Alcohol use and risk taking among regular ecstasy users

We examine alcohol use in conjunction with ecstasy use and risk-taking behaviors among regular ecstasy users in every capital city in Australia. Data on drug use and risks were collected in 2004 from a national sample of 852 regular ecstasy users (persons who had used ecstasy at least monthly in the preceding 6 months). Users were grouped according to their typical alcohol use when using ecstasy: no use, consumption of between one and five standard drinks, and consumption of more than five drinks ("binge" alcohol use). The sample was young, well educated, and mainly working or studying. Approximately two thirds (65%) of the regular ecstasy users reported drinking alcohol when taking ecstasy. Of these, 69% reported usually consuming more than five standard drinks. Those who did not drink alcohol were more disadvantaged, with greater levels of unemployment, less education, higher rates of drug user treatment, and prison history. They were also more likely than those who drank alcohol when using ecstasy to be drug injectors and to be hepatitis C positive. Excluding alcohol, drug use patterns were similar between groups, although the no alcohol group used cannabis and methamphetamine more frequently. Binge drinkers were more likely to report having had three or more sexual partners in the past 6 months and were less likely to report having safe sex with casual partners while under the influence of drugs. Despite some evidence that the no alcohol group were more entrenched drug users, those who typically drank alcohol when taking ecstasy were as likely to report risks and problems associated with their drug use. It appears that regular ecstasy users who binge drink are placing themselves at increased sexual risk when under the influence of drugs. Safe sex messages should address the sexual risk associated with substance use and should be tailored to reducing alcohol consumption, particularly targeting "heavy" alcohol users. The study's limitations are noted.     

Alcohol use and HIV risk taking among Chinese MSM in Beijing

Background

Few studies have used standardized alcohol use measures among men who have sex with men in China.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among MSM in Beijing. A computer-assisted self-administered questionnaire was used to collect demographics, risk behaviors the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). AUDIT uses a cutoff score of ≥8 while AUDIT C uses a score of ≥4 to classify respondents as problem drinkers. Both include a binge drinking measure.

Results

A total of 500 participants were recruited using respondent-driven sampling. HIV and prevalence is estimated to be 6.1% (95% CI 3.7, 9.2). Almost half of MSM (42.1%, 95% CI 35.8, 49.0) never had a drink containing alcohol in the past year. 5.0% (95% CI 3.1, 7.0) and 8.8% (95% CI 6.1, 11.6) had AUDIT score ≥8 and AUDIT-C score ≥4, respectively. Binge drinking was at 11.8% (95% CI 7.9, 16.0). In multivariate models all measures were associated with alcohol during sex, while AUDIT was associated with high level of attitudes and perceptions on safe sex (AOR 0.9, 95% CI 0.9,1.0), AUDIT-C with being older (AOR 3.5, 95%CI 1.4, 8.8), and HIV status (AOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.4, 10.9), and binge drinking with number of male partners (AOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.0, 3.9) and ever having had an HIV test (AOR 1.0, 95%CI 0.9, 1.0). Compared to AUDIT ≥8, AUDIT-C ≥4 and binge drinking were more suitable in identifying HIV risks related to problem drinking.

Conclusions

Findings suggest AUDIT is appropriate for use among MSM in China and reinforces the need for incorporating problem drinking as part of approaches to prevent HIV infection among Chinese MSM.     

Alcohol use and sexual behavior among "Black" adolescents.

This paper reports on findings collected from 1993-1995 from an ethnographic interview study that investigated whether a pattern of HIV-related risk behavior varies across subpopulations of minority adolescents by studying behaviors and perceptions of risk for HIV infection among two ethnic groups of 314 Black adolescents-African-American and Haitian Blacks. Of those who had sex within the past 6 months and were current drinkers, 69% said they did not have sex after drinking. Although many of the adolescents believe that drinking has a disinhibitory effect and may be a factor in nonuse of condoms, alcohol is but one element in a constellation of factors related to sexual intercourse and condom use.     

Cultural, social, and intrapersonal factors associated with substance use among alternative high school students

The purpose of this study was to identify cultural, social, and intrapersonal factors associated with tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use among students attending dropout prevention/recovery high schools. Four mutually exclusive categories of substance use were used as outcome measures, and religiosity, educational achievement, educational aspiration, family caring, others caring, self-esteem, optimism, coping, depression, loneliness, and self-efficacy were used as predictor variables. In the final multivariate model more family caring and loneliness were inversely associated with marijuana use; young age, more family caring, less coping ability, church attendance, and low educational aspirations were significantly associated with cocaine use. This study demonstrates the importance of health education and health promotion programs for students attending alternative high schools which include prevention of initiation, as well as treatment.     

Ethnicity and inhalant use among high risk adolescents in Israel

Inhalant use among 540 high-risk Israeli adolescents was studied from 2004 to 2010. The majority of study participants were of Israeli and Former Soviet Union descent. Study information was collected prior to receiving residential drug treatment. Over the 7-year study, men and women reported similar patterns of age of first, lifetime, and past 30-day inhalant use. Former Soviet Union adolescents began inhalant use at a younger age. The rate of Israeli girls' lifetime use was higher than that reported by Israeli boys and Former Soviet Union girls. Israeli adolescents reported a higher rate of past 30-day use than those from the Former Soviet Union. Study participants reported a higher rate of lifetime use than those attending school in Israel, the United States, and England. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, ethnic status (i.e., country of origin), alcohol use, and pattern of daily activity (i.e., hanging around) were significantly linked to past 30-day inhalant use. Further research for public health and safety reasons is needed about inhalant use that is an international concern.     

Substance use among high school students in relation to school characteristics

This research relates current use by 11th grade students of 17 psychoactive substances and age of first use and intoxication to characteristics of high schools in which they are enrolled. The 2,471 11th grade students surveyed were enrolled in a representative sample of 44 California high schools. Correlations between schools based on twelve characteristics (total 12th grade achievement scores, SES, percent various ethnic groups, etc.) were analyzed by means of a complete linkage cluster analysis. Three clusters of schools were identified. Frequency of use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and other substances as well as polydrug use and age of first alcohol use were found to differ significantly between schools in different clusters. In general, substance use was highest in rural or small town, predominantly white high schools with relatively low enrollments, second highest in large, high SES, predominantly white schools, and lowest in large, low SES, predominantly minority high schools. Four hypotheses relating school characteristics and substance use suggested by these findings are proposed.     

Alcohol and HIV risk taking among intravenous drug users

PURPOSE: To determine if drug risk days are also alcohol use days for active injection drug users (IDUs). METHODS: Cross-sectional interview of 187 AUDIT-positive (> or = 8) active IDUs recruited between 2/98 and 10/99 from a needle exchange program (NEP) in Providence, RI. A drug risk day is defined as "using needles, cotton, or cookers after someone else had used it," measured using a 30-day Timeline Follow-Back procedure. RESULTS: The sample was 64% male, 87% white, with 85% meeting DSM-IV criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence. Of the total days analyzed (n = 5610), 25% were drug risk days; on 40% of these days, drinking also occurred. Using a generalized estimating equation (GEE) model to cluster by subject, alcohol use was associated with drug risk days (OR 1.53; 95% CI 1.2-1.9; P < .001), controlling for gender, age, race, cocaine use, number of daily injections, methadone treatment, and partner drug use. CONCLUSIONS: Using a data analytic strategy that allows examination of self-reports of behaviors on a day-to-day basis, we found that alcohol use is associated with drug risk taking behavior among IDUs. Whether alcohol use precedes or is subsequent to risky HIV behaviors remains to be determined.     

Alcohol use motives among traumatic event-exposed, treatment-seeking adolescents: Associations with posttraumatic stress

The current study evaluated the linkage between posttraumatic stress symptoms and alcohol use motives among 49 traumatic event-exposed adolescents (M_age = 16.39 years). It was hypothesized that posttraumatic stress symptom levels would be positively associated with coping-related drinking motives specifically (cf., social, enhancement, or conformity motives) and that coping-related drinking motives would evidence associations with the hyperarousal and reexperiencing posttraumatic stress symptom types. Findings were consistent with hypotheses, suggesting traumatic event-exposed adolescents may be using alcohol to manage posttraumatic stress symptoms.     

Cocaine use among adolescents: longitudinal associations with social context, psychopathology, and use of other substances

Cocaine use has become a significant personal and social problem among all segments of American society. This study uses longitudinal data obtained over a 5-year period from a sample of 847 adolescents to examine numerous antecedents, consequences, and concomitants of cocaine use. Over the 5-year period, significant increases in actual use and social context of use were evident, with 15% of the 17-19 year-olds reporting they had been "super high or stoned" on cocaine at least once. Path analytic models were used to examine the impact of intentions and social context variables (e.g., peer use) on self-use over time, as well as to study the effects of earlier use of alcohol and cannabis on subsequent use of cocaine. Self-reported use of cocaine was highly predictive of use of many other drug substances. Intent to use cocaine is associated with several personality traits. With one exception, measures of psychopathology were not predictive of, nor influenced by, cocaine use over a 1-year period. However, depression did lead to increased cocaine use over this period of time. Finally, income from salaries and gifts was predictive of current cocaine use to a small but significant degree.     

Alcohol consumption among high school students in Barcelona, Spain

OBJECTIVE: Since adolescents are a high-risk group for alcohol-related problems, this study was undertaken to gain insight into the prevalence of alcohol consumption among this population. METHOD: This study was carried out in the city of Barcelona using an anonymous questionnaire which included information about frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption. The sample population was composed of all the students from 13 to 20 years old who were attending high school during 1992-93 (n = 1,137) and 1994-95 (n = 1,094). The amount of alcohol consumption was calculated in alcohol units per week for 4 groups of different beverages (beer, wine, spirits and aperitifs) and also in grams per day. RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of alcohol consumption was 92.5% in 1992-93 and 77.0% in 1994-95. Students who drank more frequently were older and male. In 1992-93, 8% of female students had an absolute alcohol intake beyond 24 g per day (risk consumption), which was the same percentage in 1994-95. Male students had a higher intake, although risk consumption rate (more than 40 g per day) was similar to that of females: 9% and 7.4% in 1992-93 and 1994-95, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: While changes in the prevalence of drinking are encouraging, the results of this study also show an increase in the quantity of alcohol consumed.     

Alcohol use, condom use and partner type among heterosexual adolescents and young adults

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the links between alcohol use and condom use, and the nature of the sexual relationship in which these behaviors occurred, and tested the notion that partner type suppresses the negative, direct effects of alcohol use on condom use. METHOD: Data were collected as part of face-to-face interviews conducted with 1,417 (54% female) randomly selected young adults (aged 18-25 years) who had had sex in the past 6 months. RESULTS: Using within-subjects analytic procedures, results showed that both drinking and condom use were more common with casual than with serious sexual partners, as expected. Moreover, consistent with the suppression hypothesis, the relationship between alcohol use and condom use became significant and negative only after controlling for partner type. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the interrelationships among partner type, alcohol use and condom use are complex and that the processes linking each pair of variables are best understood as part of a larger system of interconnected variables.     

Alcohol and drug use among "street" adolescents

Studies of adolescent alcohol use typically sample intact high school populations. This study assessed "street" adolescents alienated from the mainstream educational system. Despite recent optimism regarding adolescent substance use, these respondents showed considerable alcohol consumption, drinking to get drunk, and problems. The major correlates of substance abuse were "personal" drinking motives, expectancies of alcohol effects and peer behavior. Thus, adolescents who would not appear in typical studies showed much stronger alcohol involvement than the general population, with individual differences best accounted for by attitude variables relevant to a "stress-vulnerability" approach to substance abuse.     

Alcohol use among adolescents in S?o Paulo, Brazil

Drinking habits was studied in a sample of 3114 students from a low socioeconomic level and aging from 9 to 18 years. Males and females were equally represented in the sample. The survey showed that 27% were non-drinkers, 54% experimental drinkers, 14% moderate regular drinkers and 5% excessive regular drinkers. The excessive regular drinkers reported a higher proportion of heavy alcohol consumption among close relatives, mainly fathers. Sex and age-related differences were found in the drinking pattern. Males as well as oldest students were over represented among the drinkers excepted for excessive regular drinkers where no age difference was detected. This finding (same proportion of excessive regular drinkers in all age groups) was discussed taking into account the possibility that the high drop out rates in Brazilian schools could be introducing a bias in the figures found for the oldest adolescent groups. Beliefs about drinking consequences and location where most drinking occurs were also studied.     

The association of current stimulant use with demographic, substance use, violence-related, social and intrapersonal variables among high risk youth

This paper reports the association of current stimulant use with demographic, other substance use, violence-related, social and intrapersonal variables among a large sample of high risk adolescents. A total of 21.4% of the sample reported using stimulants in the last 30 days. In a final, multivariable model, nonredundant concurrent predictors of current stimulant use were reports that friends use stimulants, reports that stimulants were likely to be used again in the next 12 months, use of alcohol, hallucinogens, or cocaine in the last 30 days, use of alcohol or other drugs to feel more safe, and reports of depression in the last week. Being above the median on 0 to all 7 of these correlates predicted from 0% to 85% of those who were above the median on current stimulant use. One may speculate that programming for these stimulant-using youth should include treatment of multiple substances, depression, and correction of social-cognitive misperceptions.     

Alcohol consumption and social network ties among adolescents: Evidence from Add Health

Although many studies have estimated the influence of peers on risky health behaviors, few have estimated the gains that adolescents receive from such behaviors, particularly in terms of social payoffs for complying with peer behavior. In this paper, we explore the extent to which alcohol consumption increases popularity of adolescents. Using data from a nationally-representative sample of adolescents, we estimate endogeneity-corrected models with school-level fixed effects to identify the effect of alcohol consumption on social network ties. We find that alcohol consumption leads to an increase in popularity, with the largest gains experienced by white males and females. Our results provide new evidence on the motivation behind adolescent drinking and have important implications for substance abuse interventions.     

Alcohol abuse among high school students in Benin City,Nigeria

Data on alcohol practices and reasons for drinking alcohol were collected from a sample of 500 high school students in Benin City, Nigeria. By means of frequency and percentages of responses to items relating to alcohol practices and reasons for drinking alcohol, results showed that among the 87 per cent of students who indicated that they drink, many students (about 40 per cent or more) reported a pattern of drinking practices and reasons for drinking alcohol that indicated a high degree of alcohol abuse.