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Objective: This study examined past-2-week driving after marijuana use (DMU) and driving after having five or more drinks (D5D) during young adulthood, specifically focusing on associations between within-person change in social roles (living situation, marriage, parenthood, education, employment) and mediators (perceived risk, evenings out, and religiosity) from modal ages 19 to 30.Method: Multilevel analyses were conducted using survey data collected from 2013 to 2019 from 1,873 adults (1,060 women; total number of data collection waves = 7,037) participating in the longitudinal Monitoring the Future study.Results: Change across waves from not being married to married was associated with lower DMU likelihood at any particular wave both directly and via mediation through wave-level change in evenings out. Change in employment (not employed to employed full time) was associated with higher D5D likelihood at any particular wave both directly and via mediation through change in evenings out. Wave-level change in other social roles was indirectly associated with DMU/D5D likelihood via wave-level change in evenings out.Conclusions: Change in all social roles examined was associated with change in evenings out, which appears to be a primary, proximal predictor of young adult DMU/D5D. Improved understanding of how socialization change is associated with driving after substance use may strengthen efforts to reduce the harms associated with such driving behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined past-2-week driving after marijuana use (DMU) and driving after having five or more drinks (D5D) during young adulthood, specifically focusing on associations between within-person change in social roles (living situation, marriage, parenthood, education, employment) and mediators (perceived risk, evenings out, and religiosity) from modal ages 19 to 30. Method: Multilevel analyses were conducted using survey data collected from 2013 to 2019 from 1,873 adults (1,060 women; total number of data collection waves = 7,037) participating in the longitudinal Monitoring the Future study. Results: Change across waves from not being married to married was associated with lower DMU likelihood at any particular wave both directly and via mediation through wave-level change in evenings out. Change in employment (not employed to employed full time) was associated with higher D5D likelihood at any particular wave both directly and via mediation through change in evenings out. Wave-level change in other social roles was indirectly associated with DMU/D5D likelihood via wave-level change in evenings out. Conclusions: Change in all social roles examined was associated with change in evenings out, which appears to be a primary, proximal predictor of young adult DMU/D5D. Improved understanding of how socialization change is associated with driving after substance use may strengthen efforts to reduce the harms associated with such driving behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study estimated the percentage of age 35 and 55 adults reporting using medical marijuana intended for someone else (diverted use) and compared demographics and health status of such users with respondents reporting recommended use (i.e., individuals with a medical marijuana recommendation for their own health conditions) and to respondents using marijuana not intended for medical use (nonmedical marijuana [NMM] use).Method: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using complex sample survey data collected from 2013 to 2018 from 12,138 adults (6,998 women) at modal ages 35 or 55 participating in the U.S. national Monitoring the Future study.Results: Diverted use was reported by 72.9% [95% CI, 66.4, 79.4] and 64.3% [56.0, 72.7] of age 35 and 55 past-12-month medical marijuana users, respectively. Age 35 diverted users were more likely than recommended users to not work full time and have no postsecondary education. Age 55 recommended users were more likely than NMM users to be retired. Age 35 diverted users were less likely than recommended users to report poor physical health (odds ratio [OR] = 0.40 [0.17, 0.94]). Age 55 diverted users were less likely than recommended users to report three or more poor health conditions (OR = 0.22 [0.09, 0.55]) and any qualifying conditions (OR = 0.21 [0.08, 0.58]). Prevalence of these conditions was similar between diverted and NMM users.Conclusions: Results indicated a substantial degree of nonmedical (i.e., recreational) marijuana use. Diverted and NMM users reported generally similar levels of health conditions, whereas diverted users had fewer indicators of poor health than recommended users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article examines noncausal associations between high school seniors' alcohol and marijuana use status and rates of self-reported unsafe driving in the past 12 months. Method: Analyses used data from 72,053 students collected through annual surveys of nationally representative cross-sectional samples of U.S. 12th-grade students from 1976 to 2011. Two aspects of past-12-month alcohol and marijuana use were examined: (a) use frequency and (b) status as a non-user, single substance user, concurrent user, or simultaneous user. Measures of past-12-month unsafe driving included any tickets/warnings or accidents, as well as tickets/warnings or accidents following alcohol or marijuana use. Analyses explored whether an individual's substance use frequency and simultaneous use status had differential associations with their rate of unsafe driving. Results: Higher substance use frequency (primarily alcohol use frequency) was significantly and positively associated with unsafe driving. The rate of engaging in any unsafe driving was also significantly and positively associated with simultaneous use status, with the highest rate associated with simultaneous use, followed by concurrent use, followed by use of alcohol alone. Individuals who reported simultaneous use most or every time they used marijuana had the highest likelihood of reporting unsafe driving following either alcohol or marijuana use. Conclusions: This article expands the knowledge on individual risk factors associated with unsafe driving among teens. Efforts to educate U.S. high school students (especially substance users), parents, and individuals involved in prevention programming and driver's education about the increased risks associated with various forms of drug use status may be useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article reviews changes in drinking patterns in the general U.S. population since the first appearance of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol in June 1940. Method: Contents of the three iterations of the journal (Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, and Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs) were reviewed along with additional prominent key articles on the subject known to the author. Results: Early articles in the field tended to focus on alcoholics and alcoholism, usually with a biological emphasis. The earliest "scientific investigation" of drinking patterns that appeared in iterations of JSAD reported data based on a survey in 1946, and the earliest report of trends in drinking patterns compared the 1946 data with data from 1963. Since then, there have been numerous evaluations of drinking patterns in the general U.S. population. Conclusions: There have been major changes over the past 75 years in the manner in which drinking patterns are measured and summarized. Perhaps the biggest change was the introduction of probability sampling. Additional major changes continue to occur, responding to technological changes (e.g., the use of computers, cell phones, and broadband connections) in how people interact with their environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Secondary school students' rates of substance use vary significantly by race/ethnicity and by their parents' level of education (a proxy for socioeconomic status). The relationship between students' substance use and race/ethnicity is, however, potentially confounded because parental education also differs substantially by race/ethnicity. This report disentangles the confounding by examining White, African American, and Hispanic students separately, showing how parental education relates to cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, and illicit drug use. Method: Data are from the 1999-2008 Monitoring the Future nationally representative in-school surveys of more than 360,000 students in Grades 8, 10, and 12. Results: (a) High proportions of Hispanic students have parents with the lowest level of education, and the relatively low levels of substance use by these students complicates total sample data linking parental education and substance use. (b) There are clear interactions: Compared with White students, substance use rates among African American and Hispanic students are less strongly linked with parental education (and are lower overall). (c) Among White students, 8th and 10th graders show strong negative relations between parental education and substance use, whereas by 12th grade their heavy drinking and marijuana use are not correlated with parental education. Conclusions: Low parental education appears to be much more of a risk factor for White students than for Hispanic or African American students. Therefore, in studies of substance use epidemiology, findings based on predominantly White samples are not equally applicable to other racial/ethnic subgroups. Conversely, the large proportions of minority students in the lowest parental education category can mask or weaken findings that are clearer among White students alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT. Objective: This article aims to contribute to the literature by reporting on a nationally representative study of U.S. youths regarding their self-reported reasons for abstaining from or quitting marijuana use and the relationships between such reasons and individual sociodemographic characteristics of gender and race/ethnicity. Method: This article uses data from in-school surveys obtained from nationally representative cross-sectional samples of U.S. high school seniors from 1977 to 2005 (N= 82,106). Results: Results indicate the following: (1) 50% of those reporting past-12-month marijuana use felt they should either stop or reduce their use; (2) among those saying they would not use marijuana in the coming year, the most frequently reported reasons cited were psychological and physical damage and not wanting to get high (reported by more than 60%), whereas the least frequently reported reasons included expense, concerns of having a bad trip, and availability (reported by fewer than 25%); and (3) clear differences existed in reported reasons by gender and race/ethnicity. Conclusions: A significant percentage of U.S. high school seniors who are recent marijuana users wish to either reduce or stop their marijuana use and are basing such desires on a wide variety of reasons that show significant gender and racial/ethnic variation. Marijuana prevention and cessation policy and programming could potentially be strengthened by incorporating the findings from these analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to report trends from 2001 to 2006 in the percentage of all high school seniors who drive after using marijuana, other illicit drugs, or alcohol or who are exposed as passengers to such behaviors. A second objective is to examine demographic and psychosocial correlates of these behaviors.Method: The data were obtained from the Monitoring the Future study, in which nationally representative samples of high school seniors have been surveyed annually since 1975.Results: In 2006, 30% of high school seniors reported exposure to a drugged or drinking driver in the past 2 weeks, down from 35% in 2001. Exposure was demonstrated to be widespread as defined by demographic characteristics (population density, region of the country, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and family structure). Individual lifestyle factors (religiosity, grade point average, truancy, frequency of evenings out for fun, and hours of work) showed considerable association with the outcome behaviors.Conclusions: Impaired driving by youth remains a problem needing serious attention despite some progress in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study reports trends from 1976 to 2001 in the number of tickets or warnings that high school seniors receive, the number of vehicle accidents in which they are drivers and the number of these events that occur after use of alcohol, marijuana or other illegal drugs. Method: The data come from the Monitoring the Future study, in which nationally representative samples of high school seniors have been surveyed annually since 1976. Results: Results demonstrate that the problem of unsafe or inappropriate driving among American youth is of considerable magnitude, although there has been a downward trend when adjusted for number of miles driven. The frequency of tickets received and vehicle accidents that occurred after use of alcohol has diminished markedly compared to the incidence of tickets and accidents after use of marijuana over the interval from 1976 to 2001. Conclusions: Despite the decline in the number of vehicle accidents occurring and tickets received after drinking or using illicit drugs, aggressive policies am still needed to deter youths from engaging in such risky behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the extent of alcohol use and other drug use of college students in the U.S. Estimation of level of alcohol use; Rates of alcohol use; Increase in alcohol drinking after high school graduation.

Looks at a study that tries to locate the different trajectories of binge drinking during development into adulthood. How trajectories are validated; Method of study using four waves of national panel data; Where the data was obtained from; Results and statistical data to support findings; Literary references for study and research.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine how reasons for substance use at age 18 relate to alcohol and marijuana use at ages 18 and 35 and to symptoms of alcohol use disorder and marijuana use disorder at age 35. Method: Bivariate correlation and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine the prediction of substance use and misuse by social/recreational, coping with negative affect, compulsive, and drug effect reasons for alcohol and marijuana use. Control variables included gender, race/ethnicity, parent education, and previous substance use (for age 35 outcomes). Results: Social/recreational, coping, and drug effect reasons for drinking predicted symptoms of alcohol use disorder 17 years later. Reasons for marijuana use were generally associated only with concurrent marijuana use; an exception was that drug effect reasons predicted marijuana use disorder at age 35. Conclusions: The long-term longitudinal predictive power of reasons for alcohol use (and, to a lesser extent, for marijuana use) suggests that adolescents' self-reported reasons, in particular those involving regulating emotions and experiences, may be early risk factors for continued use and misuse of substances into adulthood. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 72, 106-1 16, 2011) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine change in substance use with marriage, premarriage similarity in substance use between spouses, and the role of spouse use in predicting changes in use with marriage. Method: Nationally representative samples of high school seniors were followed longitudinally through age 35. The sample consisted of 2,169 adults from eight senior-year cohorts (1977-1984) from the Monitoring the Future study who completed a questionnaire at least once before their first marriage and at 2-year intervals at four consecutive points in time after marriage. Results: Results indicate significant reductions in use with marriage for cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, and marijuana use. Both men and women re- ported reductions in all three substances following marriage. Changes in women's use followed a linear pattern. Although men's decreases in cigarette smoking and heavy drinking were initially rapid and then decelerated, their decrease in marijuana use accelerated over time. Declines in use for both genders were associated with getting married to individuals who also decreased their use. Those with higher premarriage levels of substance use experienced greater reductions in use. A significant association between respondent and spouse premarital use suggests assortative mating takes place for all three substances. Conclusions: This study affirms and further qualifies the presence of a marriage effect on substance use using multiwave and multicohort national data. Results suggest that the effects of marriage on smoking, heavy drinking, and marijuana use are related to one's own initial levels of use and the direction of change in the spouse's use. These findings have important implications for life span theoretical advances as well as interventions aimed at the marital dyad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined age-related change in alcohol use, marijuana use, and the association between the two, from ages 18 to 55, in a national longitudinal sample. Method: Data were from national Monitoring the Future study participants (N = 11,888) who were high school seniors in 1976-1980 and were eligible to respond to the age 55 survey in 2013-2017. Time-varying effect modeling was used to model past-30-day prevalence and associations between alcohol and marijuana across ages 18-55, overall and by sex, race/ethnicity, and college attendance. Results: Marijuana prevalence peaked at age 18 and was lowest in the late 40s; alcohol prevalence peaked at age 22 and was lowest in the early 40s. Associations between alcohol and marijuana use were strongest at age 18. Significant differences were observed by sex, race/ethnicity, and college attendance (e.g., women's use was lower and decreased faster in the late 30s than men's; White respondents' alcohol and marijuana use were higher and peaked before Black respondents'; compared with non-attenders, college attenders' use was higher for alcohol but lower for marijuana). The alcohol and marijuana use association was strongest at ages 18-20 for most subgroups, except Black respondents, for whom the association was strongest at age 30. Conclusions: Longitudinal data showed patterns of alcohol and marijuana use across adulthood. Such patterns highlight sociodemographic risk factors across the life span, ages that should be targeted for clinician awareness and intervention efforts, and populations at particular risk of harm from alcohol and marijuana co-use during adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article aims to contribute to the literature by reporting on a nationally representative study of U.S. youths regarding their self-reported reasons for abstaining from or quitting marijuana use and the relationships between such reasons and individual sociodemographic characteristics of gender and race/ethnicity.Method: This article uses data from in-school surveys obtained from nationally representative cross-sectional samples of U.S. high school seniors from 1977 to 2005 (N = 82,106).Results: Results indicate the following: (1) 50% of those reporting past-12-month marijuana use felt they should either stop or reduce their use; (2) among those saying they would not use marijuana in the coming year, the most frequently reported reasons cited were psychological and physical damage and not wanting to get high (reported by more than 60%), whereas the least frequently reported reasons included expense, concerns of having a bad trip, and availability (reported by fewer than 25%); and (3) clear differences existed in reported reasons by gender and race/ethnicity.Conclusions: A significant percentage of U.S. high school seniors who are recent marijuana users wish to either reduce or stop their marijuana use and are basing such desires on a wide variety of reasons that show significant gender and racial/ethnic variation. Marijuana prevention and cessation policy and programming could potentially be strengthened by incorporating the findings from these analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]