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Comparative Study
. 2008;43(5):680-99.
doi: 10.1080/10826080701202684.

Tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among first-year U.S. college students: a time series analysis

Lisa Dierker  1 , Marilyn Stolar, Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson, Stephen Tiffany, Brian Flay, Linda Collins, Mimi Nichter, Mark Nichter, Steffani Bailey, Richard Clayton; Tobacco Etiology Research Network
Collaborators, Affiliations
Comparative Study

Tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among first-year U.S. college students: a time series analysis

Lisa Dierker et al. Subst Use Misuse. 2008.

Abstract

The present study sought to evaluate the day-to-day patterns of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among first-year college students in the United States. Using 210 days of weekly time-line follow-back diary data collected in 2002 to 2003, the authors examined within-person patterns of use. The sample was 48% female and 90% Caucasian. Sixty-eight percent of the participants were permanent residents of Indiana. Univariate time series analysis was employed to evaluate behavioral trends for each substance across the academic year and to determine the predictive value of day-to-day substance use. Some of the most common trends included higher levels of substance use at the beginning or end of the academic year. Use on any given day could be predicted best from the amount of corresponding substance use 1 day prior.

Conclusions: Although universal intervention might best be focused in the earliest weeks on campus and at the end of the year when substance use is at its highest, the diversity of substance use trajectories suggests the need for more targeted approaches to intervention. Study limitations are noted.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of most common smoking pattern (negative linear/positive quadratic, negative linear and no trend)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Example of most common alcohol use pattern (positive linear).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Example of most common marijuana use pattern (no trend)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Proportion of Participants by Direction of Significant Tobacco Smoking Lag (N=119)
Figure 5
Figure 5
Proportion of Participants by Direction of Significant Alcohol Use Lag (N=141)
Figure 6
Figure 6
Proportion of Participants by Direction of Significant Marijuana Smoking Lag (N=37)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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