College students' use of cocaine: results from a longitudinal study

College students have high rates of heavy drinking and other risky behaviors, but little is known about trends in their use of cocaine. In this longitudinal study of 1253 college students at one large, public university in the mid-Atlantic region, annual interviews assessed opportunity to use cocaine, cocaine use, and DSM-IV criteria for cocaine abuse and dependence. Follow-up rates exceeded 87% annually. Data from the first four years of college were analyzed to detect changes over time and possible gender differences. By their fourth year of college, 36%(wt) of students had been offered cocaine at least once in their lifetime, and 13%(wt) had used cocaine. Annual prevalence of cocaine use increased significantly over time (4%(wt) in Year 1 to 10%(wt) in Year 4) and remained similar across genders. Opportunities to use cocaine were significantly more prevalent for males than females during Years 2 through 4. Cocaine use given opportunity increased significantly over time for both males and females. Among 243 cocaine users, females (n=113) had more serious use patterns than males, with higher average frequency of use (18.39 vs. 8.83 days during the peak year of use, p<.05) and greater likelihood of meeting criteria for cocaine dependence (9.3% vs. 2.5%, p<.05). Gender differences in typical cocaine dosage were not apparent. College administrators and health providers should be aware of the prevalence of cocaine use among student populations and design strategies to address the problem.