Associations Between Early Nicotine Exposure and Household Chaos on Effort Tolerance During Adolescence
Open Access
- Author:
- Petrie, Daniel
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- May 09, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Douglas Teti, Program Head/Chair
Charles Geier, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Lisa Michelle Kopp, Committee Member - Keywords:
- household chaos
nicotine exposure
effort tolerance
adolescence - Abstract:
- As the amount of effort required to obtain a reward increases, the subjective value of the reward decreases. This process, called effort discounting, has been shown to involve the dopamine system. The dopamine system can be altered early in development by both experiential and biological mechanisms, which could affect effort discounting patterns later in development. Previous literature has suggested that the experience of household chaos, and the biological effects of exposure to nicotine could alter dopamine systems. The present study examined the effects of household chaos and nicotine exposure during the first two years of life on effort discounting during adolescence. Participants were 1254 (49% female) children who are part of a larger longitudinal study. Household chaos and nicotine exposure was assessed during the first two years of life. Effort discounting was assessed during the 7th grade. Effort discounting was operationalized using the Assessing Cost Estimation task which breaks down effort into three components: effort tolerance, sensitivity to cost, and sensitivity to reward. Separate linear models were used to examine main effects and the interactions between household chaos and nicotine exposure on each aspect of effort discounting. Zero-order Pearson correlations revealed a negative association among household chaos, effort tolerance, sensitivity to reward, and sensitivity to cost demands (all r’s between -0.17 and -0.08, p < 0.05). Greater exposure to nicotine in the first two years of life was associated with less sensitivity to reward (r = -0.16, p < 0.001). However, when predictors were modeled together, only household instability during the first two years of life was associated with more sensitivity to changes in effort demands (β = - 0.16, p = 0.04). These results indicate that although there is a frequent co-occurrence between household chaos and nicotine exposure, they may be acting on differing mechanisms and timescales.