Dichotic listening deficits and the prediction of substance use in young boys

Objective: Prior studies note relationships among verbal deficits, disruptive psychopathology, and substance use. The current study examines the relationship between verbal deficits, assessed through a dichotic listening test, and children's substance use. Method: A series of 87 young boys was prospectively followed over a 1- to 2-year period. A prior study in these boys noted a cross-sectional relationship between disruptive psychopathology and deficits on a dichotic consonant-vowel listening test. The current study examines the predictive relationship between this language-related deficit at one study wave and substance use assessed during a follow-up study wave. Results: Reduced right ear accuracy, reflecting a deficit in left hemisphere processing ability, predicted substance use at follow-up. This association was independent of any other predictors, including cognitive or behavioral indices of substance use risk. Conclusions: A lateralized deficit in verbal processing on a dichotic listening task predicts change in substance use by follow-up. Findings are consistent with other evidence linking early childhood lateralization abnormalities to development of disruptive psychopathology.