IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Presentation
Original Publication Date
2025
Date of Submission
June 2025
Abstract
Background: Co-use of alcohol and nicotine or cannabis is prevalent among emerging adults. Alcohol sensitivity is associated with problematic alcohol use. Here, we examined whether alcohol sensitivity is associated with problematic nicotine or cannabis use in those who use these substances in addition to alcohol.
Methods: Data were from first-year college students who reported alcohol and nicotine (N=599) or alcohol and cannabis (N=787) use in Spit for Science’s Fall 2014 survey, an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of students at a large, urban public university. The Self-Rating of Effects of Alcohol scale (SRE) measured initial alcohol sensitivity, and the Fagerstrom Test measured nicotine dependence. Mean SRE and Fagerstrom scores, and DSM-5 cannabis use disorder (CUD) symptom counts, were calculated. Pearson correlations and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted. Five UPPS-P impulsivity subscales (negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, sensation seeking) and demographics were used as covariates.
Results: Correlations between SRE and Fagerstrom or CUD symptom counts were small and not statistically significant. Multivariable relationships between SRE and Fagerstrom scores or CUD symptom counts were also not statistically significant. However, in the alcohol and nicotine sample, higher negative urgency (β=0.14, p=.007) and positive urgency (β=0.14, p=.009) were associated with higher Fagerstrom scores. In the alcohol and cannabis sample, males (β=0.11) and higher sensation seeking (β=0.11), lack of perseverance (β=0.13), and negative urgency (β=0.13) were associated with more CUD symptom counts, p=.006-.004.
Conclusions: Initial alcohol sensitivity was not associated with Fagerstrom or CUD symptom counts in co-users. Rather, greater impulsivity significantly increased problem use of both substances. This suggests that subjective experiences of one substance may not be associated with problematic use of other substances in co-users, but that impulsivity likely affects the use of multiple substances, e.g., nicotine and cannabis, in the current study.
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Spit for Science Publications and Presentations