Drug use expectancies among nonabstinent community cocaine users

Previous research has shown that one's expectations about the effects of using a particular substance (i.e., substance use expectancies) are associated with the quantity and frequency of actual use. An extensive literature supports the importance of expectancies in predicting alcohol use, but less is known about the association between expectancies and use of other substances. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the association between cocaine expectancies and frequency of use in a heterogeneous community sample of drug users. Participants were 157 self-identified primary cocaine users recruited from the community as part of a hepatitis prevention study. Participants completed a structured interview that assessed demographic variables, current and past drug use, and drug expectancies. Results from multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that frequency of cocaine use was positively associated with higher expectation that drug use would increase social and physical pleasure (OR=1.67, p<0.05) and inversely associated with higher expectation that drug use would increase cognitive and physical impairment (OR=0.59, p<0.01). These findings suggest that drug use expectancies are an important correlate of cocaine use behavior in nontreatment-seeking community users.