Working Memory and Response Inhibition Effects on At-Risk Youth’s Willingness to Use Multiple Nicotine and Tobacco Products

Abstract

Purpose: Past research has suggested that executive functions, such as working memory and response inhibition, predict the use of nicotine and tobacco products (NTPs). The current study extends prior research by assessing whether response inhibition and working memory are associated with at-risk youth’s willingness to use NTPs. Methods: A sample of 1060 at-risk youth were recruited from alternative high schools in southern California. Participants were randomly assigned to complete the Symmetry Span Task, an indicator of working memory ability, or the cued Go/No-Go task, an indicator of response inhibition. Participants who reported never using NTPs (n = 348) indicated how willing they would be try NTPs. Results: Results from a cross-sectional zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression suggest that females with stronger working memory skills and individuals with weaker response inhibition skills were more likely to be unwilling to use NTPs. Conclusion: While further research is needed to determine whether executive functions can prospectively predict NTP use among at-risk youth, the current study indicates that both working memory and response inhibition may play a significant role.

Keywords:

• Willingness
• working memory
• response inhibition
• executive functions
• nicotine use

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Sandy Asad, Sara J Asad, Melissa Garrido, Sarah Z Gonzalez, Hannah Jornacion, and Brenda Lisa Lucero for their tireless efforts recruiting alternative high school students.

Contributions

Maya Pilin wrote this manuscript and completed data analyses. James Pike reviewed all versions of this manuscript and assisted with data analysis. Dr. Bin Xie assisted with data analysis and provided feedback on the manuscript. Dr. Alan Stacy supervised the research project and provided feedback on the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript for submission.

Data availability statement

Datasets and documentation will be made available by Dr. Alan W Stacy upon request.

Disclaimer

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Food and Drug Administration.

Disclosure statement

No conflicts of interest declared.

Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Claremont Graduate University Institutional Review Board.

Participant consent

Written consent was provided by all study participants. Parental consent and youth assent was obtained for participants under the age of 18.

Provenance and peer review

Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products (R01HD077560).