Cognition, negative affectivity and substance use in adolescent boys with and without a family history of a substance use disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test a model of substance use in adolescent males. The model is based on the premise that cognitive distortions and poor constructive thinking represent weaknesses in the ability to adaptively cope with everyday problems. It is postulated that failures in adaptive coping result in increased negative affectivity (e.g., frustration, anger, and anxiety), which fosters substance use as a means of alleviating unpleasant feelings. METHOD: Subjects (N = 276) were 15- to 17-year-old males with a positive (FHP; n = 118) or a negative (FHN; n = 158) family history of a substance use disorder (SUD). Subjects completed self-report measures of constructive thinking, cognitive distortions, negative affectivity, substance use frequency and substance use problems. RESULTS: Negative affectivity mediated the relations between constructive thinking and both substance use variables, in separate analyses, for the FNP and FHN groups. Negative affectivity also moderated the relation between constructive thinking and substance use frequency, such that constructive thinking was negatively related to substance use frequency but only for individuals high in negative affectivity. CONCLUSIONS: Poor constructive thinking skills are related to increased substance use in adolescent males, in part through an association with greater negative affectivity. SUD treatment and prevention efforts may benefit from strategies aimed at improving constructive thinking abilities and reducing negative affectivity.

Constructive thinking, executive functioning, antisocial behavior, and drug use involvement in adolescent females with a substance use disorder.

The main aim of this study was to determine how constructive thinking (CT), executive functioning (EF), and antisocial behavior (ASB) are related to drug use involvement in 282 adolescent females, 14-18 years of age, with a substance use disorder (SUD) and in controls. CT was measured using the Constructive Thinking Inventory (S. Epstein & P. Meier, 1989), EF was measured using a battery of neuropsychological tests, and ASB was measured using the Youth Self-Report Inventory (T. Achenbach, 1991) and a psychiatric interview. Females with an SUD demonstrated lower CT and EF scores and higher ASB scores compared with the controls. Low CT and low EF were significantly related to increased drug use involvement even when controlling for age, socioeconomic status, and vocabulary level. ASB partially mediated the relation between CT and drug use involvement, and it fully mediated the relation between EF and drug use involvement. Moreover, ASB moderated the relation between EF and drug use involvement.