Selection and socialization effects of fraternities and sororities on US college student substance use: a multi-cohort national longitudinal study

AIMS: To examine how membership in fraternities and sororities relates to the prevalence and patterns of substance use in a national sample of full-time US college students. DESIGN: Nationally representative probability samples of US high school seniors (modal age 18 years) were followed longitudinally across two follow-up waves during college (modal ages 19/20 and 21/22). SETTING: Data were collected via self-administered questionnaires from US high school seniors and college students. PARTICIPANTS: The longitudinal sample consisted of 10 cohorts (senior years of 1988-97) made up of 5883 full-time undergraduate students, of whom 58% were women and 17% were active members of fraternities or sororities. FINDINGS: Active members of fraternities and sororities had higher levels of heavy episodic drinking, annual marijuana use and current cigarette smoking than non-members at all three waves. Although members of fraternities reported higher levels than non-members of annual illicit drug use other than marijuana, no such differences existed between sorority members and non-members. Heavy episodic drinking and annual marijuana use increased significantly with age among members of fraternities or sororities relative to non-members, but there were no such differential changes for current cigarette use or annual illicit drug use other than marijuana. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides strong evidence that higher rates of substance use among US college students who join fraternities and sororities predate their college attendance, and that membership in a fraternity or sorority is associated with considerably greater than average increases in heavy episodic drinking and annual marijuana use during college. These findings have important implications for prevention and intervention efforts aimed toward college students, especially members of fraternities and sororities.     

Alcohol use among Hispanic college students along the US/Mexico border

Background: The trend of alcohol use among college students has been shown to vary by ethnicity and has been linked to acculturation among Hispanics. Consistent findings indicate that males consume alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities compared to females. Objectives: This study investigated the drinking habits of Hispanic college students living in the border region of South Texas. The study evaluated the influence of acculturation on alcohol consumption among Hispanic males and females. Methods: Two hundred and ninety-six Hispanic students participated in this study. The participants reported their drinking behaviors over the past 30 days and completed a measure of acculturation. Results: Fifty-nine percent of the participants reported consuming alcohol in the past 30 days with more males than females reporting alcohol consumption. Logistic regression analysis indicated that age and gender, and not acculturation or enculturation, predicted drinking in the last 30 days. Among drinkers, the regression analyses indicated that gender and lower levels of Anglo orientation were linked to increased alcohol consumption, suggesting that Hispanics who were less oriented toward the Anglo culture consumed more alcohol than those more oriented toward the Anglo culture. Among drinkers, males and females did not differ in frequency or binge drinking, but males consumed more alcohol than females. Conclusion: Previous research indicates that greater acculturation is linked to greater consumption of alcohol; however, we found it to be associated with less consumption. The findings regarding gender represent some consistencies with previous research but there are some inconsistencies as well. These results suggest that less acculturated Hispanic male college students residing in the border region may be at a higher risk of alcohol abuse than Hispanic female students and more acculturated male students.     

Sex differences in psychosocial correlates of concurrent substance use among heterosexual,homosexual and bisexual college students

Abstract

Background: College students identifying as Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual (LGB) are at increased risk for substance use. Few studies have assessed correlates of concurrent substance use, which increases the risk for substance use disorders. Objectives: The current study aimed to (1) examine differences in substance use among male and female sexual minorities and (2) explore the impact of psychosocial factors on the relationship between sexual identity and concurrent substance use. Methods: A web-based survey assessing health behavior, psychosocial characteristics, attitudes and demographics was administered to students from six colleges in the southeastern US. A total of 4840 students responded to the survey; 2.9% reported a homosexual identity (n?=?111) and 3.5% reported a bisexual identity (n?=?135). Multivariable modeling was used to assess the relationship between sexual identity and the number of substances used, adjusting for demographic and psychosocial factors. Results: Bisexual females were significantly more likely than their homosexual or heterosexual counterparts to report tobacco use (p?<?0.0001), binge drinking (p?<?0.05) and marijuana use (p?<?0.0001) in the past 30 days. No differences in substances used existed among males. Adjusted for age and ethnicity, homosexually- and bisexually-identified females were more likely to have concurrent substance use than those who identified as heterosexual (p?<?0.0001 and p?<?0.0001, respectively). Adjusting for psychosocial factors decreased the magnitude and significance of the association (p?<?0.01 and p?<?0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Female sexual minorities are at high risk for substance use. Targeting specific psychosocial factors might be useful in efforts to address use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana among LGB young adults.     

Patterns of substance use and correlates of lifetime and active injection drug use among women in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Background: While drug use is associated with HIV risk in Southeast Asia, little is known about substance use behaviors among women, including drug injection. Objectives: To describe patterns of substance use among women using alcohol and drugs in Malaysia and identify correlates of lifetime and active drug injection, a risk factor for HIV transmission. Methods: A survey of 103 women who used drugs in the last 12 months assessed drug use history and frequency, including drug injection and drug use during pregnancy, self-reported HIV-status, childhood and adulthood physical and sexual abuse, and access to and utilization of harm reduction services, including needle-syringe exchange programs (NSEP) and opioid agonist maintenance therapy (OAT). Principal component analyses (PCA) were conducted to assess drug use grouping. Results: Amphetamine-type substances (ATS; 82.5%), alcohol (75.7%) and heroin (71.8%) were the most commonly used drugs across the lifetime. Drug injection was reported by 32.0% (n = 33) of participants with 21.4% (n = 22) having injected in the last 30 days. PCA identified two groups of drug users: opioids/benzodiazepines and club drugs. Lifetime drug injection was significantly associated with lower education, homelessness, prior criminal justice involvement, opioid use, polysubstance use, childhood physical and sexual abuse, and being HIV-infected, but not with prior OAT. Conclusion: Women who use drugs in Malaysia report high levels of polysubstance use and injection-related risk behaviors, including sharing of injection equipment and being injected by others. Low OAT utilization suggests the need for improved access to OAT services and other harm reduction measures that prioritize women.     

Prevalence and characteristics of dyspepsia among college students in Zhejiang Province

AIM:To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of uninvestigated dyspepsia among college students in Zhejiang Province.METHODS:Young adult students attending undergraduate(within the 4-year program)and graduate(only first-year students)colleges in Zhejiang Province were recruited between November 2010 and March2011 to participate in the self-report survey study.The questionnaire was designed to collect data regarding demographics(sex and age),general health[weight and height,to calculate body mass index(BMI)],and physical episodes related to gastrointestinal disorders.Diagnosis of dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome(IBS)was made according to the RomeⅢcriteria.Gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD)was defined by episodes of heartburn and/or acid reflux that occurred at least once a week,according to the Montreal definition.RESULTS:Of 2520 students recruited for survey par-ticipation,only 1870(males:967;age range:17-32years,mean age:21.3 years)returned a completed questionnaire.One hundred and eight(5.67%)of the student participants fit the criteria for dyspepsia diagnosis.Stratification analysis of dyspepsia and non-dyspepsia cases showed no statistically significant differences in age or BMI;however,the prevalence of dyspepsia was significantly higher in women than in men(7.53%vs 4.14%,P<0.05).Stratification analysis of dyspepsia by grade level showed that year 4 undergraduate students had a significantly higher prevalence of dyspepsia(10.00%vs undergraduate year 1:5.87%,year 2:3.53%and year 3:7.24%,and graduate year 1:3.32%).Nearly all(95.37%)students with dyspepsia reported symptoms of postprandial distress syndrome,but only a small portion(4.63%)reported symptoms suggestive of abdominal pain syndrome.The students with dyspepsia also showed significantly higher rates of IBS(16.67%vs non-dyspepsia students:6.30%,P<0.05)and GERD(11.11%vs 0.28%,P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Although the prevalence of dyspepsia among Zhejiang college students is low,the significantly higher rates of concomitant IBS and GERD suggest common pathophysiological disturbances.     

Injection drug use,food insecurity,and HIV-HCV co-infection: a longitudinal cohort analysis

Injection drug use (IDU) and food insecurity (FI) are highly prevalent among individuals living with HIV-hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection. We quantified the association between IDU and FI among co-infected individuals using biannual data from the Canadian Co-infection Cohort (N?=?608, 2012–2015). IDU (in the past six months) and IDU frequency (non-weekly/weekly in the past month) were self-reported. FI (in the past six months) and FI severity (marginal FI, moderate FI, and severe FI) were measured using the Household Food Security Survey Module. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate risk ratios (RR) quantifying the associations between IDU, IDU frequency, and FI with Poisson regression. The associations between IDU, IDU frequency, and FI severity were quantified by relative-risk ratios (RRR) estimated with multinomial regression. At the first time-point in the analytical sample, 54% of participants experienced FI in the past six months, 31% engaged in IDU in the six months preceding the FI measure, and 24% injected drugs in the past month. After adjustment for confounding, IDU in the past six months (RR?=?1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]?=?1.04–1.28) as well as non-weekly (RR?=?1.15, 95% CI?=?1.02–1.29) and weekly IDU (RR?=?1.21, 95% CI?=?1.07–1.37) in the past month are associated with FI. Weekly IDU in the past month is also strongly associated with severe FI (RRR?=?2.68, 95% CI?=?1.47–4.91). Our findings indicate that there is an association between IDU and FI, particularly weekly IDU and severe FI. This suggests that reductions in IDU may mitigate FI, especially severe FI, in this vulnerable subset of the HIV-positive population.     

The association between alcohol use trajectories from adolescence to adulthood and cannabis use disorder in adulthood: a 22-year longitudinal study

Background: Due to the increasing prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD), the impact of cannabis use on public health may be significant. Objective: The present study seeks the possible precursors (e.g., alcohol use) of CUD in order to minimize the potential negative consequences of CUD such as impaired coordination and performance. Method: The Harlem Longitudinal Development Study included 674 participants (53% African Americans, 47% Puerto Ricans), with 60% females (n=405) from a six wave survey. We used a growth mixture model to obtain the trajectories of alcohol use from the mean ages of 14 to 36. To examine the associations between alcohol use trajectories and CUD, we used logistic regression analyses with the indicator of CUD as the dependent variable and the indicator of membership in each trajectory group as the independent variables. Results: A three alcohol use trajectory group model was selected. Male gender, higher frequency of cannabis use in adolescence, and a lower educational level were associated with an increased likelihood of having CUD. Membership in the increasing alcohol use group (OR=27.44, p < .01; AOR=15.54, p < .01) and the moderate alcohol use group (OR=10.40, p < .05; AOR=8.63, p < .05) were associated with an increased likelihood of having CUD compared with the membership in the no or low alcohol use group. Conclusions: The findings of our study support the hypothesis that addressing alcohol use at an early age could impact later CUD.