Genetic and shared environmental factors explain the association between adolescent polysubstance use and high school noncompletion.
Christal N DavisIan R GizerArpana AgrawalDixie J StathamAndrew C HeathNicholas G MartinWendy S SlutskePublished in: Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors (2023)
The association between polysubstance use and early school dropout was largely accounted for by genetic and shared environmental factors, with nonsignificant evidence for a potentially causal association. Future research should examine whether underlying shared risk factors reflect a general propensity for addiction, a broader externalizing liability, or a combination of the two. More evidence using finer measurement of substance use is needed to rule out a causal association between adolescent polysubstance use and high school noncompletion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).