Polysubstance use among young adults and differences in negative alcohol-related sexual experiences

Melissa A Lewis; Zhengyang Zhou; Kathleen A Parks; Rebecca Evans-Polce; Dana M Litt; Anne M Fairlie; Femke Geusens; Cassidy LoParco; Sean Esteban McCabe

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107571

Polysubstance use among young adults and differences in negative alcohol-related sexual experiences

Addict Behav. 2023 Mar:138:107571. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107571. Epub 2022 Dec 2.

Authors

Melissa A Lewis¹, Zhengyang Zhou², Kathleen A Parks³, Rebecca Evans-Polce⁴, Dana M Litt⁵, Anne M Fairlie⁶, Femke Geusens⁷, Cassidy LoParco⁵, Sean Esteban McCabe⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Behavior and Health Systems, School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, United States. Electronic address: Melissa.Lewis@unthsc.edu.
² Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, United States.
³ Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, The State University at New York at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, United States.
⁴ Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health, Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, 400 North Ingalls Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
⁵ Department of Health Behavior and Health Systems, School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, United States.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St, Seattle, WA 98195, United States.
⁷ Leuven School for Mass Communication Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45 box 3603, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Research Foundation Flanders/FWO Vlaanderen, Leuvenseweg 38, 1000 Brussel, Belgium.

Abstract

This study aimed to compare negative alcohol-related sexual experiences among individuals who used (1) alcohol only, (2) alcohol plus marijuana, and (3) alcohol plus marijuana and stimulants. Participants in the analytic sample (N = 1,015; Mean age = 19.16 (SD = 0.79); 45.42% male) completed an online baseline survey as part of an intervention study. A hurdle negative binomial model examined the associations between polysubstance use and negative alcohol-related sexual experiences. Models examined if experiences varied by demographic factors. Compared to participants that only used alcohol, those who used alcohol plus marijuana and stimulants reported a higher likelihood and average number of negative alcohol-related sexual experiences in the past 3 months. Participants that used alcohol plus marijuana had a higher likelihood of having a negative alcohol-related sexual experience in the past 3 months compared to those who only used alcohol. These findings suggest the number and risk for negative alcohol-related sexual experiences increases with the number of substances being used.

Keywords: Alcohol consequences; Alcohol-related sexual experiences; Polysubstance use; Sexual risk taking; Substance use.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Alcohol Drinking* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Sexual Behavior
Substance-Related Disorders* / epidemiology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding