ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises a selection of the psychological determinants of substance misuse. Depending on maturity, children or young people may lack emotional or cognitive capacities to weigh the potential harms or perhaps benefits associated with substance misuse. In the absence of secure attachment, children and young people experience anxiety and persistent needs to seek security. Children and young people who have a tendency to indulge in anti-social behaviour are at greater than average risk of both drug use and trauma. ‘Socialization’ was a measure of adaptation to societal norms, ‘or adaptive pole, of the behavioral disinhibition liability that underlies externalizing disorders’ and those with this characteristic were unlikely to use substances. Children exhibiting ‘boldness’ were ‘sociable, socially fearless and dominant, resilient to stress, lacking anxiety, and thrill seeking’ and were at risk of later substance misuse.
