Marital Status as a Partial Mediator of the Associations Between Young Adult Substance Use and Subsequent Substance Use Disorder: Application of Causal Inference Methods

摘要

Objective:Young adult substance use is linked with the risk of substance use disorders (SUDs) later in adulthood. Marriage may be part of this pathway because of both selection effects (early substance use reducing marriage) and socialization effects (marriage reducing later substance use and disorder). We examine whether marital status mediates the association between young adult substance use and subsequent SUDs, using causal mediation methods to strengthen inferences.