Longitudinal relations between substance use abstinence motivations and substance use behaviors in adolescence

A self‐determination theory approach

Bibliographic Data

ID19280966
AuthorsJoseph Moore (0000-0002-9822-0962, Stanford Graduate School of Education Stanford University Stanford CA USA), Sam A Hardy (0000-0003-1907-5080, Department of Psychology Brigham Young University Provo UT USA, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume88
Issue4
Pages735-747
Publication date2020-08-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Personality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3506 • E-ISSN: 1467-6494
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jopy.12522
PMID31651040
OpenAlexW2981684871
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited33

OBJECTIVE: We employed self-determination theory (SDT) as a framework for examining longitudinal relations between adolescents' motivations to abstain from substances and their subsequent substance use. METHOD: Participants were 475 adolescents in the United States. The data came from annual surveys following adolescents from age 16 to 19. The measures included self-reports of controlled and autonomous motivations to abstain from substances, as well as substance use frequency. RESULTS: We used structural equation modeling to estimate autoregressive cross-lagged models of controlled and autonomous abstinence motivations predicting substance use a year later (with 3 years of data on abstinence motivations and 4 years of data on substance use). Autonomous motivation predicted decreases in substance use, while controlled motivation predicted increases. Follow-up analyses also revealed that relations between abstinence motivations and substance use increase in strength with greater time lags, and decreases in autonomous abstinence motivation partially mediate the link between controlled abstinence motivation and later substance use. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the usefulness of SDT in understanding motivations to abstain from substance use during adolescence. In line with this theoretical approach, autonomous motivations for abstinence were adaptive while controlled motivations for abstinence were maladaptive

Abstinence · Developmental psychology · Longitudinal data · Longitudinal study · Psychiatry · Substance use · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Medicine · Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports · Psychology · Social Psychology

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