"BINGE DRINKERS, ILLICIT DRUG USERS AND POLYDRUG USERS: AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF AMERICAN COLLEGIANS,+ *"

Abstract

Abstract: This study focuses on polydrug use among American college students. Based on a secondaryanalysis of data originally collected in 1993 from a large representative sample of 4-year collegestudents, (N = 17,592), this analysis compares four subgroups of young adult drug users:exclusive binge drinkers, users of illicit drugs, those with both heavy use of alcohol and illegaldrugs (polydrug users), and low-frequency alcohol users. Consistent with the results from clinicalstudies, collegiate polydrug users were far more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors--gettinginto fights, engaging in unprotected sex acts, having more DWI experiences and displayinggreater drug use--than any of the other subgroups of respondents. This study also demonstratedthe value of therapeutic availability to effectively reduce collegiate substance misuse. For mostrespondents heavy alcohol use in high school was found as the closest correlate to later collegiatepolydrug use. Yet, among the small subset of respondents reporting heavy high school alcoholuse and who had experienced treatment for drug problems, their collegiate drug use patterns werefar more moderate, in comparison to their non-treated peers. These findings demonstrate the all-important need to offer a full complement of drug rehabilitation and education services tosecondary school populations.Keywords: binge drinking; polydrug use; youth substance use; risk-taking behaviors; treatment