Effects of Substance Use Education Programs: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Student Use.

In this study, differential substance use between American and Australian college students was assessed through administration of a survey concerning recent use of six commonly used psychoactive substances (cigarettes, chewing tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and caffeine). Situational contexts associated with the use of each particular substance were also investigated, along with the motivating factors that prompted different types of substance use. Students (N=195) attending college in a suburban area of the Northeastern United States and students (N=27) from an urban university in South Wales, Australia, completed the survey. Overall, few significant differences were found between Americans and Australians on the substance use measures. Americans may make more instrumental use of psychoactive substances as a function of situational context, while Australians make greater use of substances due to specific motivational states. Several differences emerged on the measures of conscious motivation for substance use. Australians acknowledged using alcohol more extensively than Americans to fit in with others and because everyone else was doing it. Limitations of the study are discussed along with suggestions for future research. (Contains 1 table and 22 references.) (JDM)