Gender Differences in the Relationships among Young Adults' Religiosity, Risk Perception, and Marijuana Use: A Moderated Mediation Model

Further Validation of the Religious Surrender and Attendance Scale-3 (RSAS-3)

Background: The Religious Surrender and Attendance Scale -3 (RSAS-3) is a very brief measure used to quantify religious commitment as a protective health factor.Methods: To provide evidence of criterion-related validity of the RSAS-3, 440 community members and undergraduate students completed a survey containing three religiosity measures: the RSAS-3, the Intrinsic/Extrinsic Orientation scale, and the Belief into Action scale (BIAC), and a measure of problematic substance use, Texas Christian University Drug Screen-5. It was hypothesized all religiosity measures would be positively interrelated, the measure of problematic use would be negatively related to all religiosity measures, and that the RSAS-3 would be strongly predictive of absence of problematic substance use. After data filtering and imputation, bivariate correlations were calculated to establish convergent validity.Results: All relationships were in the predicted directions. Specifically, BIAC had the strongest relationship with the RSAS-3, r (440) = .906, p < .001, followed by intrinsic religiosity, r (440) =.814, p < .001, and extrinsic religiosity, r (440) = .694, p < .001. The RSAS-3 was the strongest predictor of problematic use among the religiosity measures, r (440) = -0.230, p <.001. Criterion-related validity of the RSAS-3 was supported using logistic regression to explore intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, BIAC, and RSAS-3 as predictors of the presence/absence of problematic substance use. The RSAS-3 was the only significant predictor (OR = .858 [95% CI .757 - .973], p = .017).Conclusion: All results provide further evidence for the validity of the RSAS-3 as a very brief measure of religious commitment useful in health settings.

Simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use among college students in the United States, 2006-2019

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US college students’ simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use rate was rising.

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There was an upward trend of SAM use among Black college students (2006–2019).

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Hispanic and Asian American/Pacific Islander students’ trend remained stable.

Objective

Simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use exposes college students to a myriad of adverse consequences. However, there is no recent nationally representative study on SAM use among college students in the United States (US). To provide an update to the literature, the present study aimed to examine the trends, prevalence, and correlates of SAM use among US college students between 2006 and 2019, using nationally representative data.

Method

We used data from the 2006–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and the analytic sample was limited to the 55,669 full-time college student respondents (ages 18–22). Using logistic regression analysis, we assessed trends in SAM use prevalence and examined sociodemographic and psycho-social-behavioral correlates of SAM use.

Results

The proportion of US college students who reported SAM use increased significantly from 8.13% (2006–2010) to 8.44% (2015–2019). However, examination by race/ethnicity revealed that the increasing trend was largely driven by Black college students, whose SAM use prevalence increased significantly from 5.50% (2006–2010) to 9.30% (2015–2019), reflecting a 69.09% increase. SAM use rates did not change significantly among other racial/ethnic groups.

Conclusions

This study uncovered an upward trend and prevalence of SAM use among US college students, calling for more research and public health interventions in this area. At-risk subgroups that warrant more attention include college students who are Black, female, above the legal drinking age, have a lower than $20,000 household income, and reside in small metropolitan areas.

Substance use disorders among adults who are deaf or hard of hearing in the United States

BACKGROUND

There has been limited research on substance use disorders (SUDs) among individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). This study explored associations among activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, major depressive episode, risk perceptions for substance use, religiosity, and past-year SUDs within the DHH population.

METHODS

Data was drawn from the 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 214,505) to compare rates of past-year SUDs between DHH (weighted % = 5.4) and non-DHH populations. SUD measures included were past-year alcohol, marijuana, pain reliever, and illicit drug use disorders.

RESULTS

SUDs are more prevalent among the DHH population than the non-DHH population. When adjusted for sociodemographic variables, DHH adults were more likely to report experiencing all four types of measured SUDs. Significant associations were also found between all four measured SUDs and disability status, major depressive episodes, and perception of risk. An association between regular religious service attendance and alcohol, marijuana, or illicit drug use disorders was also identified, as well as an association between peer religiosity and marijuana use disorders.

CONCLUSION

Given the high prevalence of SUDs and limited understanding of the mechanisms associated with the SUDs within the DHH population, more research is needed to address these issues.