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Article

Exploring Definitions of “Addiction” in Adolescents and Young Adults and Correlation with Substance Use Behaviors

by
S. Elisha LePine
1,2,*,
Elias M. Klemperer
1,3,
Julia C. West
1,3,
Catherine Peasley-Miklus
1,
Caitlin McCluskey
1,
Amanda Jones
4,
Maria Roemhildt
4,
Megan Trutor
5,
Rhonda Williams
6 and
Andrea Villanti
1,3,7
1
Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
2
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
3
Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
4
Health Surveillance, Vermont Department of Health, Burlington, VT 05402, USA
5
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Programs, Vermont Department of Health, Burlington, VT 05402, USA
6
Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, Vermont Department of Health, Burlington, VT 05402, USA
7
Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies, Department of Health Behavior, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 8075; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138075
Submission received: 17 May 2022 / Revised: 24 June 2022 / Accepted: 28 June 2022 / Published: 30 June 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of Addictive Behaviors)
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Abstract

(1) Background: Young people engage in addictive behaviors, but little is known about how they understand addiction. The present study examined how young people describe addiction in their own words and correlations between their definitions and substance use behaviors. (2) Methods: Young adults (n = 1146) in the PACE Vermont Study responded to an open-ended item “what does “addiction” mean?” in 2019. Responses were coded using three inductive categories and fifteen subcategories. Quantitative analyses examined correlations between addiction theme definitions, demographics, and substance use behaviors. (3) Participants frequently defined addiction by physiological (68%) and psychological changes (65%) and less by behavioral changes (6%), or all three (3%); young adults had higher odds of defining addiction as physiological or behavioral changes than adolescents. Participants who described addiction as “psychological changes” had lower odds of ever electronic vapor product use (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.57–1.00) than those using another definition, controlling for age and sex. (4) Perceptions of addiction in our sample aligned with existing validated measures of addiction. Findings discriminated between familiar features of addiction and features that may be overlooked by young adults. Substance users may employ definitions that exclude the symptoms they are most likely to experience.
Keywords: youth; young adult; addiction; substance use; intervention; messaging; mixed methods; qualitative youth; young adult; addiction; substance use; intervention; messaging; mixed methods; qualitative

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

LePine, S.E.; Klemperer, E.M.; West, J.C.; Peasley-Miklus, C.; McCluskey, C.; Jones, A.; Roemhildt, M.; Trutor, M.; Williams, R.; Villanti, A. Exploring Definitions of “Addiction” in Adolescents and Young Adults and Correlation with Substance Use Behaviors. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 8075. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138075

AMA Style

LePine SE, Klemperer EM, West JC, Peasley-Miklus C, McCluskey C, Jones A, Roemhildt M, Trutor M, Williams R, Villanti A. Exploring Definitions of “Addiction” in Adolescents and Young Adults and Correlation with Substance Use Behaviors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(13):8075. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138075

Chicago/Turabian Style

LePine, S. Elisha, Elias M. Klemperer, Julia C. West, Catherine Peasley-Miklus, Caitlin McCluskey, Amanda Jones, Maria Roemhildt, Megan Trutor, Rhonda Williams, and Andrea Villanti. 2022. "Exploring Definitions of “Addiction” in Adolescents and Young Adults and Correlation with Substance Use Behaviors" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 13: 8075. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138075

APA Style

LePine, S. E., Klemperer, E. M., West, J. C., Peasley-Miklus, C., McCluskey, C., Jones, A., Roemhildt, M., Trutor, M., Williams, R., & Villanti, A. (2022). Exploring Definitions of “Addiction” in Adolescents and Young Adults and Correlation with Substance Use Behaviors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(13), 8075. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138075

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