Cognitive factors affecting abstinence among adolescent polysubstance abusers

To examine cognitive variables in the maintenance of abstinence among polysubstance-abusing adolescents, analyses of data from 86 adolescents (31 current users, 24 relapsers, and 31 abstainers) were done. Significant differences among these groups were found on a number of cognitive measures. Adolescents successful in maintaining abstinence possessed greater strategic knowledge and greater strategy-related self-efficacy. Further, adolescents who remained abstinent experienced greater reduction in their perceived risk of relapse when exposed to high-risk situations and experienced a corresponding increase in general expectation of enduring abstinence. An exploratory path analysis yielded some unexpected multivariate relationships. In particular, adolescents' knowledge of coping skills and strategy-related self-efficacy did not affect directly their expectations for continued abstinence. Instead, knowledge of coping skill and skill-related confidence appeared to function primarily to free the adolescent from perceptions of risk for relapse and only indirectly to enhance expectations of lasting sobriety.