Symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and early cannabis use

Abstract

In this study, the relation between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and early cannabis use was examined. A database, with information from a questionnaire about multiple lifestyle aspects such as (psychosocial) health and behaviour, completed by 2nd and 3rd graders in secondary school (N=3166) was used. It was expected that adolescents with a high score on ADHD symptoms, measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, use more cannabis than their controls. Furthermore, ADHD symptoms were divided in hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI) and inattention (IN) symptoms, whereby the HI-group was expected to use more cannabis than controls, but the IN-group would not differ from the controls. Taking gender, symptoms of CD and the interaction between the latter two into account, a positive relation between ADHD symptoms and HI symptoms in adolescents and recent cannabis use was found. However, the effects found are small and decreased to insignificance when controlling for current smoking behaviour. Surprisingly, a negative effect for IN symptoms on recent cannabis use was found.