Drinking, binge drinking, and other drug use among southwestern undergraduates: three-year trends

This study examined substance use patterns and consequences in college students over a three year period. Students were surveyed at a large, southwestern university, allowing for a diverse sample that included a large percentage of minority respondents. Students (total N = 2710) in 1994, 1995, and 1996 responded anonymously to the Core Survey of Alcohol and Drugs. Over 80% of students at each time point were current drinkers, and over one-third at each time period reported binge drinking. Binge drinking was associated with greater weekly drinking and with a range of negative consequences. Underage drinking was prevalent at all time points, and underage drinkers reported drinking in a range of on- and off-campus situations. Hispanic students reported higher rates of binge drinking than other ethnic groups. Nonwhite, non-Hispanic students reported greater rates of abstinence than other students. Although other drug use was much less prevalent, drug use in combination with drinking was associated with more problematic patterns of drinking and more negative consequences. Results are discussed in terms of implications for interventions with college students.

Polydrug use in adolescent drinkers with and without DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence

Alcohol and other substance use disorders are highly comorbid, but little is known about patterns of polydrug use in adolescents with different levels of alcohol involvement. This research examined patterns and correlates of polydrug use in 176 adolescent drinkers with DSM-IV alcohol dependence (n = 61), alcohol abuse (n = 57), and no alcohol diagnosis (n = 58). Alcohol and other Substance Use Disorders were assessed using a modified version of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM. Lifetime histories of alcohol use and other drug use were assessed using a structured interview. Subjects also completed a questionnaire measure of the frequency of use of specific alcohol-drug combinations. The total number of illicit drugs ever used was greater in the alcohol dependence (mean = 3.8, SD = 2.1) and abuse groups (mean = 3.0, SD = 2.1), compared with the no-alcohol diagnosis group (mean = 1.9, SD = 1.3). Consistent with previous findings, there was a consistent pattern in the age of onset of psychoactive substance use: alcohol, followed by marijuana, followed by other drugs. The recent use of alcohol and other drugs in combination was reported by a greater percentage of subjects in the alcohol dependence (69%) and abuse groups (72%), compared with drinkers without an alcohol diagnosis (45%). The most common alcohol-drug combination was alcohol with marijuana (58% of the total sample), followed by alcohol-hallucinogens (16%). The frequency and extent of polydrug use was associated with being older and having higher levels of behavioral undercontrol and negative emotionality. Adolescent polydrug use, particularly the use of alcohol and other drugs in combination, is an important area for research, treatment, and prevention.

Alcohol use and its relationship to other addictive and preventive behaviors

Immoderate consumption of alcohol was found to be related to three other potentially addictive behaviors (illicit drug use, smoking, and caffeine consumption) in a randomly drawn sample (n = 1253) of American adults. In addition, alcohol consumption was found to be related to nutritional, life style, safety, and health monitoring preventive behaviors. Although the underlying mechanism for these behaviors is not clear, possibilities include the subsumption of both addictive and other preventive behaviors under a more generalized risk taking (or risk avoidance) dimension.

Patterns of drug use among young adults

The present study assessed patterns of multiple drug use among a sample of university employees and students who had been identified as having moderately high drug use habits. Use of eleven categories of legal and illegal drugs was tested and subjects reported how much of each drug they currently and habitually used. Factor analysis yielded three factors of drug use. Four of the items in the first factor (hallucinogens, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol) exhibited moderately strong and positive intercorrelations, suggesting that this particular pattern of drug use was the most common and/or reliable among young adult drug users. Sedatives and opiates were the highest loading items on the second factor, suggesting a pattern of drug use motivated by the desire for relaxation and stress avoidance. The third factor identified a pattern of legal stimulant use involving two of the three food-like categories of items employed in the present study (i.e., caffeinated cola beverages and chocolate, but not coffee). The results provided only mixed support for the hypothesis that categories of drugs with similar pharmacological properties define patterns of multiple drug use.