ABSTRACT. Objective:In this study, we sought to examine the prevalence, correlates, and consequences associated with simultaneous polydrug use and concurrent polydrug use of alcohol and prescription drugs. For purposes of this investigation, simultaneous polydrug use referred to the co-ingestion of different drugs at the same time, and concurrent polydrug use referred to the use of different drugs on separate occasions within the past 12 months. Method: Undergraduate students attending a large public midwestern university in the United States were randomly selected to self-administer a Web survey. The sample consisted of 4,580 undergraduate students, with a mean (SD) age of 19.9 (2.0) years; the sample consisted of 50% women, and the racial breakdown was 65% white, 13% Asian, 7% black, 5% Hispanic, and 10% other race/ ethnicity. The survey assessed simultaneous polydrug use and concurrent polydrug use of alcohol and four classes of prescription drugs: (1) pain medication, (2) stimulant medication, (3) sedative medication, and (4) sleeping medication. Results: The 12-month prevalence for polydrug use involving alcohol and abusable prescription drugs was 12.1% (including 6.9% simultaneous polydrug use). The majority of polydrug use involving alcohol and each class of prescription drugs was simultaneous polydrug use, with the exception of sleeping medication. Simultaneous polydrug use was more prevalent among undergraduate students who were male, were white, and reported early initiation of alcohol use. Simultaneous polydrug use was associated with more alcohol-related and other drug use-related problems than concurrent polydrug use. Conclusions: Based on the high prevalence and increased risk for consequences associated with simultaneous polydrug use of alcohol and prescription drugs, collegiate prevention efforts aimed at reducing substance abuse should clearly focus on co-ingestion of alcohol and prescription drugs. (J. Stud. Alcohol 67: [529][530][531][532][533][534][535][536][537] 2006)

OBJECTIVES-Our goals were to (1) determine adolescents' motivations (reasons) for engaging in the nonmedical (illicit) use of 4 classes of prescription medications and (2) examine whether motivations were associated with a higher risk for substance abuse problems. RESPONDENTS-The2005 sample (N = 1086) was derived from one ethnically diverse school district in southeastern Michigan and included 7th-through 12th-grade students.METHODS-Data were collected by using a self-administered, Web-based survey that included questions about drug use and the motivations to engage in nonmedical use of prescription medication.RESULTS-Twelve percent of the respondents had engaged in nonmedical use of opioid pain medications in the past year: 3% for sleeping, 2% as a sedative and/or for anxiety, and 2% as stimulants. The reasons for engaging in the nonmedical use of prescription medications varied by drug classification. For opioid analgesics, when the number of motives increased, so too did the likelihood of a positive Drug Abuse Screening Test score. For every additional motive endorsed, the Drug Abuse Screening Test increased by a factor of 1.8. Two groups of students were compared (atrisk versus self-treatment); those who endorsed multiple motivations for nonmedical use of opioids (at-risk group) were significantly more likely to have elevated Drug Abuse Screening Test scores when compared with those who were in the self-treatment group. Those in the at-risk group also were significantly more likely to engage in marijuana and alcohol use. CONCLUSION-The findings from this exploratory study warrant additional research because several motivations for the nonmedical use of prescription medications seem associated with a greater likelihood of substance abuse problems. Keywordsnonmedical prescription drug use; adolescents' prescription medication abuse According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2004 data, 1 ∼9% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years used prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes in the past year, including 7% who used pain medication, 2% stimulant medication, 2% tranquilizers, and 0.5% sedatives; however, the motivations to abuse these prescription drugs were not assessed. In fact, despite

Purpose-The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of medical and nonmedical use of four categories of prescription drugs (opioid, stimulant, sleeping, and sedative/anxiety medication) in a racially diverse sample of secondary public school students in the Detroit metropolitan area. A secondary objective was to examine the association between the use of four categories of prescription medications and illicit drug use and probable drug abuse.Methods-In 2005, a Web-based survey was self-administered by 1086 secondary school students in grades seven through 12.Results-The sample consisted of 54% female, 52% White, 45% African American, and 3% from other racial categories. Forty-eight percent of the sample reported no lifetime use of four categories of prescription drugs (nonusers), 31.5% reported medically prescribed use only (medical users), 17.5% reported both medical and nonmedical use (medical/nonmedical users) and 3.3% reported nonmedical use only (nonmedical users). Multivariate analyses indicated that medical/nonmedical users and nonmedical users were significantly more likely than nonusers to report illicit drug use and probable drug abuse. Medical users generally reported similar or increased odds of illicit drug use and probable drug abuse than non-users.Conclusions-These findings provide evidence that nonmedical use of prescription drugs represents a problem behavior among secondary school students. KeywordsPrescription drugs; Epidemiology; Drug abuse; Adolescents; Survey research; School-based researchThe medical and nonmedical use of prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines, opioid analgesics, and stimulants has increased among adolescents and young adults in the United States during the past decade [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. According to the Monitoring the Future Study (MTF), the nonmedical use of several prescription medications by 12th graders in the United States is at its highest level in the past 15 years [1,2]. Because prescription drugs are necessary for the treatment of many pediatric disorders including anxiety, sleep, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), any examination of the nonmedical use and abuse of prescription drugs should occur within the larger context of proper medical use. With appropriate medical use considered, there are at least three studies that have examined In 2001, Poulin reported on a sample of secondary school students and found that nonmedical use of prescription stimulants was directly correlated to the number of prescription users in a particular school class who reported giving away their stimulant medication [14]. Although there were some limitations in the measures used by Poulin, the investigation represented one of the first attempts to examine medical and nonmedical use of prescription stimulants at the school class level [14]. In two subsequent studies, McCabe and colleagues reported that secondary school students who properly use prescription stimulant or pain medications were not at greater risk for subst...

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine why there has been an increase in frequent binge drinking among the most recent generation of female undergraduate students. Specifically, we examined whether female undergraduate women associated being able to "drink like a guy" (e.g., drink large amounts of alcohol, drinking competitively) with gender equality. Focus groups were conducted in March of 2003 with 42 female undergraduate women who consumed alcohol. Participants were recruited from respondents of a random sample survey of undergraduate students attending a large, public university and reflected the demographic characteristics of this population: traditional-age college students (i.e., attending college between 18 and 22 years of age), who were primarily white from middle or upper middle class families and living on or near the college campus. Focus groups were based on drinking trajectories during college (Stable High, Stable Low, Decreasers, Increasers) and sorority status. While women of all drinking levels reported feeling pressure to drink "heavily" because of the favorable impression they could make on their male peers, primarily women who were frequent binge drinkers throughout college felt that "drinking like a guy" described their own drinking behaviors. While women reported that being able to "drink like a guy" provided them with a sense of equality with their male peers, analysis of the transcripts suggests that "drinking like a guy" had less to do with gender equality and more to do with emphasizing women's (hetero)sexuality. Findings are discussed in terms of how "heavy alcohol consumption" affords college women positive attention from their male peers, but likely increases their vulnerability to sexual assault and alcohol use related health problems.

Perceptions of racial discrimination are related to the smoking habits of African American adolescent girls.