The role of personality, family influences, and prosocial risk‐taking behavior on substance use in early adolescence

Abstract

Impulsivity is clearly associated with adolescent substance use. However, contemporary models of impulsivity argue against a unitary construct and propose at least two potential facets of impulsivity: reward drive and disinhibition. This study investigated the mediating role of prosocial risk‐taking in the association between these two facets of impulsivity, family environment, and substance use in Grade 8 students, age 12–14 years (N = 969). For girls, traits related to disinhibition referred to as rash impulsivity were directly associated with greater substance use and, unexpectedly, reward drive was indirectly associated with greater substance use through participation in physical‐risk activities, which itself predicted greater use. For boys, participation in physical‐risk activities was the only direct predictor of substance use and, as in girls, reward drive conveyed indirect risk through this pathway. Family environment, reward drive, and rash impulsivity were associated with participation in performance‐risk activities, and prosocial behavior more generally, but neither of these hypothesized mediators was related to substance use.

Determinants of waterpipe smoking initiation among school children in Irbid, Jordan: A 4-year longitudinal analysis

“…Although research on risk factors for WP initiation among adolescents is nonexistent, the temporal precedence of many predictors identified here fit with earlier longitudinal studies on adolescent cigarette smoking initiation (O’Loughlin et al, 2009; Miller et al, 2006; Morgenstern et al, 2013; Bidstrup et al, 2009; Hiemstra et al, 2011; Scal et al, 2003; Ma et al, 2008; Vitória et al, 2011; Skara et al, 2001; Stanton et al, 2005; Chang et al, 2006; Fujimoto et al, 2012; Wood et al, 2013; Tyas and Pederson, 1998). Research has frequently shown that predisposing factors such as use of other tobacco products is predictive of cigarette initiation (O’Loughlin et al, 2009; Mzayek et al, 2012).…”

“…Research has frequently shown that predisposing factors such as use of other tobacco products is predictive of cigarette initiation (O’Loughlin et al, 2009; Mzayek et al, 2012). Some research has also shown that the peer influence common in team sports is associated with smoking behavior and that involvement in certain sports may be related to risk-taking, impulsivity, and consequently tobacco and other substance use (Wood et al, 2013; Fujimoto et al, 2012). It is possible that youth who are attracted to the social nature of team sports may also be attracted to the social nature of WP, an activity usually shared in a group (Blank et al, 2014; Maziak and Mzayek, 2000; Amrock et al, 2014).…”

Positive Risk Taking in Adolescence

“…Although we use the term positive risk taking , other researchers have described this phenomenon as prosocial (i.e., socially acceptable or the opposite of anti social) or adaptive (Fischer & Smith, ; Hansen & Breivik, ; Wood, Dawe, & Gullo, ). We choose the term positive because the term prosocial may be confounded with behaviors solely intended to benefit others (e.g., Do, Guassi Moreira, & Telzer, ).…”

“…Although findings are less clear, research suggests that self‐regulation may evince opposite associations with negative and positive risk taking. Although low self‐regulation is linked to greater negative risk taking (see Gottfredson & Hirschi, ), recent work suggests that higher self‐regulation is associated with higher levels of certain types of positive risk taking (Wood et al., ; but see Fischer & Smith, ). In one study of adolescents, positive risks were separated into performance (e.g., public speaking) scales and physical (e.g., extreme sports) scales (see Table ); higher performance, but not physical, positive risk taking, was associated with greater impulse control (Wood et al., ).…”

“…Although low self‐regulation is linked to greater negative risk taking (see Gottfredson & Hirschi, ), recent work suggests that higher self‐regulation is associated with higher levels of certain types of positive risk taking (Wood et al., ; but see Fischer & Smith, ). In one study of adolescents, positive risks were separated into performance (e.g., public speaking) scales and physical (e.g., extreme sports) scales (see Table ); higher performance, but not physical, positive risk taking, was associated with greater impulse control (Wood et al., ). These results suggest that the link between self‐regulation and positive risk taking may depend on the type of positive risks in question (e.g., those requiring planning and impulse control, like public speaking).…”