How Teens Talk About Alcohol, Substance Use Can Predict Future Misuse

Teenagers who discuss alcohol and drug use are more likely to engage in substance misuse later in life, according to a study published this month by researchers from Arizona State University and Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands in the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. The research is based on data from a long-term study testing the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up, an intervention to improve children’s lives by supporting and educating caregivers.

Researchers reviewed 10-minute, in-person conversations between nearly 500 pairs of 17-year-old friends, tracking mentions of alcohol, cannabis, or hard drugs; whether conversations were negative or positive toward substance use; and how long conversations lasted. The research team then determined whether the teens went on to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder within the next 10 years.

Discussions of alcohol and cannabis at age 17 were found to be a predictor for a substance use or alcohol use disorder by age 27. Discussions of hard drugs at age 17, however, had a much weaker correlation with future use.

“How adolescents talk to each other sets standards, or norms, that can predict future behavior,” Thao Ha, assistant professor of psychology at ASU, said in a news release. “This study shows that positive conversations about drugs and alcohol—like how fun it is use cannabis or drink, admiration of other kids’ use, or discussing places/homes where you can drink—as a 17-year-old predicts future severe use and being diagnosed with a substance use disorder 10 years later.”

Researchers noted that because it is still developing, the adolescent brain is both susceptible to addiction and especially attuned to social information, such as what peers care about.

Because social media use was not as prevalent when the initial conversations between the 17-year-old were recorded as it is today, more research is needed to evaluate how online interactions can influence young people’s views on substance use, said Roy Otten, psychology professor at Radboud University Nijmegen.

Reference

Study: Conversations between teenagers can predict future drug, alcohol abuse. News release. Arizona State University. June 7, 2022. Accessed June 13, 2022.