This study prospectively examined neuropsychological (NP)
functioning associated with adolescent substance use and
withdrawal. Participants were youths with histories of substance
use disorders (n = 47) and demographically comparable
youths with no such lifetime histories (n = 26). They
were followed with NP testing and substance involvement interviews
at 7 time points spanning 8 years, from ages 16 to 24, on average.
After controlling for recent use, age, education, practice effects,
and baseline NP functioning, substance use over the 8-year
follow-up period significantly predicted performances on tests
of memory and attention at Year 8. Additionally, withdrawal
symptoms during the follow-up predicted visuospatial and attention
scores at Year 8. Findings suggest that use and withdrawal may
differentially impact neurocognitive functioning during youth,
with heavy use leading to learning, retention, and attentional
difficulties, and withdrawal leading to problems with visuospatial
functioning. (JINS, 2002, 8, 873–883.)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.