The Qualitative Interview Study of Persistent and Nonpersistent Substance Use in the MTA: Sample Characteristics, Frequent Use, and Reasons for Use

Objective:To evaluate participants’ perceptions about frequent use and reasons for substance use (SU) in the qualitative interview study, an add-on to the multimodal treatment study of ADHD (MTA). Method: Using the longitudinal MTA database, 39 ADHD cases and 19 peers with Persistent SU, and 86 ADHD cases and 39 peers without Persistent SU were identified and recruited. In adulthood, an open-ended interview was administered, and SU excerpts were indexed and classified to create subtopics (frequent use and reasons for use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs). Results: For marijuana, the Persistent compared with Nonpersistent SU group had a significantly higher percentage of participants describing frequent use and giving reasons for use, and the ADHD group compared with the group of peers had a significantly higher percentage giving “stability” as a reason for use. Conclusion: Motivations for persistent marijuana use may differ for adults with and without a history of ADHD