title: Working memory capacity moderates the predictive effects of drug-related associations on substance use.
abstract: Some theories suggest that spontaneously activated, drug-related associations in memory may have a "freer reign" in predicting drug use among individuals with lower working memory capacity. This study evaluated this hypothesis among 145 at-risk youth attending continuation high schools (CHS). This is the 1st study to evaluate this type of dual-process interaction in the prediction of drug use among a sample of at-risk adolescents. The CHS students completed assessments of drug-related memory associations, working memory capacity, and drug use. Control variables included age, gender, ethnicity, and acculturation. Robust multiple regression using least trimmed squares estimation indicated that there was a significant linear by linear interaction between working memory capacity (assessed with the self-ordered pointing task) and drug-related associations (assessed with verb generation and cue-behavior association tasks) in the prediction of alcohol and cigarette use. Consistent with dual-process cognitive theories, drug-related associations in memory predicted drug use more strongly in students with lower levels of working memory capacity. These findings add to the literature implicating the influence of dual cognitive processes in adolescent risk behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 91803, USA. grenard@usc.edu
authors.forename: Jerry L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Grenard
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ames
authors.forename: Reinout W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Wiers
authors.forename: Carolien
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thush
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sussman
authors.forename: Alan W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Stacy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001244:Association; D015897:Comorbidity; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011336:Probability; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014936:Word Association Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
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