Perceptions of licit and illicit substance use among women of reproductive age: examining racial and ethnic differences

Introduction Heavy alcohol and illicit drug use has been documented amongst medical and dental professionals and educational programs have been developed to attempt to reduce such behaviour in clinical undergraduates. This pilot study aims to investigate the legal and moral perceptions of substance use in clinical and non-clinical undergraduates.Method A cross-sectional self-report questionnaire was administered to 107 clinical and non-clinical undergraduates to investigate their moral and legal perceptions of alcohol and illicit substance use.Results More clinical (72.5%) than non-clinical students (66%) drink alcohol regularly. Both groups perceive ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine as 'high risk' drugs. A third of both clinical (34%) and non-clinical (36%) students support the legalisation of illicit drugs. Forty-seven percent of non-clinical students would consider changing their behaviour if illicit substances were legalised compared to 32% of clinical students. Clinical students believe the legal punishment for Class A drugs is appropriate, but disagree with that for Class C drug use. Personal values of clinical students differ regarding some immoral activities. Social perceptions of illicit substance users are similar for both clinical and non-clinical students with those who use heroin perceived most negatively by 86.5% of all undergraduates.Conclusion Individual substance use behaviours may be influenced by legal perceptions of illicit substance use. Personal values and social norms are also likely to be important. Further research is required to investigate how these perceptions affect a clinical student's decision to participate in excessive alcohol and illicit substance use behaviours.

Aim: Young adulthood is a period when individuals experiment health risk substances such as illicit substance and tobacco use that may predispose them to sexually transmitted diseases. Minority young adults living in HIV prevalent urban communities are notably more likely to engage in these behaviors. In the United States, minority young adults over-represented with HIV infection. To resolve this problem, the United States Congress has invested over $100million in grants. In the United States, few studies have examined illicit substance and tobacco use among this vulnerable population. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a comprehensive HIV prevention program (CIHPP) on illicit substance and tobacco use among minority young adults living in a high prevalence of HIV infection urban community. Methods: The data of illicit substance and tobacco use was collected using a survey of a random sample of minority young adults who participated in the CIHPP. for12-months. Change in illicit substance and tobacco use during 24 months of minority young adults' participation in CIHPP was recorded. The data was analyzed using the latent growth curve (LGC) model within the framework of the structural equation modeling procedure. The evaluation included the change in the intercept and slope of the Mean, Variance, covariance, and predictor variable in three waves for 24months. Result: The average score for illegal substance use of 5.411 decreased significantly over the 24months. Young adults exhibited a low rate of increase in their illicit use substance over the 24months. This finding indicates that the CIHPP was effective in decreasing the substance use of young adults under study. There were significant inter individual differences in the original score of illicit substance use between the young adults at the beginning of the implementation of the CIHPP and its change over time, as the as the minority young adult progressed from the beginning of the CIHPP intervention through the 24 months. Using gender as a predictor of change showed no difference between male and female young adults. For tobacco use, the average score for tobacco (16.631) decreased significantly over the three 24months. There was no meaningful difference between minority young adult males and minority young adult females in illicit substances use at the beginning of CIHPP. However, during CIHPP intervention, minority young adult’s males had an increase in the rate of change in tobacco use than minority young adult females. The mean estimate for tobacco use indicates that the average score for tobacco use increased significantly over the three 12-months periods. The covariance between the intercept and slope factor for tobacco use was statistically significant. Minority young adult males exhibited a higher rate of tobacco use than their female counterparts over the 24 months. This finding suggests that the Comprehensive, integrated HIV prevention program was not effective in decreasing the tobacco use of the minority young adults studied, The variance estimate related 2 Annals of Immunology & Immunotherapy Mongkuo MY, et al. Latent Growth Curve Model Evaluation of Illicit Substance and Tobacco Use among Young Adults in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Ann Immunol Immunother 2020, 2(2): 000124. Copyright© Mongkuo MY, et al. to the intercept and slope for tobacco use is statistically significant (p=.001) suggesting that there were vast inter-individual differences both at the beginning of CIHPP and the rate of change of tobacco use between the minority young adults at the beginning of the implementation of the CIHPP and its rate of change over time, as the young adult progressed from the beginning of the CIHPP intervention through the 24months. Such evidence provides sturdy support for further investigation of variability or heterogeneity related to the growth trajectory. Specifically, the incorporation of time-invariant of change into the model can explain the young adults' tobacco use variability. This incorporation involves testing the latent growth curve model with the demographic or static variable as a time-invariant predictor of change. This study incorporated gender in the LGC model as a predictor of change. The prediction module with gender as predictor found that there was no meaningful difference in illicit substance and tobacco use between minority young adult males and females.

The present study examines the relationship among grade, substance assessed; and type of measurement and statistical analysis employed in the detection of external validity threats due to panel attrition in the modal follow-up study found in adolescent substance use research. Six successive 2-year panel samples are examined The results indicate that dropouts demonstrate significantly higher baseline mean use of licit (tobacco and alcohol) and illicit (marijuana and hard drugs) substances when ANOVA is used, but only higher baseline use of illicit substances when chi-square analyses are used In addition, although mean use tests are no more sensitive to the increased variation in substance use that occurs during adolescence, they are more likely to reveal differences between dropouts and stayers in baseline use of licit substances. The results indicate (a) that findings from school-based, longitudinal studies almost certainly underestimate the level and extent ofsubstance use among adolescents; and (b) that alternative types of attrition analyses yield different effects regardless of grade, even in the short-term follow-up study. These findings are discussed for their implications to adolescent substance use research and for the establishment of standardized procedures to consider the relative risk of Type 2 to Type 1 error in attrition analyses.

As illicit substance use can present several perioperative concerns, effective means to identify such practices are necessary to ensure patient safety. Identification of illicit substance use in pediatric patients may be problematic as screening may rely on parental reporting. The current study compares answers regarding use of illicit substances between a survey completed by the patient and the preoperative survey completed by parents or guardians. The study included patients presenting for surgery at Nationwide Children's Hospital, ranging in age from 12 to 21 years. After consent, patients completed a survey of six drop-down questions using an iPad. The six questions involved the patient's history of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, vaping, and opioid use. The results were compared to the answers obtained from the parents during a preoperative phone call. The study cohort included surveys from 250 patients with a median age of 16 years. Survey data showed a statistically higher reporting of substance use or abuse from the patient study survey in comparison to the routine parental preoperative survey. Alcohol report rates were highest with 69 (27.6%) patients reporting use compared to only 5 parental reports (2%). There was a similar discrepancy in reported rates of vaping use (40 patient reports, 16.0% vs. 11 parental reports, 4.4%) and illicit substance use including marijuana (52 patient reports, 20.8% vs. 11 parental reports, 4.4%). Reported rates of tobacco use were lowest among the survey responses with 12 patient reports (4.8%) and 5 parental reports (2.0%). Identifying illicit substance and tobacco use via a phone survey of parents is inaccurate and does not allow for proper identification of use of these substances in patients ≤21 years of age presenting for surgery. An anonymous 2-min survey completed by the patient more correctly identifies these issues.

This study explores the localised substance use perceptions, practices and experiences of a sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged young people in a South-Yorkshire town in England. The study investigates how young people assess and understand the risks, harms and pleasures of substance use, and how these understandings, as well as the broader dilemmas of contemporary life, shape substance use. The study examines the contexts, meanings, motivations and consequences of tobacco, alcohol, illegal drug and novel psychoactive substance use, capturing both established and emergent practices across the participants’ leisure spaces. Data was obtained through interviews, participant observations (in street-based leisure spaces), and a targeted survey across an underexplored and ‘hard-to-reach’ cohort of young people aged between 16 and 24. The participants’ perceptions of risk, harm and pleasure were fluid and shaped by experience and exposure to substances, social and cultural norms, and access to trusted and valued knowledge sources. Risk was evaluated through a conceptualisation of the potential for experiencing harm. However, the participants were found to focus on immediate, acute, tangible, visible and social harms in their risk assessments, rather than potential chronic and long-term health harms. The substances and practices which were not perceived to be associated with such immediate issues were differentiated as less risky, irrespective of their potential for long-term harm. The participants appeared to hold potentially erroneous beliefs around their abilities to control and manage substance use, and to avoid negative and long-term harms. Such beliefs shaped substance use practices, the implementation and adherence to harm reduction strategies, and perceptions around how current and future substance use would be managed. The participants’ socioeconomic disadvantage, ‘troubled’ transitional routes and social situations resulted in many being financially, culturally and geographically excluded from ‘adult’ activities and spaces, with this shaping their leisure and substance use practices. The study highlights the enduring relationships between socioeconomic disadvantage, health inequality, and young people’s substance use. Importantly, the findings undermine and unsettle dominant discourses which characterise disadvantaged and disengaged youth as ‘reckless’ and ‘uninformed’ substance users, as well as ‘feckless’ and ‘workless’ individuals.

Adolescent perceptions of the risks associated with the use of licit and illicit substances have important implications for policy and research. However, the methodological properties of the most popular risk measures in school surveys in Europe and the United States are not well understood. This study examines the potential contrast effects of risk measures of “heavy” and frequent substance use on perceived risks of occasional, moderate, and “experimental” use. Responses to 11 measures of the perceived risk of occasional smoking, moderate drinking, and experimental use of illicit substances were compared between two question forms administered to a split-half sample of all Icelandic ninth (14–15 years of age) and tenth (15–16 years of age) grade students present in class on the day of administration in March 2003 (N = 7099). In one form, only these 11 questions were used, while the other form also contained 13 questions on the perceived risk of heavy smoking, heavy drinking, and regular use of illicit substances. The longer form is found to decrease response rates and suppress estimates of perceived risk of experimental illicit substance use. Question form and perceived risks of heavy and regular use generally do not affect the multivariate effects of perceived risks of occasional, moderate, and experimental substance use on lifetime abstinence from each substance. It is argued that measures of perceived risks of heavy and regular substance use are less useful for prevention policy and research than are corresponding measures of occasional, moderate, and experimental substance use, and including the former in the same instrument may adversely affect the measurement of the latter constructs.

Alcohol Use Disorders and the Use of Treatment Services Among College-Age Young Adults

Background Substance use and suicide ideation are common behaviors that often overlap among college students. However, clues about their temporal relationship, as well as moderating factors (e.g., distress, peer perceptions of substance use), are understudied. Indeed, those with a history of suicide ideation may use avoidance coping (including substance use) to manage distress, underscoring the possibility of substance use as a response to suicide ideation, an oft-stressful experience in and of itself. Further, as a low sense of belongingness confers risk for suicide ideation, distress may increase compliance with perceived cultural norms, thus increasing substance use behavior. This study examined the effect of the suicide ideation-distress-peer perception interaction on substance use. Method Participants were 3,608 undergraduate students across eleven college campuses. Measures of past month substance use frequency, general distress, peer perceptions of substance use, and past year suicide ideation were utilized. Results Suicidal ideation was associated with e-cigarette, marijuana, and illicit drug use. There were main effects of suicide ideation (on e-cigarette and marijuana use) and peer perceptions of substance use (on tobacco, alcohol, e-cigarette, and marijuana use), but not distress, on past 30-day substance use. Further, the three-way interaction of suicide ideation, distress, and peer perceptions of substance use predicted frequency of past month tobacco and illicit drug use. Conclusions Suicide ideation may be temporally linked to use of specific substances. Peer perception and distress may strengthen the suicide ideation-substance use relationship. These factors should be carefully considered when treating individuals with substance use.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background: The General Medical Council state illicit substance use by medical students is an example of unprofessional behaviour. Previous research has shown the use of illicit substances to exist amongst medical students in the United Kingdom. This research aimed to determine the prevalence of illicit substance use amongst a single cohort of medical students and gather information concerning perceptions of this behaviour. The study sought to quantify the prevalence of illicit substance use within each year of study and gender identity. Methods: An anonymous online questionnaire was employed to conduct this quantitative research. This included nine questions regarding illicit substance use amongst medical students, with three additional demographic questions. The Statistical Product and Service Solutions was utilised to interrogate the data. Results: Out of 927 students in the medical school 201 (21.7%) people completed the questionnaire. 50.7% of respondents reported an any lifetime use of illicit substances, with 20.9% of the cohort reflecting recent illicit substance use within the previous 30 days. Drug use included amphetamines, amyl nitrate, cocaine and ecstasy amongst others. Cannabis was the most commonly used illicit substance, with a lifetime use of 45.8%. Statistical significance was determined for use of illicit use of substances within the male gender and older cohort years of the medical school. Conclusions: The current cohort had a greater prevalence of cannabis use than previously determined amongst medical students. Males and students in older years had higher rates of illicit substance use than their respective demographics. As such, further research may be necessary to investigate the underlying reasons for these findings.

Upvoting stigma? Analyzing themes in substance use stigma within Canadian subreddits.

Prior research has consistently demonstrated the salience of minority status in understanding racial and ethnic differences in perceptions of the police. This research has overwhelmingly shown that Blacks and Latinos hold lower levels of trust and confidence in the police than do Whites and other racial minorities. The increased skepticism of the police expressed by minority citizens is commonly associated with racial profiling and documented racial disparities in police behavior. Although policing research has empirically demonstrated the influence of race on perceptions of the police, few studies have explored the relevance of officer race in shaping citizens’ evaluations of police encounters. Using data from the BJS Police–Public Contact Survey, the purpose of this study is to examine whether racial variation in evaluations of police behavior is moderated by the race of the officer. The results suggest that officer race may be an important factor in shaping citizen perceptions of police stops, particularly when it comes to Black citizens. This finding is important as it provides some evidence that increasing the number of minority officers may be one viable option for improving citizen–officer relations.

Illicit drug use among college students: The role of social norms and risk perceptions

Background and Aims: Substance and tobacco use is associated with poor maternal and child health outcomes. Although these have each been linked to lower breastfeeding rates when examined separately, studies have yet to examine how the combination of tobacco and other substance use influences breastfeeding initiation and continuation. The aim of this study was to examine how the combination of smoking tobacco and use of illicit substances influences the odds of breastfeeding initiation and continuation. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study (n = 15,634) used survey data from the 2016-2018 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System from eight US states to examine the association of tobacco and illicit substance use with breastfeeding initiation and continuation (≥6 weeks). The odds of breastfeeding initiation and continuation for individuals with and without prenatal tobacco and illicit substance use, adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics, were estimated using weighted, multivariable logistic regression models. Results: The combination of prenatal tobacco and illicit substance use was associated with a 42% reduction in the odds of initiating breastfeeding (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.58 [95% confidence interval, CI 0.39-0.87]) and a 39% reduction in the odds of breastfeeding for at least 6 weeks (aOR 0.61 [95% CI 0.41-0.92]) when compared with those without tobacco and substance use. Conclusion: The odds of breastfeeding initiation and continuation are significantly lower among individuals with both prenatal tobacco and illicit substance use. Future studies are needed to identify barriers to breastfeeding within this population, to inform patient-centered interventions aimed at overcoming these barriers.

Diverging Trends Characterize Age-Related Illicit Drug Use

BackgroundSwedish national guidelines recommend that all health care settings systematically screen patients for alcohol use and illicit substance use. When hazardous use is identified, it should immediately be addressed, preferably through brief interventions (BI). It is well known that the prevalence of alcohol use and illicit substance use among psychiatric patients is high, but it is not known to what extent screening and BI are routinely carried out in such clinics.MethodsTwo online surveys investigating the use of screening and BI for alcohol and illicit substances were constructed; one for psychiatric outpatient clinic directors and one for staff at these clinics. The main analyses were calculated as simple frequencies. In secondary analyses, we investigated the associations between substance abuse training, type of clinic and screening/BI delivery. For these analyses, the Chi square test was used.ResultsMost clinic directors reported that they have guidelines to screen for alcohol (93.1%) and illicit substance use (78.9%) at initial assessment. Fifty percent reported having guidelines for delivering BI when identifying hazardous alcohol use (35.9% for hazardous illicit substance use). Among staff, 66.6% reported always screening for alcohol use and 57.8% reported always screening for illicit substance use at initial assessment. Further, 36.7% reported that they usually deliver BI when identifying hazardous alcohol use (35.7% for hazardous illicit substance use). Secondary analyses indicated that staff with substance abuse training were significantly more likely to screen for alcohol use than staff without such training. Further, staff at psychosis clinics were significantly less likely to screen for both alcohol and substance use than staff at both general and specialist psychiatric clinics.ConclusionsMost clinic directors reported having clear guidelines for staff to screen for alcohol use and illicit substance use, but fewer staff members than expected indicated that these guidelines were adhered to. Providing training about substance use disorders for staff may increase use of screening for alcohol use, and psychosis clinics may need to improve their screening routines.