Conduct problems moderate self-medication and mood-related drinking consequences in adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
We tested whether conduct problems moderate the relation between negative mood and drinking in adolescents as consistent with either a self-medication or a drinking consequences model.


METHODS
The sample included 75 rising ninth graders (i.e., in the summer before starting ninth grade) who completed a two-stage, multimethod, multireporter study. We used experience sampling to assess negative mood and drinking across 21 days and hierarchical linear modeling to test our hypotheses.


RESULTS
Counter to predictions, both self-medication and drinking consequence mechanisms were evident only in youth with fewer conduct problems.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings provide support for the importance of considering multiple mechanisms as underlying the relation between negative mood and drinking as pertaining to subpopulations of vulnerable youth. Implications for prevention and understanding negative mood-drinking relations in adolescents are discussed.
Hussong
Andrea M
AM
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#3270 Davie Hall, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3270, USA. ahussong@email.unc.edu
Gould
Laura Feagans
LF
Hersh
Matthew A
MA
D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012651:Self Medication / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology