NCJ Number
195416
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 41 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 680-686
Date Published
June 2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examined the influence of adolescent attention functioning on the development of substance-use problems in 66 high-risk youths over an 8-year period.
Abstract
Participants were youths residing in the community who had no history of substance-use disorders; neurological illness; or mood, anxiety, or psychotic disorders at project intake. They were administered neuropsychological tests and were interviewed about substance use from ages 15 through 23 on average. Substance use was assessed by self-reports, resource person reports, and randomly sampled toxicology screens. The study found that attention/executive functioning scores obtained at the intake neuropsychological assessment significantly predicted substance use and dependence symptoms 8 years later, even after controlling for intake substance use, gender, education, conduct disorder, family history of substance-use disorders, and learning disabilities. These results suggest that adolescents with limited attention abilities, but not necessarily attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnoses, may be at risk for developing more problematic alcohol and drug involvement. This indicates that prevention and treatment efforts should target youths with attention difficulties by using programs that are effective for those with concentration and processing difficulties. 1 table and 71 references