57 Behavioral problems in Take it Personal! 3 problems. A recent study demonstrated its effectiveness on substance use frequency at 3-months post intervention (Schijven et al., 2020a). Emotional and behavioral problems are highly prevalent among adolescents and young adults with a mild intellectual disability (Dekker et al., 2002) and have known associations with substance use (Barrett & Paschos, 2006; Didden et al., 2009). It remains to be determined if Take it Personal! is effective in reducing emotional and behavioral problems and what impact these problems have on the program’s effect on the substance use of adolescents and young adults with a mild intellectual disability. However, the role of emotional and behavioral problems in personality targeted substance use prevention programs has received attention for adolescents and young adults without a mild intellectual disability. Indeed, evidence suggests that the personality targeted substance use prevention approach for adolescents without a mild intellectual disability (Conrod et al., 2006) also reduces specific problem behaviors such as panic attacks, truancy, and shop lifting (Castellanos & Conrod, 2006) and problem domains depression, anxiety and conduct problems (O’Leary-Barrett et al., 2013). The evidence on the how emotional and behavioral problems impact substance use outcomes in personality-targeted substance use interventions for adolescents and young adults without a mild intellectual disability is more limited. One study demonstrated that youth with higher levels of hyperactivity, inattention, and conduct problems were significantly more likely to decrease their substance use over a 24-month period (Perrier-Ménard et al., 2017). Edalati and Conrod (2019) therefore suggest that youth with higher levels of pre-existing behavioral problems benefit either equally or more in terms reduced substance use. The current study aims to examine the role of internalizing and externalizing problems in Take it Personal!—a prevention program that is effective in reducing substance use frequency (Schijven et al., 2020a). The program was primary aimed at reducing substance use, but targeted adolescents and young adults’ emotional and behavioral problems as a secondary aim. The current study builds on previous work by examining the program’s effectiveness on emotional and behavioral problems. Specifically, we hypothesize that the program is also effective in reducing anxious, withdrawn, rule-breaking, and aggressive problem domains. Furthermore, the moderating role of these problem domains on the frequency of substance use is explored, assessing whether pre-existing levels of anxious, withdrawn, rule-breaking, and aggressive problems impact the program’s effectiveness on reducing substance use. We make no specific predictions regarding this research question, due to its exploratory nature and purpose. This study’s
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