Substance Use in Adolescence and Psychosis: Clarifying the Relationship

Abstract

Adolescence is a time of exploration of the self, and this exploration may involve the use of alcohol and drugs. Sadly, for some, adolescence also marks the first signs of a psychosis. The temporal proximity between the onset of substance use and of psychosis has been the cause of much debate. Here we review the association of alcohol, cannabis, stimulants, and other drugs with psychosis, and we conclude that the use of cannabis and the amphetamines significantly contributes to the risk of psychosis.

Parenting Styles and Psychological Correlates in a Sample of Egyptian Adolescents With Substance-use Disorders

“…46 A adolescence are secondary to substance use, and the use of cannabis and amphetamine contributes to the risk of psychosis. 48 Thus, results of the current study are consistent with the results of a study conducted by Griffith-Lendering et al, 49 which showed that throughout adolescence, the vulnerability to psychosis was associated with cannabis use. These findings are also consistent with the study by Kristensen and Cadenhead, 50 which targeted similar patients and found a relationship between cannabis and psychosis conversion.…”

Recovery from cannabis use disorders: Abstinence versus moderation and treatment-assisted recovery versus natural recovery.

“…In a systematic review, it has been reported that cannabis users who also smoke tobacco are more dependent on cannabis, have more psychosocial problems, and have poorer cessation outcomes than those who use cannabis but not tobacco (Peters, Budney, & Carroll, 2012); and a separate review concluded that some mechanisms linking cannabis and tobacco are distinct from those contributing to co-occurring drug use in general (Agrawal, Budney, & Lynskey, 2012). Finally, there has been a surge of research in recent years that has demonstrated not only robust links between cannabis use and risk of subsequent psychosis, but also a possible causal role of cannabis use in the development of psychosis among a subset of vulnerable individuals (Barkus & Murray, 2010;Dekker et al, 2012;Di Forti et al, 2012;Galvez-Buccollini et al, 2012;Griffith-Lendering, Wigman, van Leeuwen, Huijbregts, & Huizink, 2013;Large, Sharma, Compton, Slade, & Nielsson, 2011;Manrique-Garcia et al, 2012;Moore et al, 2007;Tosato et al, 2013).…”

Alcohol and Relatively Pure Cannabis Use, but Not Schizotypy, are Associated with Cognitive Attenuations

“…Most relevant to our reasoning, high schizotypy goes along with elevated substance use of, e.g., cannabis (24–28), nicotine, and alcohol (26, 29). Similarly, an elevated drug use has been reported in schizophrenia when compared to healthy controls (2, 6, 30–34). …”

“…Past year cannabis use was reported by about 11.2% of all 15–34 year olds (1). This elevated prevalence rate (when compared to other illicit drug use) is concerning, because cannabis use might go along with both cognitive attenuation (2, 3) and mental health problems, in particular psychosis (4–9). Yet, only a minority of cannabis users (CU) will develop psychotic illnesses (5–7, 10).…”