Alcohol use remains a major public health concern and economic burden. Extant literature suggests that young adulthood is a particularly high-risk developmental period for heavy drinking. Given this, it is imperative to understand possible risk and protective factors for heavy drinking and related consequences during this risky developmental period. Prior research has shown that both drinking history and alcohol response (AR) are consistent predictors of future drinking outcomes. However, it is unclear how they may work together to confer this risk. The current study aimed to fill this gap in the literature by examining how alcohol use trajectories across adolescence and early adulthood impacted relations between AR after an alcohol challenge and drinking outcomes over a 2-year period in a sample of young adult moderate to heavy drinkers. Results showed that both drinking history and AR were independently predictive of alcohol outcomes at the 6-month follow-up such that a more extensive drinking history, greater high arousal positive effects, and lesser low arousal negative effects predicted greater drinking and alcohol-related problems 6-months later. However, drinking history and AR were largely not predictive of change in drinking outcomes over time. Finally, AR did not mediate the relationship between drinking history and later alcohol-related outcomes. This is the first study to address relations among drinking history, AR, and later drinking outcomes using a longitudinal alcohol challenge design with a full account of early drinking history. Future research would benefit from inclusion of a broad range of drinkers and longer follow-up assessments to better understand the complex pathways of risk from early drinking history and AR to future drinking outcomes. Such efforts may increase the understanding of who is at greatest risk and/or would benefit most from specific intervention programs.

Drawing upon the theoretical framework of Cooley’s (1902) “looking-glass self” model, the current study examined how affective dimensions of parenting in adolescence contribute to psychopathology in early adulthood through the mediating mechanism of authenticity – one’s level of comfort with being oneself. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), a three-class solution was identified, classifying inadequate, adequate, and optimal profiles of parenting in adolescence. Class membership was used in a multilevel mediation structural equation model to examine longitudinal links with authenticity and psychopathology (e.g., internalizing, externalizing, and substance abuse disorders) in early adulthood. Results demonstrated that optimal compared to inadequate parent-adolescent relationship quality was directly linked to higher levels of authenticity, which in turn, was directly linked to lower levels of all forms of psychopathology in early adulthood. Results also indicated that authenticity fully mediated the link between profiles of parent-adolescent relationship quality (e.g., grade 12) and internalizing, externalizing, and substance abuse disorders in early adulthood (e.g., four years post-college). In conclusion, the current study demonstrated the influence of affective dimensions of parenting profiles in adolescence on the development of psychopathology in early adulthood via the mediating mechanism of authenticity. Moreover, findings from the current study suggest that authenticity is a critical feature shared in common among various forms of psychopathology. Finally, clinical implications are discussed regarding the potential effectiveness of evidence-based psychotherapies aimed at the promotion of authenticity as a mechanism for improving mental health and well-being.