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Simultaneous co‐ingestion of prescription stimulants, alcohol and other drugs: a multi‐cohort national study of US adolescents
Author(s) -
McCabe Sean Esteban,
West Brady T.,
Schepis Ty S.,
Teter Christian J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.2449
Subject(s) - medical prescription , medicine , ingestion , population , cohort , psychiatry , environmental health , pharmacology
Objective To determine the past‐year prevalence rates and correlates of simultaneous co‐ingestion of prescription stimulants and other substances among US high school seniors. Methods Nationally representative probability samples of US high school seniors were surveyed as a part of the Monitoring the Future study. The sample consisted of five cohorts including a total of 12 431 high school seniors (modal age: 18 years) and represented a population that was 53% female. Results Among past‐year nonmedical users of prescription stimulants ( n = 835), the estimated prevalence of any past‐year simultaneous co‐ingestion of prescription stimulants and other substances was 64.4%. The substances most commonly co‐ingested with prescription stimulants included marijuana (51.1%) and alcohol (48.4%). Nonmedical users who co‐ingested prescription stimulants with other substances were more likely to report non‐oral routes of administration, recreational motives and greater subjective high when using prescription stimulants than nonmedical users who did not co‐ingest prescription stimulants with other substances. Conclusions The majority of past‐year nonmedical users of prescription stimulants reported simultaneous co‐ingestion of prescription stimulants and other substances. The findings indicate that co‐ingestion of prescription stimulants and other substances is a pervasive behavior among US adolescents who engage in nonmedical use of prescription stimulants and should be carefully considered in future clinical practice and research. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.