Aims: Concepts that may be effective in alleviating negative alcohol-related consequences among college students are protective behavioural strategies (PBSs), such as alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Our study used an innovative hypothesis-testing statistical technique (structural equation modelling, SEM) to examine the relationship…

Aims: Young adults have the highest smoking rate of any age group in the United States. However, little is known about how young adults, including college students, access and pay for cigarettes--important information for guiding policies and prevention and intervention efforts. This study examined students' use of university debit cards, which…

Aims: Assess key cannabis use, risk and outcome characteristics among high-frequency cannabis users within a university student sample in Toronto, Canada. Methods: N = 134 active universities students (ages of 18-28) using cannabis at least three times per week were recruited by mass advertisement, telephone-screened and anonymously assessed by an…

Aims: This study examined: (a) whether student service members/veterans attending college drank more frequently or in greater quantities than non-service peers; and (b) whether links between student service members/veterans' alcohol use and mental health-related outcomes differed from civilian students.Methods: Participants included 145 student…

This article reviews and reflects on the Diploma in Addiction Studies: a 1-year, full-time programme taught at the School of Social Work and Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin since the academic year 1983/1984, which has recently had its external funding withdrawn. The programme was aimed at multidisciplinary classes, including students from…

The social norms approach to health promotion has become remarkably popular in the last 20 years, particularly in the American college system. It is an alternative to traditional fear-based approaches of health education, which a growing body of research demonstrates is often ineffective in reducing alcohol and drug misuse. The social norms…

Aims: Rational Choice theory was tested to better understand the differences in behaviour regarding walking and driving under the influence of alcohol. Methods: Students at a residential college campus in Virginia were surveyed. Findings: Results show that students were less likely to walk or drive while intoxicated if they believed such behaviour…

Purpose: This study examined the impact of medical education on students' views of substance abuse treatment, public policy options and training. Method: A longitudinal survey was conducted on a single-class cohort of 101 students in a major American, urban medical school. The survey was administered in the Spring semesters of the first to third…

Aims: To: (1) estimate the proportion of students exposed to specific types of information regarding the positive and negative effects of ecstasy, (2) test models that quantified the relationship between exposure to these messages and subsequent ecstasy use, controlling for peer drug use and sensation-seeking. Methods: As part of the College Life…

Aim: This study was designed to investigate the link between appearance concerns and smoking in young men and women. Methods: A total of 244, 17-34-year-olds completed the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire Appearance Sub-Scales (MBSRQ-AS). Findings: Smokers scored significantly lower than non-smokers on appearance evaluation and…

This article describes the origin of the Centre for History in Public Health and the significance of its location in a leading school of public health. It is in three parts: (1) A brief history of how the AIDS programme became the History Centre; (2) The distinctive approach of the Centre's staff as historians: their contribution and its…

Objective: The present study was designed to assess whether the serving practices of a sample of bartenders in an American university town would vary as a function of the number of behavioral cues of intoxication displayed by apparently real patrons (who were actually experimental confederates). Method: We trained two male and three female…

Aim: To assess college students' attributions for abstinence from alcohol and illicit drugs. Method: We recruited 125 undergraduates to rate the degree to which each of 41 listed reasons influenced their abstention from six specific substances (alcohol, MDMA/ecstasy, inhalants, cocaine, marijuana, and hallucinogens). Findings: Internal consistency…

Aims: To investigate UK university student drinking in terms of social and motivational factors. Design: Quantitative and qualitative studies. Participants: Undergraduate students at a UK university: 50 "heavy drinkers" and 49 "light drinkers", equally distributed in terms of sex and year of study. Data: Questionnaire measures of drinking…

Cannabis use is increasingly prevalent among young adults in Canada. Due to cannabis' impairment effects, driving under the influence of cannabis has recently developed into a traffic-safety concern, yet little is known about the specific circumstances and factors characterizing this behavior among young people. In this study, we interviewed a…