Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Mar:66:145-150.
doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.11.017. Epub 2016 Nov 18.

Polydrug use among urban adolescent cigarette smokers

Karma L McKelvey  1 , Danielle E Ramo  2 , Kevin Delucchi  3 , Mark L Rubinstein  4
Affiliations

Polydrug use among urban adolescent cigarette smokers

Karma L McKelvey et al. Addict Behav. 2017 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: Adolescent smokers are at increased risk for polydrug use, which is associated with more consequences than use of a single drug. Here we classified subgroups of polydrug use among urban adolescent cigarette-smokers; described the sociodemographic, smoking, and depression correlates; and identified three-year outcomes associated with subgroup membership.

Methods: Adolescent cigarette smokers (N=176; Mage=16.1; 35% male; 27% white) completed surveys assessing drug use, smoking characteristics, demographics, and depressive symptoms at baseline and 12, 24, and 36months follow-up.

Results: Almost all participants (96%) reported using, on average, two (SD=0.97) substances (including other tobacco products) in addition to cigarettes. Latent class analysis revealed two distinct classes of polydrug users. "Limited Range Use" (84%) class members reported current use of other tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, as did "Extended Range Use" class members (16%) who also reported current use of "harder drugs" (i.e., cocaine/crack, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and misused prescriptions). The classes did not differ on demographics or baseline likelihood of marijuana (χ2=0.25; p<0.62) or alcohol use (χ2=3.3; p<0.07). At baseline, a larger proportion of Extended Range Use class members reported both smoking the entire cigarette and symptoms of clinical depression. Extended Range Use class membership at baseline predicted higher mean depression scores at 24 and 36months.

Conclusion: Adolescent cigarette-smokers who reported extended range use (18%) also reported symptoms of clinical depression at baseline and follow-up. These findings indicate a need for early monitoring of depression symptoms and prevention and cessation interventions targeting this high-risk group.

Keywords: Adolescent; Polydrug use; Smoking; Substance use; Tobacco.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Author disclosures

MR designed the parent study and wrote the protocol. KD conducted the analyses in consultation with DR and KM. KM completed the first draft of the manuscript, including all parts, and KD, DR, and MR reviewed and revised subsequent drafts of the manuscript. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.

All four authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Percent prevalence of current drug use by class, drug category, and time point among a cohort of adolescent cigarette smokers age 16.1 at baseline (N = 176).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Akaike H. Breakthroughs in statistics. Springer; 1992. Information theory and an extension of the maximum likelihood principle; p. 610.
    1. Arnett JJ. Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. The American Psychologist. 2000;55:469. - PubMed
    1. Avenevoli S, Swendsen J, He J, et al. Major depression in the National Comorbidity Survey–Adolescent supplement: Prevalence, correlates, and treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2015;54:37. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bohnert KM, Walton MA, Resko S, Barry KT, Chermack ST, Zucker RA, Blow FC. Latent class analysis of substance use among adolescents presenting to urban primary care clinics. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 2014;40:44. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brook DW, Brook JS, Zhang C, Cohen P, Whiteman M. Drug use and the risk of major depressive disorder, alcohol dependence, and substance use disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2002;59:1039. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances