Role of conduct problems in the relation between Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity disorder, substance use, and gaming

G H Schoenmacker; A P Groenman; E Sokolova; J Oosterlaan; N Rommelse; H Roeyers; R D Oades; S V Faraone; B Franke; T Heskes; A Arias Vasquez; T Claassen; J K Buitelaar

doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.06.003

Role of conduct problems in the relation between Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity disorder, substance use, and gaming

Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2020 Jan:30:102-113. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.06.003. Epub 2018 Oct 3.

Authors

G H Schoenmacker¹, A P Groenman², E Sokolova³, J Oosterlaan², N Rommelse⁴, H Roeyers⁵, R D Oades⁶, S V Faraone⁷, B Franke⁸, T Heskes⁹, A Arias Vasquez¹⁰, T Claassen⁹, J K Buitelaar¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Gido.Schoenmacker@radboudumc.nl.
² Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Science, Clinical Neuropsychology Section, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
⁴ Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Centre, Radboud University Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁶ Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
⁷ Departments of Psychiatry and of Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA; K.G. Jebsen Centre for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁸ Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
⁹ Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
¹⁰ Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Alejandro.AriasVasquez@radboudumc.nl.
¹¹ Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Centre, Radboud University Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

PMID: 30292416
DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.06.003

Abstract

Known comorbidities for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) include conduct problems, substance use disorder and gaming. Comorbidity with conduct problems may increase the risk for substance use disorder and gaming in individuals with ADHD. The aim of the study was to build a causal model of the relationships between ADHD and comorbid conduct problems, and alcohol, nicotine, and other substance use, and gaming habits, while accounting for age and sex. We used a state-of-the-art causal discovery algorithm to analyze a case-only sample of 362 ADHD-diagnosed individuals in the ages 12-24 years. We found that conduct problem severity mediates between ADHD severity and nicotine use, but not with more severe alcohol or substance use. More severe ADHD-inattentive symptoms lead to more severe gaming habits. Furthermore, our model suggests that ADHD severity has no influence on severity of alcohol or other drug use. Our findings suggest that ADHD severity is a risk factor for nicotine use, and that this effect is fully mediated by conduct problem severity. Finally, ADHD-inattentive severity was a risk factor for gaming, suggesting that gaming dependence has a different causal pathway than substance dependence and should be treated differently. By identifying these intervention points, our model can aid both researchers and clinicians.

Keywords: Alcohol dependence; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Causal discovery; Disruptive, impulse control, and conduct disorders; Gaming dependence; Nicotine dependence.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / diagnosis
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / epidemiology
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology*
Bayes Theorem
Case-Control Studies
Child
Child, Preschool
Conduct Disorder / diagnosis
Conduct Disorder / epidemiology
Conduct Disorder / psychology*
Female
Humans
Internet Addiction Disorder / diagnosis
Internet Addiction Disorder / epidemiology
Internet Addiction Disorder / psychology*
Male
Risk Factors
Substance-Related Disorders / diagnosis
Substance-Related Disorders / epidemiology
Substance-Related Disorders / psychology*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Video Games / psychology*

Grants and funding

R01 MH094469/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States