Poor Response Inhibition as a Predictor of Problem Drinking and Illicit Drug Use in Adolescents at Risk for Alcoholism and Other Substance Use Disorders

• NCJ Number: 213663
• Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 45 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 468-475
• Author(s): Joel T. Nigg Ph.D.; Maria M. Wong Ph.D.; Michelle M. Martel B.A.; Jennifer M. Jester Ph.D.; Leon I. Puttler Ph.D.; Jennifer M. Glass Ph.D.; Kenneth M. Adams Ph.D.; Hiram E. Fitzgerald Ph.D.; Robert A. Zucker Ph.D.
• Date Published: April 2006
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01-AA12217; R37-AA07065; R01-MH59105
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study assessed whether weaknesses in executive function (EF), especially response inhibition, are associated with the onset of problem alcohol or illicit drug use during adolescence.

Abstract

Overall, the results indicated that poor response inhibition predicted alcohol-related problems, the number of illicit drugs used, and comorbid alcohol and drug use. These results remained significant after controlling for IQ, parental alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder, child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct symptoms, and age. Other EF measures did not predict substance use onset after the other variables were considered. The findings suggest that EF problems may provide a target for behavioral interventions designed to break emerging patterns of substance abuse. Participants were 498 children living in families with high levels of alcohol use disorder (AUD) who were recruited from the community to take part in this multiwave study. Participants completed EF measures in early and late adolescence and reported on lifetime drinking and drug-taking at multiple points, including during late adolescence between the ages of 15 to 17 years. Parental alcoholism, child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD), and child cognitive functioning were also assessed. Data analysis techniques included the calculation of zero-order correlations between the family and individual scores and the adolescence substance use outcome scores. Future studies should continue to probe the relationships between weak response inhibition and adolescent alcohol-related problems and illicit drug use. Tables, references