Journal article

Screened Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as a Predictor of Substance Use Initiation and Escalation in Early Adulthood and the Role of Self-Reported Conduct Disorder and Sensation Seeking: A 5-Year Longitudinal Study with Young Adult Swiss Men.

  • Moggi F University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, franz.moggi@upd.unibe.ch.
  • Schorno D University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Soravia LM University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Mohler-Kuo M La Source, School of Nursing Sciences, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Estévez-Lamorte N Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Studer J Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Gmel G Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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  • 2020-06-22
Published in:
  • European addiction research. - 2020
English BACKGROUND
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), and sensation seeking (SS) have been consistently related to a higher risk of substance use (SU) and substance use disorder (SUD).


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the relationship between ADHD and prevalence rates in males at age 20 and age 25, the initiation of SU and SUD after age 20, and the escalation of SU from age 20 to age 25, and to explore the role of CD and SS in the relation of ADHD with SU and SUD initiation and escalation.


METHOD
Data were obtained as part of the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF), which focused on young Swiss men aged 20 years at baseline and 25 years at follow-up.


RESULTS
Participants who screened positive for ADHD at baseline exhibited a higher rate of SU and SUD than participants who screened negative. The presence of ADHD symptoms at age 20 predicted initiation of all SU between age 20 and age 25, except for alcohol and smoking. After controlling for self-reported CD and SS, ADHD still predicted this late initiation of use of hallucinogens, meth-/amphetamines, and ecstasy/MDMA; non-medical use of ADHD medication and sedatives, and alcohol use disorder (AUD). No escalation of weekly drinking and smoking or annual cannabis use was observed from age 20 to age 25.


CONCLUSION
Screened-positive ADHD is an independent predictor of late SU and AUD, along with self-reported CD and SS. From a public health perspective, identifying ADHD is not only important in childhood and adolescence but also in early adulthood to guide specific interventions to lower risks of drug use initiation and the development of AUD in early adulthood.
Language
  • English
Open access status
hybrid
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/46949
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