IMPLICIT COGNITION IN ADOLESCENT DRUG-USE

Implicit cognitive responses to drug use cues and drug outcomes, asses sed with measures of memory association, were studied in a sample of h igh-risk White and Latino adolescents. The utility of these responses as predictors of drug use was examined and compared with potentially c onfounding predictors, including gender, socioeconomic status, ethnici ty, and acculturation. The background variables also served as potenti al moderators of the effects of implicit cognition. The results reveal ed that measures of memory association were consistent, direct-effect predictors of marijuana and alcohol use. In addition, these implicit c ognitive measures were stronger predictors than were the background va riables, and their predictive effects were not moderated by other vari ables. The results provide further support for the implicit cognition perspective in drug use.