Delay discounting, self-control, and substance use among adult drug court participants.

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between two measures of impulsiveness and the odds of substance use among a sample of participants on an Australian drug court (n=80). Participants completed a computer-based delay discounting task, a paper-based delay discounting task, and a questionnaire-based measure of self-control. The delay discounting tasks measured individual differences in the value attributed to distal outcomes, which is one aspect of impulsive behavior that has been found to be over-represented among illicit drug users. The relationship between the measures of impulsiveness and the odds of substance use was assessed by fitting longitudinal panel regression models with adjustment for informative treatment dropout. Consistent with previous research, drug court participants were found to have higher discount rates (i.e. were more impulsive) than a noncriminal population of university students (n=101). Drug court participants also discounted delayed gains more than delayed losses. Delay discounting was not significantly associated with the odds of substance use on the drug court program. There was a positive relationship between the survey-based measure of impulsivity and the mean substance use frequency. The authors conclude that impulsivity is correlated with substance use among drug court participants but not when measuring impulsivity using a delay discounting paradigm.