What does this research mean for the field?

The longitudinal associations among depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and BMI are developmentally specific and vary significantly across gender and racial groups, demonstrating distinct between-person and within-person processes. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine the prospective associations among depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and body mass index from adolescence into young adulthood while isolating within-person changes from between-person differences across gender and racial groups.

September 8, 2026YouthOpen Access

Depressive Symptoms, Alcohol Use, and Body Mass Index from Adolescence to Adulthood: Moderation by Gender and Race

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Authors

XMXuyan Meng JYJeong Jin Yu

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Overview

Longitudinal cohort study uncovers developmental links among depression, alcohol use, and body mass index across adolescence into adulthood, highlighting key variations by gender and race.

Key Points

To examine the prospective associations among depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and body mass index from adolescence into young adulthood while isolating within-person changes from between-person differences across gender and racial groups.
Analyzed four waves of prospective data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N=5734; 51.4% female, 56.7% non-Hispanic white) followed from ages 11–19 to ages 24–32.
Estimated multigroup cross-lagged panel models and random intercept cross-lagged panel models across four subgroups: white males, white females, non-white males, and non-white females.
Higher adolescent depressive symptoms predicted greater subsequent alcohol use at both between-person and within-person levels, while higher young adulthood body mass index predicted elevated subsequent depressive symptoms at the between-person level.
Within-person depressive symptoms predicted lower subsequent body mass index solely among adolescent white females, whereas within-person alcohol use predicted higher subsequent body mass index early in development but demonstrated bidirectional negative associations in adulthood.

Cite This Study

Meng et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9fd7d558e84d0ff5b46dfb https://doi.org/10.3390/youth6030128

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September 8, 2026YouthOpen Access

Depressive Symptoms, Alcohol Use, and Body Mass Index from Adolescence to Adulthood: Moderation by Gender and Race

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

XMXuyan Meng JYJeong Jin Yu

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Longitudinal cohort study uncovers developmental links among depression, alcohol use, and body mass index across adolescence into adulthood, highlighting key variations by gender and race.

Key Points

To examine the prospective associations among depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and body mass index from adolescence into young adulthood while isolating within-person changes from between-person differences across gender and racial groups.
Analyzed four waves of prospective data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N=5734; 51.4% female, 56.7% non-Hispanic white) followed from ages 11–19 to ages 24–32.
Estimated multigroup cross-lagged panel models and random intercept cross-lagged panel models across four subgroups: white males, white females, non-white males, and non-white females.
Higher adolescent depressive symptoms predicted greater subsequent alcohol use at both between-person and within-person levels, while higher young adulthood body mass index predicted elevated subsequent depressive symptoms at the between-person level.
Within-person depressive symptoms predicted lower subsequent body mass index solely among adolescent white females, whereas within-person alcohol use predicted higher subsequent body mass index early in development but demonstrated bidirectional negative associations in adulthood.

Cite This Study

Meng et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9fd7d558e84d0ff5b46dfb https://doi.org/10.3390/youth6030128

Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

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