Alcohol policy enforcement and changes in student drinking rates in a statewide public college system: a follow-up study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Heavy alcohol use among U.S. college students is a major contributor to young adult morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to examine whether college alcohol policy enforcement levels predict changes in student drinking and related behaviors in a state system of public colleges and universities, following a system-wide change to a stricter policy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Students and administrators at 11 Massachusetts public colleges/universities completed surveys in 1999 (N of students = 1252), one year after the policy change, and again in 2001 (N = 1074). We calculated policy enforcement scores for each school based on the reports of deans of students, campus security chiefs, and students, and examined the correlations between perceived enforcement levels and the change in student drinking rates over the subsequent two year period, after weighting the 2001 data to adjust for demographic changes in the student body.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall rates of any past-30-days drinking, heavy episodic drinking, and usual heavy drinking among past-30-days drinkers were all lower in 2001 compared to 1999. School-level analyses (N = 11) found deans' baseline reports of stricter enforcement were strongly correlated with subsequent declines in heavy episodic drinking (Pearson's r = -0.73, p = 0.011). Moreover, consistently high enforcement levels across time, as reported by deans, were associated with greater declines in heavy episodic drinking. Such relationships were not found for students' and security chiefs' reports of enforcement. Marijuana use did not rise during this period of decline in heavy drinking.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Study findings suggest that stronger enforcement of a stricter alcohol policy may be associated with reductions in student heavy drinking rates over time. An aggressive enforcement stance by deans may be an important element of an effective college alcohol policy.</p

Peer Effects in Drug Use and Sex Among College Students

Past research suggests that congregating delinquent youth increases their likelihood of problem behavior. We test for analogous peer effects in the drug use and sexual behavior of male ( n = 279) and female ( n = 435) college students, using data on the characteristics of first-year roommates to whom they were randomly assigned. We find that males who reported binge drinking in high school drink much more in college if assigned a roommate who also binge drank in high school than if assigned a nonbinge-drinking roommate. No such multiplier effect is observed for females, nor are multiplier effects observed for marijuana use or sexual behavior for either males or females. Students who did not engage in these behaviors in high school do not appear to be affected by their roommates’ high school behavior.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44594/1/10802_2005_Article_3576.pd

Young adults who smoke cigarettes and marijuana: Analysis of thoughts and behaviors

INTRODUCTION: Smoking both cigarettes and marijuana is increasingly common among young adults, yet little is known about use patterns, motivations, or thoughts about abstinence. In a U.S. sample, this study explored young adults’ severity of cigarette and marijuana co-use, quit attempts, and thoughts about use. METHODS: Young adults age 18-to-25 who had smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days completed an anonymous online survey. RESULTS: Of 1987 completed surveys, 972 participants reported both past-month cigarette and marijuana use (68% male, 71% Caucasian, mean age 20.4 years [SD=2.0]). Frequency of use, temptations to use, measures of dependence, decisional balance, and past-year quit attempts were associated across the two substances (all p< .05), but not motivation to quit. Relative to marijuana, participants reported greater desire and a later stage of change for quitting cigarettes and were more likely to endorse a cigarette abstinence goal, yet they had lower expectancy of success with quitting cigarettes and with staying quit (all p<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette and marijuana use, temptations to use, and pros/cons of using were related in this young adult sample. Differences in motivation and thoughts about abstinence, however, suggest that young adults may be more receptive to interventions for tobacco than marijuana use. Use patterns and cognitions for both substances should be considered in prevention and intervention efforts