Associations Between Alcohol and Drug Use Among Collegiate Young Adults: Preliminary Findings

The current study aims to examine correlates between binge drinking behavior with licit and illicit drug use among college students. Thirty-seven undergraduates (6 male) completed questionnaires concerning alcohol consumption throughout the one month duration of the study. Participants performed three cognitive computer tasks at both baseline (T1) and follow-up (T2) assessment. At T2 participants also filled out a drug usage questionnaire. This study stems from a larger longitudinal pilot study. Strong correlations were found for increased cigarette use: the number of drinking days reported, r (34) = .442, p =.007, as well as non-binge drinking days and marijuana use, r (34) =.465, p =.004. Cigarette smokers were more likely than not to partake in multiple drinking behaviors. Marijuana was found to be used more on days in which binge drinking did not occur alluding to a preference to smoke rather than drink excessively while smoking marijuana.