@article{ref1,
title="Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of party-drug use and associated problems among university students in the Netherlands",
journal="Substance use and misuse",
year="2018",
author="Kunst, Laura E. and Gebhardt, Winifred A.",
volume="53",
number="12",
pages="2077-2088",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Recent developments in drug use patterns call for an investigation of current party-drug use and associated problems among college students, who appear to be an important target population for harm reduction interventions. <br><br>OBJECTIVES: In addition to reporting on party-drug use prevalence, we investigated whether initial use and continuation of party-drug use among students was associated with demographic, personality and psychosocial factors. <br><br>METHODS: An online questionnaire was administered to 446 students from a Dutch university, inquiring about party-drug use, demographic characteristics, social norms and personality (big five, impulsiveness, aggression). Univariate and multivariate bootstrapped linear regression analyses were used. <br><br>RESULTS: Of all students, 22.9% indicated having used party-drugs at least once, with a notable sex difference (39.2% of men vs. 16.2% of women). In contrast to the reported trends in Dutch nightlife, GHB was used rarely (lifetime 1.6%) and new psychoactive substances (NPS; 6.7%) appeared almost equally popular as amphetamines (7.6%) and cocaine (7%). Mild health/psychosocial problems (e.g., doing embarrassing things, feeling unwell) were common (65%), whereas serious problems (e.g., being hospitalized) were rare. Neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness and impulsiveness were associated with lifetime but not regular party-drug use. Of all predictors, lifetime and regular party-drug use were most strongly related to lenient injunctive and descriptive norms in friends, and a low motivation to comply with parents. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that harm reduction/preventive interventions might profit from focusing on social norms, and targeting students who are highly involved in a pro-party-drug environment while experiencing less parental influence.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1082-6084",
doi="10.1080/10826084.2018.1455700",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2018.1455700"
}