Experimentation versus progression in adolescent drug use: A test of an emerging neurobehavioral imbalance model

Based on an emerging neuroscience model of addiction, this study examines how an imbalance between two neurobehavioral systems (reward motivation and executive control) can distinguish between early adolescent progressive drug use and mere experimentation with drugs. Data from four annual assessment...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development and psychopathology 2015-08, Vol.27 (3), p.901-913
Main Authors: Khurana, Atika, Romer, Daniel, Betancourt, Laura M., Brodsky, Nancy L., Giannetta, Joan M., Hurt, Hallam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Alcohol Drinking - psychology
Behavior, Addictive - psychology
Behavioral psychology
Child
Drug use
Executive Function - physiology
Female
Humans
Impulsive Behavior
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Marijuana Smoking - psychology
Models, Psychological
Neurosciences
Regular Articles
Reward
Smoking - psychology
Teenagers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Based on an emerging neuroscience model of addiction, this study examines how an imbalance between two neurobehavioral systems (reward motivation and executive control) can distinguish between early adolescent progressive drug use and mere experimentation with drugs. Data from four annual assessments of a community cohort (N = 382) of 11- to 13-year-olds were analyzed to model heterogeneity in patterns of early drug use. Baseline assessments of working memory (an indicator of the functional integrity of the executive control system) and three dimensions of impulsivity (characterizing the balance between reward seeking and executive control systems) were used to predict heterogeneous latent classes of drug use trajectories from early to midadolescence. Findings revealed that an imbalance resulting from weak executive control and heightened reward seeking was predictive of early progression in drug use, while heightened reward seeking balanced by a strong control system was predictive of occasional experimentation only. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of preventive interventions that can target underlying weaknesses in executive control during younger years, and potentially enable at-risk adolescents to exercise greater self-restraint in the context of rewarding drug-related cues.
ISSN:0954-5794
1469-2198
DOI:10.1017/S0954579414000765