Alcohol and other drug use are common in youth,
but neurocognitive sequelae are unclear. This study examines
the relationship between neuropsychological functioning
and protracted substance use in adolescence. One hundred
fifteen adolescents, ages 13 to 19 years, were recruited
from inpatient substance abuse treatment programs and followed
for 4 years. Adolescents were administered a comprehensive
battery of neuropsychological tests and evaluated on substance
use involvement during treatment, and at 6-month, 1-year,
2-year, and 4-year follow-up time points. Protracted substance
abuse over the 4 years of follow-up was associated with
significantly poorer subsequent functioning on tests of
attention. In addition, alcohol and drug withdrawal accounted
for significant variance in visuospatial functioning, above
and beyond demographic, educational, and health variables
in detoxified late adolescents and young adults. Results
suggest that alcohol and drug withdrawal may be a more
powerful marker of protracted neuropsychological impairments
than other indices of youthful alcohol and drug involvement.
(JINS, 1999, 5, 481–493.)
An application of principal stratification to control for institutionalization at follow-up in studies of substance abuse treatment programs
