., Toumbourou, J., Degenhardt, L., Swift, W., Coffey, C., Tait, R., J., Letcher, P., Copeland, J., Mattick, R. and Cannabis Research Consortium (2014). Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: An integrative analysis across three Australasian cohorts. Lancet Psychiatry, 1, (4), pp. 286–293. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70307-4 [RJ1016] View web page