Sociability, drinking motives, and alcohol use problems among young adults with and without childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

BACKGROUND

Young adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of experiencing alcohol use problems compared to peers without ADHD. Poorer parent-rated social functioning has been associated both positively and negatively with alcohol use among youth with ADHD. However, individuals' self-perceptions of their sociability, or comfort in social situations, could be more specifically linked to risky alcohol outcomes via drinking motives. We tested associations among ADHD, self-reported sociability, social and coping drinking motives, and alcohol use outcomes in young adulthood.

METHOD: A total of 333 young adults (53% with ADHD diagnosed in childhood; 80% non-Hispanic White; 10% female participants) reported their sociability, social and coping drinking motives, heavy alcohol use between ages 18 and 21, and their heavy alcohol use and alcohol-associated problems at age 23. Zero-inflated negative binomial path models were tested and mediation was evaluated using the joint significance test.

RESULTS

Results supported the possibility of a social motives "protective" pathway, such that young adults with ADHD histories were less likely than peers to endorse social drinking motives and, in turn, reported better alcohol use outcomes. A low sociability-high coping motives association was also supported such that young adults with ADHD histories were more likely than peers to self-report low sociability and thus higher coping drinking motives, which were associated with worse alcohol use outcomes later.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering the perceptions of sociability among young adults with ADHD may help disentangle complex social pathways to alcohol use. Results highlight the need to develop healthy coping strategies among young adults with ADHD.