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...on colleges
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www.ProjectCork.org
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Fall 2005
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Correlates of nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics: Results from a national survey of US college students.
McCabe SE. Drug and Alcohol Dependence79(1): 53-62, 2005. (49 refs.)
This study examined the prevalence and correlates associated with the nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics among U.S. college students. This study analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 10,904 randomly selected students attending 119, 4-year U.S. colleges in 2001. The lifetime prevalence of nonmedical prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytic use was 7.8%, past year prevalence was 4.5% and past month was 1.6%. Past year rates of nonmedical use of prescription anxiolytics ranged from zero percent at the lowest use schools to 20% at the highest use school. Multivariate regression analyses indicated nonmedical use was more likely to occur among college students who were White, had both male and female sex partners and reported higher rates of substance use and other risky behaviors. In addition, nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics was less likely to occur among college students who attended college in the North Central region of the U.S. or historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This study provides evidence that the nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics represents a problem on some college campuses and among certain subgroups of U.S. college students. These findings have important implications for developing prevention efforts aimed at reducing the nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics among college students while not hindering the effective clinical treatment for various anxiety disorders. Copyright 2005, Elsevier Ireland.
Feedback interventions for college alcohol misuse: What, why and for whom? (review).
Walters ST; Neighbors C. Addictive Behaviors 30(6): 1168-1182, 2005. (54 refs.)
In response to the persistent problem of college drinking, universities have instituted a range of alcohol intervention programs for students. Motivational feedback is one intervention that has garnered support in the literature and been adopted on college campuses. This article reviews published outcome studies that have utilized feedback as a major component of an alcohol intervention for college students. Overall, 11 of the 13 reviewed studies (77%) found a significant reduction in drinking as compared to a control or comparison group. While the studies varied widely in terms of population, follow-up period, and feedback content, it appears that feedback can be effective whether delivered by mail, the Internet, or via a face-to-face motivational interview. Feedback seems to change normative perceptions of drinking and may be more effective among students who drink for social reasons. The addition of a group or individual counseling session does not appear to increase the short-term impact of the feedback. Copyright 2005, Elsevier.
Sources of prescription drugs for illicit use.
McCabe SE; Boyd CJ. Addictive Behaviors 30(7): 1342-1350, 2005. (15 refs.)
Objectives: This exploratory study investigated the sources of four classes of abusable prescription medications (sleeping, sedative/anxiety, stimulant, and pain medications) that were used illicitly by under-graduate students in the past year. The relationship between these sources and other substance use was examined. Methods: In the spring of 2003, a random sample of 9,161 undergraduate students attending a large public Midwestern research university is selected to self-administer a Web-based survey. Results: The respondents identified 18 sources of prescription drugs that were classified into three broad categories: peer, family, and other sources. The majority of respondents who were illicit users obtained their prescription drugs from peer sources. Undergraduate students who obtained prescription medication from peer sources reported significantly higher rates of alcohol and other drug use than students who did not use prescription drugs illicitly or students who obtained prescription medication from family sources. C Conclusions: The findings of the present study offer strong evidence that undergraduate students obtain abusable prescription drugs from their peers. Greater prevention efforts are needed to reduce the illicit use and diversion of prescription medication. Copyright 2005, Elsevier Science.
Binge drinking in the context of romantic relationships.
Fischer JL; Fitzpatrick J; Cleveland B; Lee JM; McKnight A; Miller B. Addictive Behaviors 30(8): 1496-1516, 2005. (58 refs.)
This study examined consequences of binge drinking on relationship conversation qualities (positive tone, general disagreements, drinking disagreements, and talks about drinking) among romantically involved college students. Conversation qualities were predicted with three binging variables: (a) same day binging, (b) prior day binging, and (c) total amount of binging reported. The participants (N = 156) completed 10 daily diaries of relationship conversations as well as drinking behaviors. Same day binging increased the occurrence of both drinking disagreements and talks about drinking. However, prior day binging was not associated with any of the four conversation qualities examined. Greater numbers of binges over the duration of the study were associated with less overall positive tone, and more general disagreements, drinking disagreements, and talks about drinking. The implications of the findings for student drinking patterns and relational quality are discussed. Copyright 2005, Elsevier Ltd.
Toward efficient and comprehensive measurement of the alcohol problems continuum in college students: The Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire.
Kahler CW; Strong DR; Read JP. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 29(7): 1180-1189, 2005. (34 refs.)
Background: Although a number of measures of alcohol problems in college students have been studied, the psychometric development and validation of these scales have been limited, for the most part, to methods based on classical test theory. In this study, we conducted analyses based on item response theory to select a set of items for measuring the alcohol problem severity continuum in college students that balances comprehensiveness and efficiency and is free from significant gender bias. Method: We conducted Rasch model analyses of responses to the 48-item Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire by 164 male and 176 female college students who drank on at least a weekly basis. An iterative process using item fit statistics, item severities, item discrimination parameters, model residuals, and analysis of differential item functioning by gender was used to pare the items down to those that best fit a Rasch model and that were most efficient in discriminating among levels of alcohol problems in the sample. Results: The process of iterative Rasch model analyses resulted in a final 24-item scale with the data fitting the unidimensional Rasch model very well. The scale showed excellent distributional properties, had items adequately matched to the severity of alcohol problems in the sample, covered a full range of problem severity, and appeared highly efficient in retaining all of the meaningful variance captured by the original set of 48 items. Conclusions: The use of Rasch model analyses to inform item selection produced a final scale that, in both its comprehensiveness and its efficiency, should be a useful tool for researchers studying alcohol problems in college students. To aid interpretation of raw scores, examples of the types of alcohol problems that are likely to be experienced across a range of selected scores are provided. Copyright 2005, Research Soc. Alcoholism
Correlates of nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics: Results from a national survey of US college students.
McCabe SE. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 79(1): 53-62, 2005. (49 refs.)
This study examined the prevalence and correlates associated with the nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics among U.S. college students. This study analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 10,904 randomly selected students attending 119, 4-year U.S. colleges in 2001. The lifetime prevalence of nonmedical prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytic use was 7.8%, past year prevalence was 4.5% and past month was 1.6%. Past year rates of nonmedical use of prescription anxiolytics ranged from zero percent at the lowest use schools to 20% at the highest use school. Multivariate regression analyses indicated nonmedical use was more likely to occur among college students who were White, had both male and female sex partners and reported higher rates of substance use and other risky behaviors. In addition, nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics was less likely to occur among college students who attended college in the North Central region of the U.S. or historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This study pro-vides evidence that the nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics represents a problem on some college campuses and among certain subgroups of U.S. college students. These findings have important implications for developing prevention efforts aimed at reducing the nonmedical use of prescription benzodiazepine anxiolytics among college students while not hindering the effective clinical treatment for various anxiety disorders. Copyright 2005, Elsevier Ireland.
Dietary supplement use by varsity athletes at a Canadian university.
Kristiansen M; Levu-Milne R; Barr S; Flint A. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 15(2): 195-210, 2005. (31 refs.)
The purpose of this study was to assess reasons for and prevalence of supplement use among varsity athletes and nonvarsity athlete students (controls) at a Canadian university. A questionnaire, distributed to 247 varsity athletes and 204 controls, included variables regarding sports participation, supplements used, reasons for usage, perceived effects, and areas of interest about supplements. Response rates were 85.5% among varsity athletes and 44.6% among controls. Supplements were used by 98.6% of varsity athletes and 94.3% of controls. Varsity men most often reported using sports drinks, and used these (and carbohydrate gels, protein powder, and creatine) more than varsity women. Caffeine products were most often reported by other groups. Health professionals and the Internet were the most reported information sources, while friends most often recommended supplements. Many subjects indicated knowing little about supplements and wanting to learn more. Results indicate a need for nutrition education among both varsity athletes and university students. Copyright 2005, Human Kinetics Publishing.
College student drug prevention: A review of individually-oriented prevention strategies. (review).
Larimer ME; Kilmer JR; Lee CM. Journal of Drug Issues 35(2): 431-455, 2005. (86 refs.)
The current paper highlights the college years as a risk period for development, continuation, and escalation of illicit substance use and substance use disorders and reviews the literature related to the prevention and treatment of these disorders in college populations. Despite widespread implementation of college drug prevention programs, a review of the literature reveals few controlled trials targeting this population. However, alcohol prevention has been extensively studied, and many efficacious interventions for college drinking share theoretical and methodological underpinnings with interventions shown to be efficacious in drug prevention and treatment with other populations (i.e., school-based prevention, adolescent and adult drug treatment). These interventions could be adapted to target drug prevention on college campuses. Barriers to implementation and evaluation of these interventions on campus are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research and programmatic directions. Copyright 2005, Journal of Drug Issues, Inc.
Club drug use among college students. (rapid communication).
Simons JS; Gaher RM; Correia CDJ; Bush JA. Addictive Behaviors 30(8): 1619-1624, 2005. (16 refs.)
This study examined prevalence and frequency of "club" drug use among college students (N = 831) and associations with marijuana and alcohol use, sensation seeking, and positive and negative affectivity. Eight-een percent (n = 146) of the sample had used club drugs at least once in their lifetime. Results of a logistic regression indicated that club drug use was positively associated with marijuana use, negative affectivity, and female gender. Among those who had tried club drugs in their lifetime, 42% reported no past year use and 22.6% reported using 7-12 times or more in the past year. Regression analysis examined associations between 12-month use frequency and the predictors among those who had tried club drugs. Results indicated that sensation seeking and marijuana use were positively associated with use frequency. Copyright 2005, Elsevier Ltd.
Accuracy of parents' perceptions of their college student children's health and health risk behaviors.
Bylund CL; Imes RS; Baxter LA. Journal of American College Health 54(1): 31-37, 2005. (32 refs.)
The authors compared parents' perceptions of their college student children's health and health risk behaviors with the college students' own reports. One hundred sixty-four parent-college student child dyads completed questionnaires regarding the students' health, illness status, and health risk behaviors. Parents tended to be overoptimistic about their children's health and health risk behaviors, underestimating the frequency of their children's alcohol, smoking, marijuana, and sex-related behaviors, and overestimating the students' self-reports of general health. Such misperceptions may inhibit parent-student conversations about health and risky health behavior, ultimately putting the student at greater health risk. Copyright 2005, Heldref
Mandatory alcohol intervention for alcohol-abusing college students: A systematic review.
Barnett NP; Read JP. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 29(2): 147-158, 2005. (71 refs.)
Most colleges and universities in the United States have programmatic responses for alcohol policy violators that commonly include some form of manda-tory alcohol education or counseling. The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of intervention programs for college students who are required to attend alcohol education or counseling. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases were searched for reports of college-based mandatory interventions offered on American campuses. When possible, within-group and between-group effect sizes were calculated. Sixteen reports were identified, including three randomized controlled trials. Most of the reviewed studies used qualitative or quasi-experimental designs, did not include comparison or control groups, had small or selective sample sizes, lacked behavioral measures of alcohol consumption, and/or had no follow-up, low follow-up rates, or short follow-up intervals. Recommendations for future research include testing different modes and types of interventions and sanctions, evaluating long-term efficacy, and establishing cost-effectiveness. Copyright 2005, Elsevier Science Ltd.
Drink and be merry? Gender, life satisfaction, and alcohol consumption among college students.
Murphy JG; McDevitt-Murphy ME; Barnett NP. Psychology of Addictive Behavior 19(2): 184-191, 2005. (51 refs.)
This study examined the impact of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems on several domains of life satisfaction (LS) in a sample of 353 college students. Alcohol use was associated with lower general satisfaction and anticipated future satisfaction among women. Female abstainers reported higher general and anticipated future satisfaction than did female heavy drinkers. Female students' alcohol use was unrelated to their academic, family, dating, or social satisfaction. Drinking among men showed a positive, curvilinear relation to social satisfaction but was unrelated to other domains of LS. Alcohol-related problems were associated with decreased LS among both men and women. These findings suggest that alcohol use by young adults is associated with both positive and negative outcomes that may be gender specific. Copyright 2005, American Psychological Association.
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