When You See It, Let It Be: Urgency, Mindfulness & Adolescent Substance Use

The emotion-based domains of impulsivity, positive and negative urgency, are facets that have garnered attention due to their associations with substance use, and mindfulness based strategies have shown promise in reducing substance use in adults. The aim of the current study was to examine relations among urgency, mindfulness, and substance use in adolescence. 

Cross-sectional data were collected from students (N = 1,051) at a large, private high school in the Pacific Northwest. Both positive and negative urgency were uniquely associated with greater likelihood of lifetime and current alcohol use; only positive urgency predicted lifetime marijuana use. 

Mindfulness was associated with a lower likelihood of lifetime alcohol or marijuana use. Interactions between urgency and mindfulness were not supported. Our findings highlight the need to explore relations among baseline mindfulness, skills based mindfulness, and personality in adolescent alcohol and other drug use.

HIGHLIGHTS

• We explored relationships among urgency, mindfulness, and substance use.
• Positive and negative urgency were associated with greater alcohol use.
• Mindfulness associated with lower lifetime alcohol and marijuana use.
• Interactions between urgency and mindfulness were not supported.

Read more at: http://ht.ly/SpFEU

By: Joanna M. Robinson, Benjamin O. Ladd, and Kristen G. Anderson*

Reed College, Department of Psychology, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., Portland, OR 97202, United States


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