NCJ Number
134960
Journal
International Journal of the Addictions Volume: 25 Issue: 9 Dated: (1990) Pages: 1025-1036
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A random sample of 10 percent of the undergraduate student body at a rural New England university was surveyed regarding its use of drugs in 1987.
Abstract
Four hundred students, divided equally among the undergraduate classes, participated in the study. The 1987 Health Service Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use was the instrument used to obtain data. A total of 350 questionnaires were completed and returned. The findings show that alcohol is clearly the "drug of choice" on the campus, and the second most used drug is marijuana. The 1987 survey findings were also compared to similar studies conducted on the campus in 1977 and 1983. Over the decade there has been a decrease in daily, weekly, and monthly use of marijuana. Cocaine use was greatest in the 1983 survey, but the 1987 figures were still somewhat higher than those of 1977. Hallucinogen use has remained low across all three observation points. Students who reported having substance-dependent parents indicated more use of cocaine, "ecstasy," and sedative-hypnotic drugs than their fellow students. The study acknowledges an inherent limitation in that estimates of substance use are subject to faulty recall, denial, or exaggeration. A survey of this type, however, contributes to a larger picture of substance-use patterns by delineating what is happening in a particular type of collegiate institution. 5 tables and 20 references