Early substance use in the pathway from childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to young adult substance use: Evidence of statistical mediation and substance specificity.

ABSTRACT: This study tested whether early and developmentally atypical substance use mediates risk for adult substance use among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and whether that risk is substance-specific. Participants were children with ADHD previously enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT), and a demographically similar non-ADHD group, assessed at 2 through 16 years after the original RCT baseline. Self-reports of heavy drinking, marijuana use, daily smoking, and other illicit drug use were collected at follow-ups to establish atypically early and frequent use. Models estimated statistically mediated effects of childhood ADHD on adult substance use via early substance involvement, with planned comparisons to evaluate substance specificity. Results supported

SUBMITTER: Howard AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9812258 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature