Adolescent Cannabis Use and Conduct Problems: the Mediating Influence of Callous-Unemotional Traits

AbstractCannabis use has been linked to an increased risk of engaging in conduct problem behaviors. However, little existing research has considered intervening processes and shared risk factors that may contribute to this association. The current investigation examines whether callous-unemotional traits, which have shown associations with adolescent cannabis use and conduct problem development, may exhibit a mediating influence on this relationship. Using a longitudinal cohort of youth (n = 390) at increased risk for escalating in their use of cannabis, we found that baseline cannabis use (age ~ 15) was associated with higher levels of trait-like conduct problems (ages ~ 16 and 17), even after controlling for important autoregressive and cross-lagged effects, along with a nu mber of other shared risk factors (e.g., co-occurring substance use, age, sex). Findings also revealed that callous-unemotional traits partially mediated this relationship, with the hypothesized model accounting for approximately one third of the report [ variance in the conduct problem outcome (R2 = .34). These results indicate that callous-unemotional traits may play an important intermediary role in the association between cannabis use and the development of problem behaviors.

Source: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - July 12, 2018 Category: Addiction Source Type: research