Misperceptions of the Prevalence of Marijuana Use Among College Students: Athletes and Non-Athletes

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of marijuana use and perceptions of the prevalence of marijuana use was assessed in a sample of intercollegiate athletes and a separate sample of primarily first-year non-athlete students at a northwestern public university. Marijuana use prevalence in the non-athlete sample was higher than the prevalence found in nationwide surveys of drug use on college campuses. Current use of marijuana was greater in non-athletes than athletes, however, lifetime use was equivalent. The perceptions of prevalence of marijuana use among both athletes and non-athletes exceeded self-reported use in these groups. Students who used marijuana held higher perceptions of the prevalence of marijuana use among their campus peers and those believing that marijuana use was normative on campus were more likely to be current marijuana users themselves. The findings from this study have important implications for designing college drug prevention programs.     

Alcohol Use and Correlates of Binge Drinking among University Students on the Island of Sardinia,Italy

An anonymous questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1,911 students at Sardinia's main university during the fall of 1997. The questionnaire assessed various behaviors relating to alcohol including its use during or outside meals and binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks in a row. A significantly higher number of males reported drinking alcohol outside of meals and binge drinking than females, and males were also more likely to report impaired driving and consequences after drinking alcohol than females. A logistic regression model was used to determine correlates of binge drinking using demographics, health-risk behaviors, and leisure activities. The model confirmed being a male as one of the strongest correlates, but also included first drinking alcohol before age 17, marijuana use, living away from parents, cigarette use, having multiple sex partners, and exercising. The results indicate that alcohol use is prevalent among university students and is related to the use of other substances. Further investigation is warranted with particular attention paid to gender as a determinant of use.     

深圳市中学生使用药物与精神活性物质的追踪研究

目的 :了解经济发达地区中学生使用药物与精神活性物质的情况。方法 :分别于 1998年 5月和 1999年 5月对深圳市 10所中学进行调查。调查内容包括烟草使用、饮酒、药物和精神活性物质的使用情况。对前后两次调查结果进行比较。结果 :(1)初中生中吸烟的比率从 1998年的 19.3%上升到 1999年的 2 3.9% ,高中生从 4 1.0 %上升到 4 3.0 % ;有 2 .1% - 2 .4 %的中学生准备在今后一年内吸烟 ;(2 )每周都饮酒的比率初中生从 1998年的 9.4 %上升到 1999年的 12 .6 % ,高中学生从 17.9%上升到 19.7% ;曾饮过酒的比率初中生从 1998年的 4 0 .5 %上升到 1999年的 4 8.4 % ,高中学生从 6 3.5 %上升到 6 8.6 % ;(3)初中生中承认用过大麻、可卡因、海洛因、阿片等毒品的比率 1999年有所下降 ,但高中生中的比率上升显著 ;在初、高中生中承认用过镇静催眠药的比率很高 ,且 1999年上升明显。结论 :当前中学生中存在药物和毒品使用问题。及时采取有效措施减少和降低这些危险行为带来的损失和影响 ,是青少年工作的当务之急     

Tailgating and Pregaming by College Students with Alcohol Offenses: Patterns of Alcohol Use and Beliefs

Research indicates that pregaming (drinking before a social event) and tailgating (drinking before a sporting event) are two culturally ingrained alcohol use behaviors by college students. We examined the prevalence of these two activities in a sample of college students (N = 354) who violated campus alcohol policy and were mandated to receive an alcohol intervention in fall 2010. Results indicated that alcohol consumption and other risk factors were related to pregaming and tailgating. These findings are discussed in the context of clinical implications and future directions for research. This study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.     

Alcohol Use among College Students: A Comparison of Athletes and Nonathletes

This study examines alcohol use among college students, focusing on variation in binge drinking based on involvement in athletics. Prior research indicates that college students who participate in athletics are more likely to report binge drinking than are students who are not involved in athletics. However, existing research has not offered an explanation why college athletes are at a greater risk for binge drinking. Using data from the 1999 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, a national study examining substance use and other health risk behaviors of college students in the United States, the current research examines social norms as a possible source of the elevated levels of binge drinking among college athletes. Findings indicate that athletes are more likely to report binge drinking, in part, because they view alcohol use as being more normative. The limitations of the study are noted.     

Proximal Predictors of Alcohol Use among Japanese College Students

Background and Objectives: This study investigated how negative social interactions (e.g., disagreeing with a friend) predicted subsequent drinking behaviors among Japanese college students. Because of social influences on drinking, and cultural norms for maintaining social harmony and making amends in response to social transgressions in Japanese culture, the authors hypothesized that students would consume more alcohol socially following increases in negative social interactions. Drinking refusal self-efficacy and social self-efficacy were also studied as moderators of social drinking. Methods: Fifty-five college students (79% women) of legal drinking age completed a once-daily Internet survey for 30 days, providing 1195 daily reports of drinking and social interaction. Prior to the daily survey, participants reported on Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy and Social Self-Efficacy in an initial Internet-based assessment. Results: Students drank more socially in the evening following daytime increases in negative social interactions, relative to evenings following fewer such exchanges (b = .23, p < .001). At the between-person level, students who reported stronger confidence in refusing to drink drank less socially compared to those who reported less confidence in drinking refusal (b = ?.53, p < .001). Yet, those with higher social self-efficacy, which is typically a health-protective factor, drank more socially compared to their counterparts (b = .32, p < .05). Conclusions and Importance: Japanese college students increased their social drinking in response to daily negative social interactions, consistent with the notion that this drinking pattern represents efforts to make amends to others. Interventions targeted toward increasing students' confidence in refusing to drink may be beneficial in reducing social drinking in this population.     

Dual Tobacco Use among College Students: Contexts of Use,Self-Perceptions,and Attitudes Toward Quitting

Aggressive marketing of smokeless tobacco (SLT) appears to have led to an increase in dual tobacco use. The current study examines the situational contexts, self-perceptions, and cessation attitudes/behaviors that relate to dual use. Participants (N = 1,242) at a large, Southwestern university completed a self-report measure of demographic and tobacco use variables in 2010. Data were analyzed using chi-square and one-way ANOVA techniques. Findings suggest that type of tobacco use varies by setting and that dual users are more likely than sole users to perceive themselves as regular tobacco users. Limitations and implications for future research and interventions are discussed.     

Interpersonal Guilt and Substance Use in College Students

Background: The college years are a time for developing independence and separating from one's family, and they are also a time in which substance use often escalates. This study examined the relationships between use of substances and interpersonal guilt, an emotion that can arise from feelings about separation among college students. Methods: In total, 1865 college students completed a survey evaluating substance use and interpersonal guilt. Regular users of alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, and other illicit drugs were compared with nonregular users of each substance. Sequential linear regression, controlling for confounding variables, examined relationships between regular use of each substance and scores on a guilt index. Results: Risky drinkers and daily smokers had significantly more interpersonal guilt than their peers who did not regularly use these substances. In contrast, regular cannabis users had significantly less guilt than nonregular cannabis users. Conclusions: These data suggest that substance use among college students may be related to interpersonal guilt and family separation issues, and this relationship may vary across substances.     

Surveying the Literature on Acculturation and Alcohol Use among Hispanic College Students: We're Not All on the Same Page

During the past several years, a steadily growing body of literature examining acculturation and alcohol use among Hispanic college students has emerged. A review of this literature suggests that there have been (and continues to be) mixed findings regarding the association between acculturation and alcohol use in this population. Thus, the exact nature of this association is not clear. This paper provides an overview of this literature and outlines recommendations for future research that will help to elucidate the complexities inherent in this line of work.     

Bidirectional Relations of Impulsive Personality and Alcohol Use Across Three Waves of Data Collection

Objective: To explore the bidirectional relations between alcohol use and three impulsive personality traits, to advance understanding of risk processes. Participants: 525 college students (mean age = 18.95 years) recruited in August 2008 and 2009 and followed up annually for three years. Methods: Personality and past/current substance use were assessed. Results: T2 sensation seeking mediated the predictive relationship between T1 and T3 alcohol use, and T2 alcohol use mediated the predictive relationship between T1 and T3 sensation seeking. In addition, T2 alcohol problems mediated the predictive relationship between T1 alcohol use and T3 negative urgency. Conclusions: Findings support a bidirectional relationship between sensation seeking and alcohol use, and drinking anticipates drinking problems, which predict increases in negative urgency. For some individuals, there appears to be an ongoing process of increased risk in the form of increases in both drinking and high-risk personality traits.     

Use and Views on Social Networking Sites of Pharmacy Students in the United Kingdom

Objective. To investigate students'' use and views on social networking sites and assess differences in attitudes between genders and years in the program.Methods. All pharmacy undergraduate students were invited via e-mail to complete an electronic questionnaire consisting of 21 questions relating to social networking.Results. Most (91.8%) of the 377 respondents reported using social networking Web sites, with 98.6% using Facebook and 33.7% using Twitter. Female students were more likely than male students to agree that they had been made sufficiently aware of the professional behavior expected of them when using social networking sites (76.6% vs 58.1% p=0.002) and to agree that students should have the same professional standards whether on placement or using social networking sites (76.3% vs 61.6%; p<0.001).Conclusions. A high level of social networking use and potentially inappropriate attitudes towards professionalism were found among pharmacy students. Further training may be useful to ensure pharmacy students are aware of how to apply codes of conduct when using social networking sites.     

贵阳市3609名中学生心理卫生现况研究

目的了解贵阳市城区中学生心理卫生状况,为中学生心理健康教育与心理干预提供依据。方法应用中学生心理健康量表（MSSMHS）对贵阳市城区8所中学初一至高三年级3609名中学生进行问卷调查。结果有2300名中学生心理健康（63．8％）,心理健康问题总检出率为36．2％。有1309A．（36．2％）存在不同程度心理健康问题。心理健康量表因子阳性检出率前三位分别为情绪不稳（46．2％）、学习压力（41．2％）、强迫（37．2％）。学习压力因子与其它因子存在显著相关。全体中学生心理健康量表总均分1．89±0．57,属于心理健康范围。初中生与高中生、重点中学与普通中学的初中生、初一与初三、高一与高三学生之间的得分差异有统计学意义。心理健康水平比较：女生低于男生;高中生低于初中生;普通中学初中生低于重点中学初中生。结论本研究显示中学生心理健康状况不容乐观,应及时的开展心理健康教育和心理干预来提高其整体心理健康水平,对学习压力带来的不良反应应作心理调适;对中度以上心理问题应及时深入进行心理诊断和必要的心理干预,从而预防和减少中学生心理障碍与心身障碍的患病率。     

Inhalant Use and Risky Behavior Correlates in a Sample of Rural Middle School Students

Abstract

This study found 20.4% of children attending a middle school located in rural Mississippi had used inhalants to “get high,” a figure that is much larger than the national average. Many (3.4%) students reported they had used inhalants on 10 or more occasions. Inhalant use was most associated with being younger, ever smoking, riding with a driver who had been drinking, and being involved in a fight. Nearly twice as many younger students reported usage in our sample compared to other studies. Longitudinal studies need to be conducted to investigate whether use of inhalants is a precursor to other risky behaviors, and subsequent progression to alcohol abuse or illicit drug use.     

Identification of polymorphism in ethylone hydrochloride: synthesis and characterization

Ethylone, a synthetic cathinone with psychoactive properties, is a designer drug which has appeared on the recreational drug market in recent years. Since 2012, illicit shipments of ethylone hydrochloride have been intercepted with increasing frequency at the Canadian border. Analysis has revealed that ethylone hydrochloride exists as two distinct polymorphs. In addition, several minor impurities were detected in some seized exhibits. In this study, the two conformational polymorphs of ethylone hydrochloride have been synthesized and fully characterized by FTIR, FT‐Raman, powder XRD, GC‐MS, ESI‐MS/MS and NMR (¹³C CPMAS, ¹H, ¹³C). The two polymorphs can be distinguished by vibrational spectroscopy, solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The FTIR data are applied to the identification of both polymorphs of ethylone hydrochloride (mixed with methylone hydrochloride) in a laboratory submission labelled as 'Ocean Snow Ultra’. The data presented in this study will assist forensic scientists in the differentiation of the two ethylone hydrochloride polymorphs. This report, alongside our recent article on the single crystal X‐ray structure of a second polymorph of this synthetic cathinone, is the first to confirm polymorphism in ethylone hydrochloride. © 2015 Canada Border Services Agency. Drug Testing and Analysis published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2015 Canada Border Services Agency. Drug Testing and Analysis published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.