TY - JOUR
T1 - Simultaneous use of marijuana and alcohol
T2 - Potential prevention targets among young adults who use alcohol
AU - Skinner, Martie L.
AU - Guttmannova, Katarina
AU - Oesterle, Sabrina
AU - Kuklinski, Margaret R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health [R01DA015183, R56DA044522, and R01DA044522]; with co-funding from the National Cancer Institute; the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the National Institute of Mental Health; the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention; and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. The funding agencies played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of this report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use (SAM) such that their effects overlap has emerged as a behavior that is riskier than using either substance separately. It has been associated with high-risk binge drinking and driving while intoxicated during young adulthood, and it has been demonstrated to cause greater physical and mental impairment than use of alcohol or marijuana separately. To identify intervention and prevention targets specific to SAM, we examined the relationships between alcohol- and marijuana-specific beliefs and attitudes (risk factors) and self-reported SAM compared to non-simultaneous co-use (CAM) and alcohol use only in the past 30 days in a sample of young adults (n = 1,023, mean age = 23.17; SD = 0.43). Of those who reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, 20.7% reported SAM, 12.6% reported CAM, and 66.6% reported using only alcohol. Results from multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that some marijuana-specific risk factors (e.g., belief that it is not at all wrong for someone their age to use marijuana) differentiated SAM or CAM from alcohol use only, but alcohol-specific risk factors generally did not. However, the perceptions that parents approved of their using marijuana or frequently drinking heavily were associated with a greater likelihood of SAM compared to CAM (OR ranged from 2.25 to 3.53). Findings point to the salience of individuals’ attitudes and beliefs around marijuana use and their perception of parental approval of heavy drinking and marijuana use as potential targets for prevention programs targeting risk reduction among young adults.
AB - Simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use (SAM) such that their effects overlap has emerged as a behavior that is riskier than using either substance separately. It has been associated with high-risk binge drinking and driving while intoxicated during young adulthood, and it has been demonstrated to cause greater physical and mental impairment than use of alcohol or marijuana separately. To identify intervention and prevention targets specific to SAM, we examined the relationships between alcohol- and marijuana-specific beliefs and attitudes (risk factors) and self-reported SAM compared to non-simultaneous co-use (CAM) and alcohol use only in the past 30 days in a sample of young adults (n = 1,023, mean age = 23.17; SD = 0.43). Of those who reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, 20.7% reported SAM, 12.6% reported CAM, and 66.6% reported using only alcohol. Results from multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that some marijuana-specific risk factors (e.g., belief that it is not at all wrong for someone their age to use marijuana) differentiated SAM or CAM from alcohol use only, but alcohol-specific risk factors generally did not. However, the perceptions that parents approved of their using marijuana or frequently drinking heavily were associated with a greater likelihood of SAM compared to CAM (OR ranged from 2.25 to 3.53). Findings point to the salience of individuals’ attitudes and beliefs around marijuana use and their perception of parental approval of heavy drinking and marijuana use as potential targets for prevention programs targeting risk reduction among young adults.
KW - Attitudes and beliefs
KW - Polysubstance use
KW - Risk factors
KW - Simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana
KW - Young adults
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U2 - 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107118
DO - 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107118
M3 - Article
C2 - 34583272
AN - SCOPUS:85115780785
SN - 0306-4603
VL - 124
JO - Addictive Behaviors
JF - Addictive Behaviors
M1 - 107118
ER -