Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms in childhood and substance use in adolescence: The youth gazel cohort

BackgroundThis study addresses in both genders the relationship between childhood Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms and subsequent adolescent substance use, while controlling for psychiatric comorbidity, temperament and environmental risk factors.Methods916 subjects (421 males, 495 females) aged 7–18 were recruited from the general population and surveyed in 1991 and 1999. Child psychopathology and substance use patterns were evaluated through parent and adolescent self-reports. Multivariate modeling was performed to assess the effects of childhood Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms and other risk factors on adolescent substance use.ResultsIn males, Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms alone accounted for the risk of subsequent regular cannabis smoking (OR = 3.14, p = 0.03) and subsequent lifetime use of other drugs including stimulants, opiates, inhalants and sedatives (OR = 2.72, p = 0.02). In females, Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms did not independently increase the liability to later substance use. In males, the temperament trait activity was a significant predictor of subsequent regular cannabis smoking (OR = 2.32, p = 0.04).ConclusionsThis survey points to a possible specific link between Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms and subsequent cannabis use and experimentation of harder drugs in males.