The purpose of this study was to examine the stages of drug use acquisition among college students, and the relationship between stage status and motivation to avoid drugs and the frequency of drug use. Six hundred and sixty-nine students from a mid-size public university were selected to participate in the survey. College students were found to differ with regard to their stage of habit acquisition across five drugs. Stage status for a particular drug was associated with motivation to avoid that drug, with less motivation generally being related to greater stage advancement. Stage of acquisition for certain drugs was also found to be related to the frequency of use of other drugs, with alcohol and marijuana stage status being associated with the consumption of the greatest number of drugs. These results suggest that an acquisition stage heuristic holds promise in increasing our understanding of important developmental stages of drug use.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Seventh Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland, 1990.
2.
National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Highlights 1990, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland, 1991.
3.
CSR, Incorporated, Quick Facts, Alcohol Epidemiological Data System, May 8, 1989.
4.
JohnstonL. D.O'MalleyP. M.BachmanJ. G., Illicit Drug Use, Drinking, and Smoking, National Survey Results From America's High School Students, College Students, and Young Adults, 1975–1990, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, Maryland, 1991.
5.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives, Public Health Service, Washington, D.C., 1990.
6.
AndersonD. S.GadeletoA. F., The College Alcohol Survey, George Mason University, Virginia, 1991.
7.
O'ConnellD. F.PattersonH. O., Survey of Current College Alcohol Abuse Programs, Attitudes, and Training Needs, Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 34:2, pp. 61–69, 1989.
8.
BrauchtG. N.BrauchtB., Prevention of Alcohol Abuse, Plenum Press, New York, 1984.
9.
ToblerN. S., Meta-Analysis of 143 Drug Prevention Programs: Quantitative Outcome Results of Program Participants Compared to a Control or Comparison Group, Journal of Drug Issues, 16:4, pp. 537–567, 1986.
10.
DiClementeC. C.ProchaskaJ. O.FairhurstS. K.VelicerW. F.VelasquezM. M.RossiJ. S., The Process of Smoking Cessation: An Analysis of Precontemplation, Contemplation, and Preparation Stages of Change, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59:2, pp. 295–304, 1991.
11.
GlynnK.LeventhalH.HirschmanR., A Cognitive Developmental Approach to Smoking Prevention, in Prevention Research: Deterring Drug Abuse Among Children and Adolescents, BellC. S.BattjesR. B. (eds.), NIDA Research Monograph 63, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland, 1985.
12.
SternR. A.ProchaskaJ. O.VelicerW. F.ElderJ. P., Stages of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking Acquisition: Measurement and Sample Profiles, Addictive Behaviors, 12, pp. 319–329, 1987.
13.
WerchC. E.DiClementeC. C., A Multi-Component Motivational Stages (McMOS) Model for Preventing Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse among College Students, Faculty and Staff, presentation made at the 119th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Atlanta, Georgia, 1991.
14.
ProchaskaJ. O.DiClementeC. C., Stages and Processes of Self-Change of Smoking: Toward an Integrative Model of Change, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, pp. 390–395, 1983.
15.
ProchaskaJ. O.DiClementeC. C., Toward a Comprehensive Model for Change, in Treating Addictive Behaviors, MillerW. R.HeatherN. (eds.), Plenum Press, New York, 1986.
16.
ProchaskaJ. O.DiClementeC. C., Stages of Change in the Modification of Problem Behaviors, Progress in Behavior Modification, 28, pp. 184–218, 1992.
17.
SAS Institute Incorporated, SAS/STAT User's Guide, Version 6, Volume 1 & 2, fourth edition, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina, 1989.
18.
TeutschS. M., A Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness of Disease and Injury Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 41:RR-3, pp. 1–12, 1992.
19.
BrookJ. S.WhitemanM.GordonA. S., Stages of Drug Use in Adolescence: Personality, Peer, and Family Correlates, Developmental Psychology, 19, pp. 269–277, 1983.
20.
KandelD. B., Stages of Adolescent Involvement in Drug Use, Science, 190, pp. 912–914, 1975.
21.
KandelD. B.YamaguchiK., Developmental Patterns of the Use of Legal, Illegal, and Medically Prescribed Psychotropic Drugs for Adolescence to Young Adulthood, in Etiology of Drug Abuse: Implications for Prevention, JonesC. L.BattjesR. J. (eds.), NIDA Research Monograph 56, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland, 1985.
