Historique
Article de Périodique
Drug involvement during and after college: Estimates of opportunity and use given opportunity (2017)
Auteur(s) :
ALLEN, H. K. ;
CALDEIRA, K. M. ;
BUGBEE, B. A. ;
VINCENT, K. B. ;
O'GRADY, K. E. ;
ARRIA, A. M.
Année
2017
Page(s) :
150-157
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Domaine :
Autres substances / Other substances ; Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs
Discipline :
EPI (Epidémiologie / Epidemiology)
Thésaurus géographique
ETATS-UNIS
Thésaurus mots-clés
ETUDE LONGITUDINALE
;
PRODUIT ILLICITE
;
MEDICAMENTS
;
JEUNE
;
MILIEU ETUDIANT
;
DIFFUSION DES PRODUITS
;
PSYCHOTROPES
;
AGE
Résumé :
Background: College students perceive widespread availability of drugs and prescription medications for non-medical use on campus, but less is known about the relationship between opportunity to use, use, and use given opportunity of these drugs during and after college. The current study describes annual trends in (1) opportunity to use, (2) use, and (3) use given opportunity of eight drugs and three prescription medications used non-medically over seven years.
Methods: Data were derived from a longitudinal cohort study of 1253 first-year college students (52% female, 72% non-Hispanic white) at one large, public university. Annually, past-year opportunity to use and use were assessed for marijuana, hallucinogens, inhalants, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines, methamphetamine, heroin, and non-medical use of prescription stimulants, analgesics, and tranquilizers. Binary variables were created to represent opportunity to use, use, and use given opportunity for each drug.
Results: Participants had the greatest opportunity to use marijuana compared with other drugs during the study period, but there was a significant decline in the opportunity to use marijuana over time. Notably, opportunity for both drugs other than marijuana and prescription medications used non-medically consistently declined, while use given opportunity remained relatively stable over time.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that changes in drug use are driven by changes in opportunity to use, even during the post-college years. Greater opportunity to use and use of all drugs during the college years in comparison with the post-college years confirms the high-risk nature of the college environment.
Highlights:
Compared with all other drugs, opportunity to use marijuana was the greatest.
Marijuana opportunity decreased significantly over time.
Of participants with the opportunity to use, the majority used marijuana by age 25.
Use given opportunity for drugs other than marijuana was stable over time.
Opportunity to use and use of all drugs were greater during the college years.
Methods: Data were derived from a longitudinal cohort study of 1253 first-year college students (52% female, 72% non-Hispanic white) at one large, public university. Annually, past-year opportunity to use and use were assessed for marijuana, hallucinogens, inhalants, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines, methamphetamine, heroin, and non-medical use of prescription stimulants, analgesics, and tranquilizers. Binary variables were created to represent opportunity to use, use, and use given opportunity for each drug.
Results: Participants had the greatest opportunity to use marijuana compared with other drugs during the study period, but there was a significant decline in the opportunity to use marijuana over time. Notably, opportunity for both drugs other than marijuana and prescription medications used non-medically consistently declined, while use given opportunity remained relatively stable over time.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that changes in drug use are driven by changes in opportunity to use, even during the post-college years. Greater opportunity to use and use of all drugs during the college years in comparison with the post-college years confirms the high-risk nature of the college environment.
Highlights:
Compared with all other drugs, opportunity to use marijuana was the greatest.
Marijuana opportunity decreased significantly over time.
Of participants with the opportunity to use, the majority used marijuana by age 25.
Use given opportunity for drugs other than marijuana was stable over time.
Opportunity to use and use of all drugs were greater during the college years.
Affiliation :
Center on Young Adult Health and Development, University of Maryland School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral and Community Health, College Park, MD, USA