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Turning Points in the Lives of Youth of With/Without ADHD: Are They Linked to Changes in Substance Use?

Jensen, P. S., Yuki, K., Murray, D., Mitchell, J. T., Weisner, T., Hinshaw, S., Molina, B., Swanson, J., Arnold, L. E., Hechtman, L., & Wells, K.
2018

From the abstract: "This study examines the behavior beliefs, social supports, and turning points in individuals with/without ADHD related to their substance use/abuse (SU/A) decisions. The coded interviews from 60 participants with/without ADHD were compared for their SU/A decisions and precipitants with these decisions among abstainers, persisters, and desisters. ADHD participants reported fewer social advantages to avoid SU/A than non-ADHD participants. Desisters and persisters reported more social advantages of using drugs than abstainers. Persisters reported both more negative and positive psychological/physiological effects of SU/A. ADHD participants reported fewer positive role models in their lives. Non-ADHD patients reported more positive turning points than ADHD participants, regardless of SU/A status. ADHD individuals face challenges in making healthy decisions about SU/A due to lack of positive role models. Reinforcing accurate behavioral beliefs may be important to change behaviors in individuals with SU/A or to prevent SU/A initiation in ADHD individuals."

Citation

Jensen, P. S., Yuki, K., Murray, D., Mitchell, J. T., Weisner, T., Hinshaw, S., . . . Wells, K. (2018). Turning points in the lives of youth of with/without ADHD: Are they linked to changes in substance use? Journal of Attention Disorders, 22, 38S-48S.

DOI

10.1177/1087054717700977