In “Concussion, Sensation-Seeking and Substance Use Among US Adolescents” authors Phil Veliz, PhD, Sean Esteban McCabe ,PhD, James T. Eckner, MD, MS, and John E. Schulenberg, PhD assess the association between lifetime history of diagnosed concussions, sensation-seeking, and recent substance use (i.e., cigarette use, binge drinking, marijuana use, illicit drug use, and nonmedical prescription drug use) using the 2016 and 2017 Monitoring the Future study of 25,408 8th, 10th, and 12th graders.
“We found substantial differences in substance use between adolescents reporting only one diagnosed concussion and those reporting two or more diagnosed concussions during their lifetime. In particular, the positive association between substance use and concussion increases with the accumulation of brain injuries during adolescence. The results suggest that exposure to a single diagnosed concussion is associated with a modest increase in the risk of substance use. Substance abuse prevention efforts should be directed toward adolescents who have experienced multiple head injuries given that this subpopulation is more likely to experience cognitive impairments that influence riskier forms of behavior.”
You can read this commentary in SAj Volume 42, Issue 2 or online.
Follow us on twitter to stay up to date with new publications!