Excessive drinking and drug use during college: Prospective associations with graduate school plans and attendance.

This study examines the prospective relationship between substance use during college and two outcomes: having definite plans to attend graduate school; and, among individuals with plans, enrolling in graduate school upon college graduation.  = 980 were originally enrolled as first-time, first-year college students in an ongoing longitudinal study (August 2004 to present). Measures from personal interviews included demographics, GPA, alcohol use, alcohol abuse/dependence, and other drug use during college.

Continuity of drunk and drugged driving behaviors four years post-college.

Background: Driving under the influence of alcohol is a leading cause of injury and premature death among young adults, and college-educated individuals are at particularly high risk. Less is known about driving under the influence of other drugs, which is on the rise.

Method: This study describes prospective seven-year trends in alcohol and other drug (AOD)-involved driving among a young-adult sample beginning with their second year of college (i.

Affective dysregulation predicts incident nonmedical prescription analgesic use among college students.

Introduction: This study investigated the relationship between four suspected risk factors-affective dysregulation, conduct problems, depressive symptoms, and psychological distress-and incident nonmedical prescription analgesic (NPA) use among college students.

Methods: The sample was derived from 929 college students from a large, mid-Atlantic university who completed the third annual College Life Study assessment (Y) and were NPA use naïve at baseline (Y). A series of logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the predictors of incident NPA use by Y.

Risk factors for gambling and substance use among recent college students.

Background: While it is well known that substance use and gambling overlap, the degree to which this overlap can be explained by shared risk factors has not been fully explored. This study aimed to identify common and unique risk factors for gambling and substance use among young adults.

Methods: Young adults (n=1,019) in a longitudinal study since college entry were interviewed annually.

Trajectories of energy drink consumption and subsequent drug use during young adulthood.

Background: Highly caffeinated energy drinks (EDs) are popular with adolescents and young adults, but longitudinal consumption patterns are poorly understood especially in relation to other substance use.

Methods: ED and other substance use were assessed annually (modal ages 21-25) among a sample (n=1099) who were originally recruited as first-year college students (modal age 18). Trajectory groups were derived based on probability of past-year use during ages 21-24, and compared for possible differences in substance use outcomes at age 25, holding constant demographics, sensation-seeking, other caffeine consumption, and age 21 substance use.

Perceived academic benefit is associated with nonmedical prescription stimulant use among college students.

Introduction: College students are at higher than average risk for nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS). A commonly identified motive among students who engage in NPS is to improve grades. Several research studies have observed that NPS most likely does not confer an academic advantage, and is associated with excessive drinking and other drug use.

Student Hunger on Campus: Food Insecurity Among College Students and Implications for Academic Institutions.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of food insecurity among students at a large mid-Atlantic publicly funded university; examine the association between food insecurity, demographic characteristics, potential financial risk factors, and self-reported physical and mental health and academic performance; and identify possible risk factors for food insecurity.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Large, public mid-Atlantic university.

Prevalence and incidence of drug use among college students: an 8-year longitudinal analysis.

Background: Drug use among college students is associated with adverse academic and health outcomes and risks to personal safety.

Objectives: This study utilized data from a longitudinal study to estimate annual prevalence, cumulative lifetime prevalence, and incidence of ten types of drug use during the eight years after college entry and the average age of onset of each drug used.

Methods: Participants (N = 1,253; 52% female) were young adults who were originally enrolled as first-time, first-year students at a university in the mid-Atlantic US.

Drug involvement during and after college: Estimates of opportunity and use given opportunity.

Background: College students perceive widespread availability of drugs and prescription medications for non-medical use on campus, but less is known about the relationship between opportunity to use, use, and use given opportunity of these drugs during and after college. The current study describes annual trends in (1) opportunity to use, (2) use, and (3) use given opportunity of eight drugs and three prescription medications used non-medically over seven years.

Methods: Data were derived from a longitudinal cohort study of 1253 first-year college students (52% female, 72% non-Hispanic white) at one large, public university.

Energy Drink Use Patterns Among Young Adults: Associations with Drunk Driving.

Background: Highly caffeinated "energy drinks" (ED) are commonly consumed and sometimes mixed with alcohol. Associations between ED consumption, risk-taking, and alcohol-related problems have been observed. This study examines the relationship between ED consumption-both with and without alcohol-and drunk driving.

Do college students improve their grades by using prescription stimulants nonmedically?

Introduction: Many college students engage in nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS) because they believe it provides academic benefits, but studies are lacking to support or refute this belief.

Methods: Using a longitudinal design, 898 undergraduates who did not have an ADHD diagnosis were studied. Year 3 GPA (from college records) of four groups was compared: Abstainers (did not engage in NPS either year; 68.

Drinking Like an Adult? Trajectories of Alcohol Use Patterns Before and After College Graduation.

Background: College students who engage in high-risk drinking patterns are thought to "mature out" of these patterns as they transition to adult roles. College graduation is an important milestone demarcating this transition. We examine longitudinal changes in quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption between the college years and the 4 years after graduation and explore variation in these changes by gender and race/ethnicity.

Marijuana use trajectories during college predict health outcomes nine years post-matriculation.

Background: Several studies have linked marijuana use with a variety of health outcomes among young adults. Information about marijuana's long-term health effects is critically needed.

Methods: Data are from a ten-year study of 1253 young adults originally recruited as first-year college students and assessed annually thereafter.

The academic consequences of marijuana use during college.

Although several studies have shown that marijuana use can adversely affect academic achievement among adolescents, less research has focused on its impact on postsecondary educational outcomes. This study utilized data from a large longitudinal cohort study of college students to test the direct and indirect effects of marijuana use on college grade point average (GPA) and time to graduation, with skipping class as a mediator of these outcomes. A structural equation model was evaluated taking into account a variety of baseline risk and protective factors (i.

Evidence and knowledge gaps for the association between energy drink use and high-risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults.

Sales of energy drinks have increased rapidly since their introduction to the marketplace in the 1990s. Despite the health concerns raised about these beverages, which are often highly caffeinated, surprisingly little data are available to estimate the prevalence of their use. This review presents the results of secondary data analyses of a nationally representative data set of schoolchildren in the United States and reviews the available research on the association between energy drink use and risk-taking behaviors.

Providing alcohol to underage youth: the view from young adulthood.

Background: Many underage drinkers obtain alcohol from legal-age family, friends, and acquaintances. This study aimed to understand the attitudes and behaviors of young adults related to providing alcohol to underage drinkers.

Methods: Participants were 755 current or recent college students of legal drinking age (ages 22 to 26) who were approached by a minor to provide alcohol at least once since turning 21.

False identification use among college students increases the risk for alcohol use disorder: results of a longitudinal study.

Background: It is well known that using false identification (ID) is a common method by which underage youth in the United States obtain alcohol. While false ID use is associated with high-risk drinking patterns, its association with alcohol use disorder (AUD), independent of other risk factors, has not been firmly established.

Methods: Participants were 1,015 college students recruited from 1 university and assessed annually during their first 4 years of college.

Discontinuous college enrollment: associations with substance use and mental health.

Objective: This study examined the prospective relationship of substance use and mental health problems with risk of discontinuous enrollment in college.

Methods: Participants were 1,145 students at a large public university who were interviewed annually for four years beginning at college entry in 2004 (year 1). Discontinuous enrollment was defined as a gap in enrollment of one or more semesters during the first two years (early discontinuity) or the second two years (late discontinuity) versus continuous enrollment throughout all four years.

Dispelling the myth of "smart drugs": cannabis and alcohol use problems predict nonmedical use of prescription stimulants for studying.

This study tested the hypothesis that college students' substance use problems would predict increases in skipping classes and declining academic performance, and that nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS) for studying would occur in association with this decline. A cohort of 984 students in the College Life Study at a large public university in the US participated in a longitudinal prospective study. Interviewers assessed NPS; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) cannabis and alcohol use disorders; and frequency of skipping class.

Drug use patterns and continuous enrollment in college: results from a longitudinal study.

Objective: Few longitudinal studies have examined the relationship between illicit drug use and academic outcomes among college students. This study characterized drug use patterns of a cohort of young adults who were originally enrolled as first-time, first-year college students in a longitudinal study. It evaluated the association between these drug use patterns and continuous enrollment during college, holding constant demographic characteristics, high school grade point average, fraternity/sorority involvement, personality/temperament characteristics, nicotine dependence, and alcohol use disorder.

Relationships among parental monitoring and sensation seeking on the development of substance use disorder among college students.

Substance use disorder is a serious health problem that tends to manifest in late adolescence. Attempting to influence targetable risk and protective factors holds promise for prevention and treatment. Survey data from 1253 college students (48.

HIV testing in recent college students: prevalence and correlates.

Prevalence and correlates of HIV testing were examined in a sample of 957 unmarried recent college students in the United States. Participants were asked about HIV testing, past-six-months sexual activities, lifetime treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI), past-year health service utilization, and DSM-IV criteria for alcohol and other drug (AOD) dependence during the 2008-2009 academic year. Two in five (41.

Social contexts of drinking and subsequent alcohol use disorder among college students.

Background: Previous research has suggested important contextual factors that can differentiate problem and nonproblem drinkers.

Objectives: To evaluate the strength of the prospective association between social contexts of drinking and subsequent alcohol use disorder and drunk driving 2-3 years later.

Methods: The sample consisted of 652 individuals who were originally recruited at college entry, had complete data on at least one social context subscale, met the minimum criteria for Year 1 drinking, and had nonmissing data on at least one of the outcome variables in Years 3 and/or 4.

Drug use patterns in young adulthood and post-college employment.

Background: The relationship between serious drug involvement and risk for unemployment is well recognized, but few studies have prospectively examined this relationship among college students. This study used longitudinal data to examine the association between drug use patterns during college and the likelihood of employment post-college, holding constant sociodemographic variables and personality characteristics. Second, we estimate the prevalence of alcohol and other drug use disorders among employed individuals.

Cigarette smoking among college students: longitudinal trajectories and health outcomes.

Introduction: Light and intermittent patterns of cigarette smoking are prevalent among U.S. college-aged individuals.