Steeper Delay Discounting Among Substance-Abusing and Substance-Dependent Adolescents Versus Controls

Abstract

Delay discounting refers to the tendency to prefer smaller-sooner outcomes over larger-delayed outcomes and is associated with substance abuse and dependence in adult populations. However, few studies have examined delay discounting in the context of adolescent substance abuse. Adolescent substance abusers (N = 19) who met criteria for substance abuse or substance dependence and non-abusing adolescent community controls (N = 42) completed the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (Kirby, Petry, & Bickel, 1999), which provides an estimate of delay discounting rate. Substance-abusing and -dependent participants evidenced higher rates of delay discounting than did controls, even after controlling for ethnicity and gender. These findings suggest that delay discounting may represent an important behavioral process for understanding adolescent substance abuse.

Keywords:

• delay discounting
• impulsivity
• substance abuse
• substance dependence