Substance Abuse and AD/HD
Is AD/HD a risk factor for substance abuse?
A number of studies have been conducted that show a modest connection between childhood AD/HD and risk for later substance abuse (Biederman et al., 2006; Lambert & Hartsough, 1998; Mannuzza et al., 1991; Molina, Flory et al., 2007; Molina, Pelham et al., 2003;2007). Study findings vary somewhat due to different ages of the participants, different types of samples (children recruited from treatment clinics versus children in large community survey studies), different ways of measuring substance abuse, and differing levels of attention to other problems such as conduct problems that may also be related to substance abuse. Across a number of studies, however, there is a recurring pattern of findings that children with AD/HD have an increased risk for substance abuse of one form or another. AD/HD also contributes to a faster progression from initial use to abuse, and substance abuse may follow a more aggressive course among individuals with a history of AD/HD.
In research studies and media reports, 'substance abuse' may mean different things. First, when studying adolescents in general, many studies have shown that early-aged substance use, such as having a full drink of alcohol (not just a taste or a sip) before the age of 15, is associated with an increased risk of heavier or problem drinking later (Grant & Dawson, 1997). Thus, some studies have specifically examined whether childhood AD/HD is associated with early consumption. One large widely cited study, the Multimodal Treatment of ADHD study (MTA), reported that alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use was more likely to be initiated by early adolescence in youngsters with AD/HD than for classmates in that study who did not have AD/HD (Molina et al., 2007). At older ages, repeated or heavier levels of use become important to study, such as binge drinking of alcohol (Molina, Pelham et al., 2007) or dependence on nicotine and illicit drugs (Biederman et al., 2006; Lambert & Hartsough, 1998; Mannuzza et al., 1991).
As children become older, the way in which substance use is studied changes. This is because substance use disorders are often considered developmental disorders (Zucker 2006). An implication of this idea is that risk for substance use among children with AD/HD is tied to the age at which the research is being conducted (Molina, Pelham et al., 2007). This helps to understand why some studies fail to find an increased risk for abuse or dependence in the teenage years (Molina et al., 2003; Biederman et al., 1997). Conversely, when adolescents or adults with substance abuse or dependence are the subject of study, substantial proportions are often diagnosable with AD/HD (Wilens 2008).
Why are children with AD/HD at risk?
There are a number of plausible reasons for the connection between AD/HD and substance abuse (Molina & Pelham, 2003; Wilens & Biederman, 2006). The core symptoms of AD/HD, namely inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, have been known for a number of years to predict substance use in adolescents not diagnosed with AD/HD. These symptoms in and of themselves may increase risk for a number of reasons through the various problems they cause in school, at home, and with friends. Many of these problems are known risk factors for the development of substance use or abuse. For example, conduct problems such as lying, stealing, and skipping school are more common among children with AD/HD and also contribute to the development of substance use (Gittelman et al., 1985; Molina & Pelham, 2003). Poor school performance increases risk for teenage substance abuse. AD/HD and substance use disorders such as dependence on illicit drugs also tend to run together in families (Biederman et al. 2008). Each of these problems has strong familial tendencies and they co-occur at greater rates than chance, suggesting that genetic underpinnings may be contributing to their co-occurrence. A controversial question pertains to the treatment of AD/HD with stimulant medications and whether this practice increases risk or protects from risk. These are but a few of the suspected mechanisms that may underlie the AD/HD-substance use connection.
How should this risk be managed?
Research is still accumulating to inform best practice, but some general guidelines may be drawn from the literature (Mariani & Levin, 2007; Riggs 1998; Wilens 2008). Because conduct problems in children are strongly tied to early initiation of substance use and later substance abuse, interventions aimed at minimizing their occurrence have the potential to prevent or delay initiation and ultimately progression. The MTA found that the children who were assigned to intensive behavior therapy, with or without medication management, were less likely to initiate substance use in early adolescence (Molina et al., 2007). This finding is encouraging in light of AD/HD children's risk for substance abuse. In other words, prevention of adolescent substance use should involve the early psychosocial treatment of risk factors. In the MTA study, medication treatment, either study-delivered via random assignment, or self-selected following the completion of the randomly assigned treatments, did not predict this initial early adolescent substance use. Other studies have reported that stimulant treatment may protect against later substance abuse or dependence for boys (Biederman et al. 1999) and for girls (Wilens, Adamson et al., 2008). No studies have yet shown that stimulant treatment is associated with worsening of substance use in adolescence (or for that matter, among adults being treated for both substance dependence and AD/HD; for review, see Wilens, 2008).
There is a well-developed literature showing that specific types of family therapy as well as cognitive-behavior therapy are efficacious in the treatment of substance abuse with adolescents (Slesnick, Kaminer, Kelly 2008). These techniques per se have not been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of AD/HD among adolescents, but the treatment literature for adolescents with AD/HD is, in general, lacking. As for adults with substance use disorders and AD/HD, a comprehensive evaluation that considers history of symptoms and treatment and full evaluation of AD/HD after stabilization of any addictions is warranted (Mariani & Levin, 2007; Riggs 1998; Wilens 2008). Therapeutic approaches that address motivation, that use cognitive-behavioral strategies, and that facilitate 12-step involvement, have all been shown to be effective for adults with substance use disorders, and there is some support for their use with adolescents as well. Medication management, to the extent that it has been studied, has not been shown to worsen existing substance abuse problems among individuals seeking treatment for addictions (Wilens 2008).
Tobacco
Perhaps the strongest association between childhood AD/HD and later substance use may be found for tobacco use (usually in the form of cigarette smoking). For example, in one study, 46% of children with AD/HD were daily smokers by the age of 17 versus 24% of age-mates without AD/HD (Lambert & Hartsough, 1998). Nicotine addiction is a particularly important risk of which parents should be aware given the large and strong associations found across multiple studies and the difficulty of quitting once addiction is full-blown. Moreover, the strong tendency for cigarette smoking to run in families, and for smoking to be more common among the children of cigarette smokers, should help some parents muster motivation to quit, despite the difficulties of doing so.
For further reading:
For more information on substance abuse and treatment options:
Updated: August 2009
Biederman, J., Monuteaux, M. C., Mick, E., Spencer, T., Wilens, T. E., Silva, J. M., et al. (2006). Young adult outcome of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a controlled 10-year follow-up study. Psychological Medicine, 36(167-179).
Biederman, J., Wilens , T., Mick, E., Faraone, S. V., Weber, W., Curtis, S., et al. (1997). Is AD/HD a risk factor for psychoactive substance use disorders? Findings from a four-year prospective follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 21-29.
Biederman, J., Petty, C. R., Wilens, T. E., Fraire, M. G., Purcell, C. A., Mick, E., et al. (2008). Familial Risk Analyses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Substance Use Disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(107-115).
Gittelman, R., Mannuzza, S., Shenker, R., & Bonagura, N. (1985). Hyperactive boys almost grown up: I. Psychiatric status. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 937-947.
Grant, B. F., & Dawson, D. A. (1997). Age at onset of alcohol use and its association with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence: Results from the National Longitudinal Epidemiologic Survey. Journal of Substance Abuse, 9, 103-110.
Lambert, N. L., & Hartsough, C. S. (1998). Prospective study of tobacco smoking and substance dependencies among samples of AD/HD and non-AD/HD participants. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31(6), 533-544.
Mannuzza, S., Klein, R., Bonagura, N., Malloy, P., Giampino, T. L., & Addalli, K. A. (1991). Hyperactive boys almost grown up. V. Replication of psychiatric status. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48, 77-83.
Mariani, J. J. & Levin, F. R. (2007). Treatment strategies for co-occurring AD/HD and substance use disorders. The American Journal on Addictions, 16(Suppl 1), 45-56.
Molina, B. S. G., Pelham, W. E., Gnagy, E. M., Thompson, A. L., & Marshal, M. P. (2007). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder risk for heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder is age-specific. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research, 31(4), 643-654.
Molina, B. S. G., Flory, K., Hinshaw, S. P., Greiner, A. R., Arnold, L. E., Swanson, J. M., et al. (2007). Delinquent behavior and emerging substance use in the MTA at 36-months: Prevalence, course, and treatment effects. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(8), 1027-1039.
Molina, B.S., Pelham, W.E. (2003). Childhood predictors of adolescent substance use in a longitudinal study of children with AD/HD. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 497-507.
Riggs P.D. (1998). Clinical approach to treatment of AD/HD in adolescents with substance use disorders and conduct disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 331-332.
Slesnick N, Kaminer Y, Kelly J. (2008). Most common psychosocial interventions for adolescent substance use disorders. In Y Kaminer and OG Bukstein (Ed.), Adolescent substance abuse. Psychiatric comorbidity and high-risk behaviors. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group: New York, NY. Pp. 111-144.
Wilens T E (2008). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and adolescent substance use disorders. In Y Kaminer and OG Bukstein (Ed.), Adolescent substance abuse. Psychiatric comorbidity and high-risk behaviors. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group: New York, NY. Pp. 195-220.
Wilens, T. E., Adamson, J., Monuteaux, M. C., Faraone, S. V., Schillinger, M., Westerberg, D., et al. (2008). Effect of Prior Stimulant Treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder on Subsequent Risk for Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders in Adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 162(10), 916-921.
Wilens, T., & Biederman, J. (2006). Alcohol, drugs, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A model for the study of addictions in youth. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 20(4), 580-588.
Zucker, R. A. (2006). Alcohol use and the alcohol use disorders: A developmental-biopsyochosocial systems formulation covering the life course. In D. Cicchette & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental Psychopathology, Second Edition, Volume Three: Risk, Disorder, and Adaptation (Vol. 3, pp. 620-656). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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