Risk for substance use among adolescents at-risk for childhood victimization: The moderating role of ADHD

Abstract

Background: Youth who are victimized by violence are at heightened risk for substance use (SU) during adolescence, a period characterized by elevated impulsivity and risk-taking behavior. This risk may be magnified by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Objective: To examine risk/protective factors for adolescent SU among adolescents at-risk for victimization and whether ADHD moderates these associations.

Participants and setting: Participants were 1058 caregiver-adolescent dyads in the U.S. who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN).

Method: Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted for each SU type. First-order effects of all variables were tested first and for each SU outcome, followed by tests of two-way interactions between ADHD group and each predictor, after controlling for first-order effects.

Results: More externalizing behavior (odds ratio [OR] = 1.38; 95 % confidence interval [CI]:1.12, 1.71) and less parental knowledge (OR = .75; 95 %CI: .60, .95) were associated with greater risk for subsequent tobacco use. Less positive peer affiliation was associated with greater risk for subsequent illicit SU (OR = .59; 95 %CI: .36, .96). More deviant peer affiliation were associated with greater risk for all forms of SU. ADHD moderated the association between deviant peer affiliation and marijuana use [b = .9, p < .05, 95 %CI: .03, 1.77), such that deviant peer affiliation was a significantly stronger predictor of marijuana use among adolescents with ADHD than those without.

Conclusions: Findings suggest risk and protective factors for SU are largely consistent for adolescents at-risk for victimization with and without ADHD, but at-risk adolescents with ADHD may be more susceptible to deviant peer influences.

Keywords: ADHD; Deviant peers; Externalizing behavior; Parental knowledge; Substance use; Victimization.