Polydrug use by high-school students: involvement and correlates

Etiological theories of addiction: A comprehensive update on neurobiological, genetic and behavioural vulnerability

Currently, about 246 million people around the world have used an illicit drug. The reasons for this use are multiple: e.g. to augment the sensation of pleasure or to reduce the withdrawal and other aversive effects of a given substance. This raises the problem of addiction, which remains a disease of modern society. This review offers a comprehensive update of the different theories about the etiology of addictive behaviors with emphasis on the neurobiological, environmental, psychopathological, behavioural and genetic aspects of addictions, discussed from an evolutionary perspective. The main conclusion of this review is that vulnerability to drug addiction suggests an interaction between many brain systems (including the reward, decision-making, serotonergic, oxytocin, interoceptive insula, CRF, norepinephrine, dynorphin/KOR, orexin and vasopressin systems), genetic predisposition, sociocultural context, impulsivity and drugs types. Further advances in biological and psychological science are needed to address the problems of addiction at its roots.

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.

Comparative admission and follow-up study of American Indians and whites in a youth chemical dependency unit on the North Central Plains

In this study of drug-abusing young adults in North Dakota, we found that nonrural youth were more likely to be in a state treatment program than rural youth. We found few etiological differences between White and Indian Youth, although Indian youth were overrepresented tenfold. They could be described as young people in trouble at school and with the law, who were sexually involved but not religiously so. In a 6-month follow-up study, positive outcome data were much stronger for White than Indian patients, raising important questions about the effectiveness of such programs for the Indian patients.

Associations among alcoholism, drug abuse, and antisocial personality: a review of literature

Current practice through both diagnostic systems and clinical approaches tends to view alcoholism, drug abuse, and antisocial personality as completely distinct systems. In the course of research with other goals, the authors noted the apparent associations of each pair within this triad. As prior reviews of the literature on associations among these did not deal with implications of frequent association, this literature was re-evaluated with a more comprehensive assessment of the studies and reports bearing on these associations. After a broad search, studies were examined that reponed statistics indicating an association or none between one or more of the pairs of the triad. About 75% to 80% of the studies meeting the criteria showed positive associations between pairs. Also, a common etiological matrix may predispose one to behaviors diagnostic of each aspect of the triad: alcoholism, drug abuse, and antisocial personality. Although many studies contained methodological difficulties, the review suggests where diagnosis of one aspect is made, the other two should be suspected and the patient so evaluated.

Limitations of scalogram analysis as a method for investigating drug use behavior

Scalogram analysis, a procedure developed for constructing attitude scales, has been recently applied to support certain conclusions about the typical development of drug use patterns. An examination of results from these applications revealed at least three potential limitations: (1) presumed drug usage patterns may not generalize to many drug users, especially adult users; (2) presumed patterns may not be supported if several commonly used psychoactive substances are included; and (3) measures of unidimensionality may not be sufficient for confirming actual unidimensionality of highly skewed drug use patterns. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate further these potential limitations and to determine their bearing upon previous theoretical conclusions. Results confirmed the existence of all three limitations. In other words, typical applications of scalogram analysis based upon adolescent illicit drug use data have questionable external and internal validity. Therefore, previous conclusions based upon such applications should be re-evaluated and future research should employ alternative analytical procedures.

Adolescents and drug use: toward a more comprehensive approach

The pattern and prevalence of drug use among adolescents is explored in a survey of 2131 high school students. Findings suggest that the use of drugs and alcohol by adolescents should be viewed as a complex phenomenon greatly influenced by psychosocial contexts. The importance of preventive measures and of social psychiatric approaches is emphasized, with direct psychiatric care reserved for compulsive users in whom psychopathology is clearly manifested.

Anomie and drug use in high school students

The use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs as it relates to anomie was studied in 11th grade students. A questionnaire was administered to 1,314 11th grade students which included Srole's Anomie Scale as well as items pertaining to the usage of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, LSD, heroin, amphetamines, barbiturates, and methaqualone. The name of each drug was given along with the colloquial terms typically used to identify each drug. Substance users showed significantly higher anomie scores than nonusers on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, LSD, amphetamines, and barbiturates. Although the results were not statistically significant for cocaine, heroin, or methaqualone, the differences between substance users and nonusers were all in the predicted direction.