Article Open Access January 16, 2025

Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use

1
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2
Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
3
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
4
University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), Adelphi, MD, United States
Page(s): 1-11
Received
August 12, 2024
Revised
October 26, 2024
Accepted
November 19, 2024
Published
January 16, 2025
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Scientific Publications
Article metrics
Views
389
Downloads
54

Cite This Article

APA Style
Assari, S. , Najand, B. , & Zare, H. (2025). Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use. Current Research in Public Health, 5(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2025.1141
ACS Style
Assari, S. ; Najand, B. ; Zare, H. Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use. Current Research in Public Health 2025 5(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2025.1141
Chicago/Turabian Style
Assari, Shervin, Babak Najand, and Hossein Zare. 2025. "Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use". Current Research in Public Health 5, no. 1: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2025.1141
AMA Style
Assari S, Najand B, Zare H. Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use. Current Research in Public Health. 2025; 5(1):1-11. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2025.1141
@Article{crph1141,
AUTHOR = {Assari, Shervin and Najand, Babak and Zare, Hossein},
TITLE = {Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use},
JOURNAL = {Current Research in Public Health},
VOLUME = {5},
YEAR = {2025},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {1-11},
URL = {https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJP/article/view/1141},
ISSN = {2831-5162},
DOI = {10.31586/ojp.2025.1141},
ABSTRACT = {Background: Puberty is a crucial developmental milestone that involves significant physiological, emotional, and behavioral changes. Early puberty onset, influenced by both biological and social factors, is associated with an increased risk of engaging in substance use, such as tobacco and marijuana. While high family income is generally linked to delayed puberty onset and lower behavioral risks, these benefits may not be equally protective for Black youth due to the phenomenon of Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs). MDRs suggest that higher family income does not offer the same protective effects for Black youth as it does for White youth, potentially leading to earlier puberty and increased substance use among high-income Black adolescents. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether early puberty onset and associated positive urgency (impulsivity) mediate the relationship between family income and the initiation of tobacco and marijuana use over a six-year follow-up period among adolescents. Additionally, the study examined whether the effects of family income on early puberty onset differ by race, testing the hypothesis that high-income Black youth would experience earlier puberty onset compared to their high-income White peers. Methods: Data were sourced from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Participants were 9-10-year-old adolescents at baseline, followed over a period of six years. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess whether early puberty onset mediated the effects of family income on substance use behaviors. Interaction terms between race and family income were included to test whether the impact of family income varies by race. Results: Early puberty onset and associated positive urgency partially explained the relationship between family income and the initiation of tobacco and marijuana use. High-income Black youth showed earlier puberty onset compared to their White counterparts. Earlier puberty onset then predicted higher positive urgency. These factors, in turn, were linked to higher rates of tobacco and marijuana initiation. Conclusions: This study provides additional evidence that the benefits of high family income do not extend equally to Black adolescents, particularly regarding delaying puberty onset and its consequences for substance use.},
}
%0 Journal Article
%A Assari, Shervin
%A Najand, Babak
%A Zare, Hossein
%D 2025
%J Current Research in Public Health

%@ 2831-5162
%V 5
%N 1
%P 1-11

%T Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use
%M doi:10.31586/ojp.2025.1141
%U https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJP/article/view/1141
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Assari, Shervin
AU  - Najand, Babak
AU  - Zare, Hossein
TI  - Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use
T2  - Current Research in Public Health
PY  - 2025
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
SN  - 2831-5162
SP  - 1
EP  - 11
UR  - https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJP/article/view/1141
AB  - Background: Puberty is a crucial developmental milestone that involves significant physiological, emotional, and behavioral changes. Early puberty onset, influenced by both biological and social factors, is associated with an increased risk of engaging in substance use, such as tobacco and marijuana. While high family income is generally linked to delayed puberty onset and lower behavioral risks, these benefits may not be equally protective for Black youth due to the phenomenon of Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs). MDRs suggest that higher family income does not offer the same protective effects for Black youth as it does for White youth, potentially leading to earlier puberty and increased substance use among high-income Black adolescents. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether early puberty onset and associated positive urgency (impulsivity) mediate the relationship between family income and the initiation of tobacco and marijuana use over a six-year follow-up period among adolescents. Additionally, the study examined whether the effects of family income on early puberty onset differ by race, testing the hypothesis that high-income Black youth would experience earlier puberty onset compared to their high-income White peers. Methods: Data were sourced from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Participants were 9-10-year-old adolescents at baseline, followed over a period of six years. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess whether early puberty onset mediated the effects of family income on substance use behaviors. Interaction terms between race and family income were included to test whether the impact of family income varies by race. Results: Early puberty onset and associated positive urgency partially explained the relationship between family income and the initiation of tobacco and marijuana use. High-income Black youth showed earlier puberty onset compared to their White counterparts. Earlier puberty onset then predicted higher positive urgency. These factors, in turn, were linked to higher rates of tobacco and marijuana initiation. Conclusions: This study provides additional evidence that the benefits of high family income do not extend equally to Black adolescents, particularly regarding delaying puberty onset and its consequences for substance use.
DO  - Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use
TI  - 10.31586/ojp.2025.1141
ER  -