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Unpacking the Longitudinal Associations between the Frequency of Substance Use, Substance Use Related Problems, and Academic Achievement among Adolescents

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Abstract

Previous research repeatedly observed associations between academic achievement and substance use during adolescence. However, the simple frequency of substance use was not differentiated from the emergence of substance use related problems, such as abuse and dependence. This study presents autoregressive cross-lagged models describing inter-relations between academic achievement, frequency of substance use, and substance use related problems among a sample of 1034 seventh graders (46% female; 83% White North Americans; Mage = 12.64 years, SDage = 0.65) who participated in a four-year longitudinal study. The stability of measurement structure of frequency of substance use and substance use related problems was supported. Higher frequency of substance use and substance use related problems did not predict lower academic achievement. A higher academic achievement predicted a later increase in frequency of substance use and substance use related problems in boys, whereas a higher academic achievement predicted a lower frequency of substance use in girls. Although substance use related problems were mainly predicted by frequency of substance use, substance use can remain, nonetheless, non-problematic during adolescence.

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Authors’ Contributions

C.H. drafted the manuscript, and interpreted the data. A.J.S.M. conceived the study, participated in its design, coordinated the data collection, helped to draft the manuscript, performed the statistical analysis, and interpreted the data. J.S.F. participated to the study at all stages (conception, design, and data collection), and helped draft the manuscript and interpret the results. J.M.L. and A.D.B. contributed to the literature review, and helped to draft the manuscript. M.J. conceived the study, participated in its design, data collection, and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This study was made possible by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) awarded to the second and last authors.

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This manuscript’s data will not be deposited.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Christophe Huỳnh, Alexandre J. S. Morin

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Institute on Addictions, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Christophe Huỳnh, Jean-Sébastien Fallu & Joëlle Maguire-L.

  2. School of Psychoeducation, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Christophe Huỳnh, Jean-Sébastien Fallu, Joëlle Maguire-L. & Ariane Descheneaux-Buffoni

  3. Psychiatry and Addiction Department, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Christophe Huỳnh

  4. Recherche et intervention sur les substances psychoactives—Québec (RISQ), Québec City, QC, Canada

    Christophe Huỳnh & Jean-Sébastien Fallu

  5. Substantive-Methodological Synergy Research Laboratory, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Alexandre J. S. Morin

  6. School Environment Research Group, School of Psychoeducation, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Michel Janosz

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  1. Christophe Huỳnh
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Correspondence to Christophe Huỳnh.

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Huỳnh, C., Morin, A.J.S., Fallu, JS. et al. Unpacking the Longitudinal Associations between the Frequency of Substance Use, Substance Use Related Problems, and Academic Achievement among Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 48, 1327–1341 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01038-7

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