How Substance Users With ADHD Perceive the Relationship Between Substance Use and Emotional Functioning.
Although substance use (SU) is elevated in ADHD and both are associated with disrupted emotional functioning, little is known about how emotions and SU interact in ADHD. We used a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach to explore this relationship.



Narrative comments were coded for 67 persistent (50 ADHD, 17 local normative comparison group [LNCG]) and 25 desistent (20 ADHD, 5 LNCG) substance users from the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) adult follow-up (21.7-26.7 years-old).



SU persisters perceived SU positively affects emotional states and positive emotional effects outweigh negative effects. No ADHD group effects emerged. Qualitative analysis identified perceptions that cannabis enhanced positive mood for ADHD and LNCG SU persisters, and improved negative mood and ADHD for ADHD SU persisters.



Perceptions about SU broadly and mood do not differentiate ADHD and non-ADHD SU persisters. However, perceptions that cannabis is therapeutic may inform ADHD-related risk for cannabis use.
1 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
John T
JT
Mitchell
2 University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Thomas S
TS
Weisner
3 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.|4 Reach Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Peter S
PS
Jensen
1 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.|5 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
Desiree W
DW
Murray
6 University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Brooke S G
BSG
Molina
7 Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
L Eugene
LE
Arnold
8 McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Lily
L
Hechtman
9 University of California, Irvine, USA.
James M
JM
Swanson
10 University of California, Berkeley, USA.|11 University of California, San Francisco, USA.
Stephen P
SP
Hinshaw
1 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Elizabeth C
EC
Victor
1 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Scott H
SH
Kollins
1 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Karen C
KC
Wells
10 University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Katherine A
KA
Belendiuk
1 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Andrew
A
Blonde
9 University of California, Irvine, USA.
Celeste
C
Nguyen
2 University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Lizeth
L
Ambriz
9 University of California, Irvine, USA.
Jenny L
JL
Nguyen
D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D036301:Qualitative Research; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
ADHD; MTA study; qualitative research; substance use