Yousef Zohdi - Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
Parvaneh Mohammadkhani - Social Welfare Management Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Alireza Karimpour-Vazifehkhorani - Department of Clinical psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Objective: During adolescence, transformations in the neural circuitry of the brain’s reward system can lead to vulnerabilities that pave the way for involvement in criminal and addictive behaviors. Some mental disorders (e.g., conduct disorder) are more comorbid with substance use disorders because of their unique nature.This study examines the role of anhedonia and low arousal in substance use disorders among adolescents with conduct disorder symptoms. Methods: The present correlational study was conducted in ۲۰۲۱ in Tabriz City, Iran. The participants were ۷۸۴ adolescents with Conduct Disorder (CD) aging from ۱۳ to ۱۷ years at Juvenile Detention Centers (JDC). After the attrition, ۴۳۶ adolescents remained. We used convenience sampling for the sampling method. In addition, we utilized the substance abuse scale, the conduct disorder rating scale, the self-assessment anhedonia scale, and the how I feel scale to collect the data. After the ethical approval and signed informed consent, the questionnaires were distributed among participants. After collecting the questionnaires, we entered the data into the SPSS software, version ۲۳, for analysis. Results: The Addiction Potential Scale (APS) had a significant and direct correlation with physical anhedonia (r=۰.۲۲۶, P<۰.۰۱), intellectual anhedonia (r=۰.۲۲۱, P<۰.۰۱), social anhedonia (r=۰.۲۳۶, P<۰.۰۱), and negative emotion (r=۰.۲۱۱, P<۰.۰۱). Substance use increases with an increase in anhedonia. On the other hand, APS had a significant and reversal correlation with positive emotion (r=-۰.۱۷۳, P<۰.۰۵), and positive and negative emotion control (r=-۰.۱۹۷, P<۰.۰۱), i.e., less positive emotion and weak control of positive and negative emotions lead to substance use disorder among adolescents with conduct disorder. Conclusion: Impulsive behaviors (e.g., substance use disorder) respond to low arousal and anhedonia among adolescents with conduct disorder symptoms to relieve their negative emotions and strengthen their low arousal.

Anhedonia, Low arousal, Substance use disorder, Adolescents, Conduct disorder