NCJ Number
225632
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 15 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 365-377
Date Published
August 2008
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study assessed college students' attributions for abstinence from alcohol and illicit drugs.
Abstract
Results were consistent with previous research that found that participants endorsed lack of interest or curiosity about the substance, potential damage to one’s academic performance or health, and drug use being contrary to one’s values or self-image as reasons for abstinence. Like other research, this study found that financial cost and accessibility of drugs, fear of legal consequences or drug testing, and peer influence were of less influence. As in previous research, this research found that the influence of some types of reasons for abstinence varied depending on the drug under consideration, although similarly, many reasons were equally important or equally unimportant regardless of the specific substance. However, unlike the respondents in this study, other research respondents found that concern for one’s physical and mental health motivated abstinence from many substances. Data were collected from 125 undergraduates who rated the degree to which each of 41 listed reasons influenced their abstention from 6 specific substances (alcohol, MDMA/ecstasy, inhalants, cocaine, marijuana, and hallucinogens). Tables and references