Impulsivity and Adolescent Substance Use Over Time

Adolescent substance use is a serious public health concern with long-lasting consequences. Impulsivity has long been identified as a correlate of adolescent and young adult substance use and abuse. However, the bulk of the literature on impulsivity and adolescent substance use is cross-sectional. The current study examined impulsivity and the changes of alcohol use over time in a sample of 1,042 ethnically diverse high school students. Three waves of data were used to assess alcohol use frequency over time for both high and low impulsivity groups. A fixed effects model supported our hypothesis that high impulsive adolescents have higher alcohol use than lower impulsive adolescents at all time points. However, our hypothesis that higher impulsive adolescents have a higher rate of increase in alcohol use than lower impulsive adolescents was only partially supported. Although not statistically significant, there was a trend of high impulsive adolescents having higher substance use over time than their low impulsive counterparts. The current study shows the critical period of adolescence when changes in impulsivity and the onset of substance use begins. Modifying impulsive behavior before the age of substance use initiation may help prevent future substance abuse.