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Cocaine use among young adults.
Advances in Alcohol & Substance Abuse
|January 1, 1986
Summary
Cocaine use is common in young adults, with many users differing significantly from non-users. Greater drug involvement correlates with more pronounced differences in behavior, health, and life satisfaction.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Cocaine use presents growing public health concerns.
- Prevalence of cocaine use necessitates understanding user demographics and behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key differences between young adult cocaine users and non-users.
- To explore the relationship between cocaine use severity and associated characteristics.
Main Methods:
- A large sample of young adults was surveyed.
- Data collected on sociodemographic factors, drug use, attitudes, behaviors, health, and life satisfaction.
Main Results:
- One-third of the sample used cocaine in the past six months; 5% used weekly.
- Cocaine users exhibited significant differences in sociodemographics, polydrug use, deviant behaviors, social context, physical/mental health, and life satisfaction.
- Higher cocaine involvement was linked to greater difficulties in adult role acquisition and more deviant behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Cocaine use is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes in young adults.
- Personality traits, particularly lack of law abidance, predict increased cocaine use from adolescence to young adulthood.