Thrill-seeking, disruptive behaviour and cannabis use

High-intensity pleasure seeking refers to a tendency in teenagers to look for physical and social thrills. Broadly speaking it's what makes some kids go for raves and snowboarding while others go for hanging around in shopping centres and watching TV. A team of researchers from the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam looked into the links between high-intensity pleasure seeking, disruptive behaviour and the early onset of cannabis use. They found that both early-adolescent high-intensity pleasure seeking and disruptive behaviour (naughtiness and attention-deficity hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)) were linked to an early start smoking cannabis. However, there was little interaction between the two factors suggesting that thrill-seeking and disruptive behaviour lead on to cannabis use by different 'pathways.'

Creemers, Hanneke E. ... [et al] - Predicting onset of cannabis use in early adolescence: the interrelation between high-intensity pleasure and disruptive behavior: the TRAILS study Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs November 2009, 70(6), 850-858