Psychosocial correlates of recreational ecstasy use among college students

College students' ecstasy (MDMA) use increased significantly in recent years, yet little is known about these students. In this study, the authors used the Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Studies (CORE) survey to compare 29 college students who had used ecstasy and other illicit drugs with 90 students who had used marijuana and no other illicit drugs. They noted differences in age, frequency of alcohol and marijuana use, average age of onset of marijuana use, frequency of negative consequences associated with substance use, perceptions of peer norms' drug use, perceived peer acceptance of substance use, and risk perception of substance use. When they entered polysubstance use as a covariate, many of these correlates became nonsignificant. The authors suggest that college ecstasy initiators may be a cohort of marijuana users who tend to engage in multiple risk-taking behaviors. This study serves as a preliminary effort to better understand college students who use ecstasy recreationally.