Trait urgency and substance use decision making in adolescents and young adults: The role of socio-affective factors

•Examined mechanisms linking trait urgency to substance use endorsement.•In adolescents, relationship mediated by affective associations about substance use.•In young adults, relationship mediated by perceived peer approval of substance use.•Urgency’s link to substance use perhaps due to affective decision making biases.

The personality trait of urgency has been linked to substance use outcomes. This study examined possible mechanisms underlying this relationship. A total of 187 participants divided into two age groups (adolescents aged 15–17 and young adults aged 18–21) completed measures of urgency and affective associations about substance use. They were then asked to read a hypothetical situation in which a protagonist considers using a ‘legal high’, and to report their perceived peer approval and perceived positive and negative consequences of such substance use, as well as the likelihood that they would personally use the substance. Multiple-group path analysis was employed to test a model by which urgency influenced the substance use decision via affective associations and perceived peer approval. In adolescents, urgency was significantly related to positive affective associations, and a significant indirect path from urgency to decision via affective associations was found. In young adults, there was a significant path from urgency to decision via peer approval. Results indicate that high urgency individuals may rely on socio-affective information when considering whether to engage in substance use.