A 22-Year Follow-Up (Range 16 to 23) of Original Subjects with Baseline Alcohol Use Disorders from the Collaborative Study on Genetics of Alcoholism.

Background: Recent reports indicate higher-than-expected problematic drinking in older populations. However, few data describe how to predict which older individuals are most likely to demonstrate alcohol-related problems, including those with earlier alcohol use disorders (AUDs). These analyses evaluate predictors of alcohol outcomes in individuals with earlier AUDs in the Collaborative Study on Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA).

Influence of Parental Alcohol Dependence Symptoms and Parenting on Adolescent Risky Drinking and Conduct Problems: A Family Systems Perspective.

Background: Parental alcohol problems are associated with adverse adolescent outcomes such as risky drinking and conduct problems. Important questions remain about the unique roles of fathers' and mothers' alcohol problems and differences and/or similarities in pathways of risk across ethnicity and gender. In this study, we used a family systems approach to consider spillover and crossover effects of fathers' and mothers' alcohol problems (number of alcohol dependence symptoms [ADS]) and parenting behaviors in relation to adolescents' risky drinking and conduct problems.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis in 269,867 individuals identifies new genetic and functional links to intelligence.

Intelligence is highly heritable and a major determinant of human health and well-being. Recent genome-wide meta-analyses have identified 24 genomic loci linked to variation in intelligence, but much about its genetic underpinnings remains to be discovered. Here, we present a large-scale genetic association study of intelligence (n = 269,867), identifying 205 associated genomic loci (190 new) and 1,016 genes (939 new) via positional mapping, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping, chromatin interaction mapping, and gene-based association analysis.

Alcohol Use and Sexual and Physical Assault Victimization Among University Students: Three Years of Follow-Up.

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of sexual and physical assault among university students and its association with alcohol use. The research is part of a wider cohort study (Spit for Science) at a large public university in the United States. The follow-up data include the first two cohorts (2011, 2012; = 5,170).

Childhood Risk Factors for Heavy Episodic Alcohol Use and Alcohol Problems in Late Adolescence: A Marginal Structural Model Analysis.

Objective: This study seeks to clarify the nature of the association between five well-studied late childhood predictors and alcohol-related behaviors in adolescence.

Method: We examined, in 7,168 subjects from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), using linear probability and marginal structural models, the association between parental alcohol problems, peer group deviance, antisocial behavior, and low parental monitoring, and sensation seeking assessed at multiple times from ages 12.5 to 18 years and heavy episodic drinking and alcohol problems at ages 16.

The Utility of a Brief Web-Based Prevention Intervention as a Universal Approach for Risky Alcohol Use in College Students: Evidence of Moderation by Family History.

Alcohol use on college campuses is prevalent and contributes to problems that affect the health, emotional wellbeing, and academic success of college students. Risk factors, such as family history of alcohol problems, predict future alcohol problems, but less is known about their potential impact on intervention effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an intervention implemented in a non-randomized sample of drinking and non-drinking college freshmen.

Reliability and validity of an internalizing symptom scale based on the adolescent and adult Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA).

Background: The Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) is an interview that assesses psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses, including substance use disorders and anxiety and mood (i.e., internalizing) disorders.

Associations Between Personality and Distress Tolerance Among Trauma-Exposed Young Adults.

Low distress tolerance (DT) is related to negative mental health outcomes, particularly among trauma-exposed populations, who are at greater risk for mental health problems. However, little is known about potential etiological factors underlying the development of perceived (i.e.

Study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function.

General cognitive function is a prominent and relatively stable human trait that is associated with many important life outcomes. We combine cognitive and genetic data from the CHARGE and COGENT consortia, and UK Biobank (total N = 300,486; age 16-102) and find 148 genome-wide significant independent loci (P < 5 × 10) associated with general cognitive function. Within the novel genetic loci are variants associated with neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders, physical and psychiatric illnesses, and brain structure.

Associations Between Initial Subjective Experiences with Tobacco and Self-Reported Recent Use in Young Adulthood.

Background: Youth tobacco use behaviors are predictive of patterns in adulthood and effect long-term health outcomes. Yet, few studies have examined the effect of initial subjective experiences (ISEs) during first tobacco use, which has been found to be an indicator of individuals. sensitivity to nicotine and vulnerability to dependence.

Childhood socioeconomic status and longitudinal patterns of alcohol problems: Variation across etiological pathways in genetic risk.

Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is an important aspect of early life environment associated with later life health/health behaviors, including alcohol misuse. However, alcohol misuse is modestly heritable and involves differing etiological pathways. Externalizing disorders show significant genetic overlap with substance use, suggesting an impulsivity pathway to alcohol misuse.

Global deletion of tetraspanin CD82 attenuates bone growth and enhances bone marrow adipogenesis.

CD82 is a widely expressed member of the tetraspanin family of transmembrane proteins known to control cell signaling, adhesion, and migration. Tetraspanin CD82 is induced over 9-fold during osteoclast differentiation in vitro; however, its role in bone homeostasis is unknown. A globally deleted CD82 mouse model was used to assess the bone phenotype.

Prevalence and predictors of PTSD among a college sample.

Objective: This study examined the prevalence and correlates of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in freshman entering college and prospective associations of probable PTSD with additional outcomes.

Participants: 2,310 students with data collected from Fall 2014 through Spring 2015.

Methods: Incoming freshman completed a survey assessing for relevant variables at the beginning of fall semester and during the spring semester.

Development and validation of Spasticity Index-Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Objectives: Spasticity is a common and disabling feature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). There are currently no validated ALS-specific measures of spasticity. The aim of this study was to develop and use a self-report outcome measure for spasticity in ALS.

A Brief Critique of the TATES Procedure.

The Trait-based test that uses the Extended Simes procedure (TATES) was developed as a method for conducting multivariate GWAS for correlated phenotypes whose underlying genetic architecture is complex. In this paper, we provide a brief methodological critique of the TATES method using simulated examples and a mathematical proof. Our simulated examples using correlated phenotypes show that the Type I error rate is higher than expected, and that more TATES p values fall outside of the confidence interval relative to expectation.

Effects of social support on the association between precollege sexual assault and college-onset victimization.

Objective: This study examined the moderating and mediating effects of perceived social support on the association between precollege sexual assault (SA) and college-onset SA.

Participants: A representative sample of 6,132 undergraduates.

Methods: The PLUM procedure in SPSS was used to test the moderation model, with individual regressions conducted in a hierarchical fashion.

Polygenic Risk Score Prediction of Alcohol Dependence Symptoms Across Population-Based and Clinically Ascertained Samples.

Background: Despite consistent evidence of the heritability of alcohol use disorders (AUDs), few specific genes with an etiological role have been identified. It is likely that AUDs are highly polygenic; however, the etiological pathways and genetic variants involved may differ between populations. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate whether aggregate genetic risk for AUDs differed between clinically ascertained and population-based epidemiological samples.

Post-GWAS in Psychiatric Genetics: A Developmental Perspective on the "Other" Next Steps.

As psychiatric genetics enters an era where gene identification is finally yielding robust, replicable genetic associations and polygenic risk scores, it is important to consider next steps and delineate how that knowledge will be applied to ultimately ameliorate suffering associated with substance use and psychiatric disorders. Much of the post-genome-wide association study discussion has focused on the potential of genetic information to elucidate the underlying biology and use this information for the development of more effective pharmaceutical treatments. In this review we focus on additional areas of research that should follow gene identification.

Polygenic prediction of the phenome, across ancestry, in emerging adulthood.

Background: Identifying genetic relationships between complex traits in emerging adulthood can provide useful etiological insights into risk for psychopathology. College-age individuals are under-represented in genomic analyses thus far, and the majority of work has focused on the clinical disorder or cognitive abilities rather than normal-range behavioral outcomes.

Methods: This study examined a sample of emerging adults 18-22 years of age (N = 5947) to construct an atlas of polygenic risk for 33 traits predicting relevant phenotypic outcomes.

Incorporating Functional Genomic Information to Enhance Polygenic Signal and Identify Variants Involved in Gene-by-Environment Interaction for Young Adult Alcohol Problems.

Background: Characterizing aggregate genetic risk for alcohol misuse and identifying variants involved in gene-by-environment (G × E) interaction effects has so far been a major challenge. We hypothesized that functional genomic information could be used to enhance detection of polygenic signal underlying alcohol misuse and to prioritize identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) most likely to exhibit G × E effects.

Methods: We examined these questions in the young adult FinnTwin12 sample (n = 1,170).

Social Relationships Moderate Genetic Influences on Heavy Drinking in Young Adulthood.

Objective: Social relationships, such as committed partnerships, limit risky behaviors like heavy drinking, in part, because of increased social control. The current analyses examine whether involvement in committed relationships or social support extend beyond a main effect to limit genetic liability in heavy drinking (gene-environment interaction) during young adulthood.

Method: Using data from the young adult wave of the Finnish Twin Study, FinnTwin12 (n = 3,269), we tested whether involvement in romantic partnerships or social support moderated genetic influences on heavy drinking using biometric twin modeling for gene-environment interaction.

Rethinking the Way We Do Research: The Benefits of Community-Engaged, Citizen Science Approaches and Nontraditional Collaborators.

There is tremendous opportunity for basic scientists to enhance the impact of our research by engaging more deeply with nontraditional partners and expanding the way we think about interdisciplinary research teams. These efforts can include more deeply engaging our participants, and the broader public, in our research; working with individuals from other fields to take a more active role in the dissemination and translation of our research; and working with collaborators from the arts and communication sciences to make our research more engaging and understandable. In this review, I provide an overview of our efforts along these lines in a project called Spit for Science (https://spit4science.