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Substance use in young adulthood and polysubstance users (PSU), in particular, pose unique risks for adverse consequences. Prior research on young adult PSU has identified multiple classes of users, but most work has focused on college students. We examined PSU patterns by age and college attendance during young adulthood in two nationally representative samples. Using National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) Wave 1 and NESARC-III data sets, multigroup latent class analysis (MG-LCA) was employed to examine PSU patterns based on age (18-24 vs. 25-34) and determine whether solutions were similar (i.e., statistically invariant) by college attendance/graduation. Classes were estimated by binary past-year use of sedatives, tranquilizers, opioids/painkillers, heroin, amphetamines/stimulants, cocaine, hallucinogens, club drugs, and inhalants, and past-year frequency of alcohol, cigarette, and cannabis use. PSU patterns are largely replicated across waves. Model fit supported 3-class solutions in each MG-LCA: Low frequency-limited-range PSU (alcohol, cigarettes, and cannabis only), medium-to-high frequency limited-range PSU (alcohol, cigarettes, and cannabis only), and extended-range PSU (ER PSU; all substances). Apart from one model, MG-LCA solutions were not invariant by college attendance/graduation, suggesting important differences between these groups. Except for alcohol, cannabis, and cigarette use frequency, results showed that probabilities of illicit and prescription drug use declined in the older age group. Findings also supported examining college and noncollege youth separately when studying PSU. ER PSU may be uniquely vulnerable to coingesting substances, particularly for nongraduates, warranting future research to classify patterns of simultaneous PSU and identify predictors and consequences of high-risk combinations (e.g., alcohol and opioids). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

There is a high comorbidity between symptoms of depression and cannabis and alcohol use in civilian and veteran populations. Prospective studies attempting to clarify the directionality of these comorbidities have yielded mixed results. Further, the relations between these constructs and impulsive personality, particularly negative urgency (NU, the tendency to act rashly when experiencing emotional distress) warrants further attention, as NU relates to symptoms of depression and alcohol and cannabis use. Importantly, NU partially accounts for the association between symptoms of depression and cannabis and alcohol problems in cross-sectional studies. This study examined alternative theories of directionality in order to better understand the longitudinal associations between symptoms of depression, NU, and cannabis or alcohol use. Three semiannual waves of data (baseline, 6-month, and 12-month) were collected in parallel assessments from a sample of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn veterans ( N = 361). Autoregressive cross-lagged panel models were used to test four alternative theory-driven models about the longitudinal associations between the interaction of symptoms of depression and NU and cannabis or alcohol use. Models revealed unique direction of effects specific to each substance, such that the interaction between symptoms of depression and NU at 6 months postbaseline predicted more alcohol use at 12 months postbaseline, whereas more cannabis use at 6 months postbaseline predicted more severe symptoms of depression at 12 months postbaseline. Results suggests alternate directions of effect for cannabis and alcohol use. Future research should examine these patterns over wider assessment periods in order to see more variability and change over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Marijuana use has been associated with sexual risk behavior, but the mechanisms that underlie this relationship are not well understood. The present study examined whether marijuana acutely increased sexual risk on a behavioral decision-making task and whether sex-related marijuana outcome expectancies influenced sexual risk decisions after marijuana administration. Participants were heterosexual marijuana users (n = 126) who were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 study conditions using a 2 × 2 factorial design crossing drug administration (received 2.8% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] or 0% THC) with instructional set (told THC or told placebo). Participants completed a self-report measure of sex-related marijuana outcome expectancies at baseline and estimated likelihood of using condoms with a new and a steady partner in an interactive sexual role-play task (SRT) after smoking. In gender-specific analyses, there was a significant interaction of drug administration by sex-related outcome expectancies, such that for men in the received-placebo conditions, more salient sex-related marijuana outcome expectancies were associated with increased likelihood for sex without a condom with a new partner. Among women, there was no interaction or main effect of drug administration but more salient sex-related marijuana outcome expectancies were associated with increased likelihood of sex without a condom with a steady but not new partner. Findings suggest marijuana does not acutely increase risk for engaging in sexual risk behaviors. By contrast, sex-related marijuana outcome expectancies may play a more significant role in sexual decision-making process among marijuana users. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).)