The association between neurocognitive functioning and smoking in adolescence: The TRAILS study.

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the association between neurocognitive functioning and tobacco smoking in adolescence. Method: Data from three measurements of the longitudinal Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), a large regional population-based cohort study of Dutch adolescents, were used. The first measurement took place in 2001–2002 (T1) when participants were age 11, with two follow-up measurements (2003–2004 and 2005–2007; T2 and T3, respectively). A total of 1,797 adolescents participated in all three waves. At T1, they performed a selection of tasks from the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks program (De Sonneville, 1999), which enabled the assessment of the main aspects of neurocognitive functioning. Smoking was assessed with a self-report questionnaire at T1, T2, and T3. In the multivariate analyses we controlled for gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES) and baseline speed. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that poor sustained attention increased the likelihood that the adolescent would initiate smoking between T1 and T2. Low inhibition of prepotent responses increased the likelihood of smoking initiation between T1 and T3. An increased ability to inhibit biased response tendencies reduced the likelihood of being a daily smoker at T2. Poor sustained attention increased the likelihood of being a daily smoker at T3. Conclusion: Poor sustained attention and low inhibition predicted adolescent smoking. However, the proportion of the variance in smoking risk accounted for by these neurocognitive predictors proved to be small. Thus, although neurocognitive functioning is related to adolescent smoking, it seems to explain only a small part of why adolescents initiate and continue smoking.

Executive functioning and substance use in adolescence: Neurobiological and behavioral perspectives

“…Another longitudinal study based on a large sample of Dutch adolescents found no significant effects of working memory on the likelihood of initiating smoking or becoming daily smokers a few years later. Although inhibition was not predictive of future daily smoking either, adolescents with low inhibition at ages 10–11 years were more likely to endorse that they have ever smoked at ages 15–17 years, compared to those with high inhibition (Harakeh et al, 2012). However, predicting complete abstinence throughout adolescence may not be as meaningful as evidence of early onset or patterns of substance use in predicting future abuse and addiction (e.g., Stone, Becker, Huber, & Catalano, 2012).…”

“…1999 Composite: Stroop;Porteus maze task;Vigilance task; Motorrestraint task;Forbidden toy task;Block design task 275 (106 high-risk youth; 169low-risk youth) 10–12(baseline) 100% male β = .28* to −2.25* a Giancola & Parker 2001 Composite: Porteusmaze task; Motorrestraint task;Vigilance task;Forbidden toy task;Block design task 187 (69 withfamily history ofsubstance usedisorder, SUD;21 with familyhistory other thanSUD; 97controls) 10–12(baseline) 100% male r = −.02 Giancola et al. 2001 Composite: Porteusmaze task; Motorrestraint task; Strooptask; Vigilance task;Block design task;Picture arrangementtask; Object assemblytask 282 (188 withsubstance usedisorder; 94controls) 14–18 100%female b * = −.16*/.08for low/highantisocial behaviorgroup Groenman et al 2015 Stop task; Shiftingattentional set task;Visuospacialsequencing; Digit spanbackward task 669 (294 ADHDprobands; 161unaffectedsiblings; 214controls) 11–12(baseline) 78%, 41%,39% male,respectively All p values > .05 Harakeh et al. 2012 Memory search taskand Shifting set task 1797 communityyouth 11(baseline) 49% male OR = 1.21 and 2.24* Jonker et al.…”

Catechol‐O‐methyltransferase gene methylation and substance use in adolescents: the TRAILS study

“…Smoking was assessed with the question: ‘How many cigarettes did you smoke in the past 4 weeks?’ Adolescents who had not smoked in the past 4 weeks were categorized as non‐smokers. Adolescents who had smoked less than one cigarette a day in the past 4 weeks were categorized as non‐daily smokers and those who had smoked one or more cigarettes per day as daily smokers (Harakeh et al ). Cannabis use was assessed with the question: ‘How many times have you used weed (marijuana) or hash in the past 4 weeks?’ Adolescents who had not used cannabis in the past 4 weeks were categorized as non‐users.…”

“…Adolescents who had not smoked in the past 4 weeks were categorized as non-smokers. Adolescents who had smoked less than one cigarette a day in the past 4 weeks were categorized as non-daily smokers and those who had smoked one or more cigarettes per day as daily smokers (Harakeh et al 2012). Cannabis use was assessed with the question: 'How many times have you used weed (marijuana) or hash in the past 4 weeks?'…”

Age and impulsive behavior in drug addiction: A review of past research and future directions

“…Fernie et al (2013) showed that poor performance in the Stop-Signal task predicted later alcohol involvement, while alcohol involvement did not predict later performance in this task. Mixed results have also been produced with tobacco outcomes, with most studies failing to identify a significant effect (Galvan et al, 2011; Groenman et al, 2015; Harakeh et al, 2012; Smith et al, 2014). Further, most studies with adolescent samples included in the meta-analysis by Smith et al (2014) showed small and nonsignificant associations between prepotent response inhibition and drug use.…”