The affective, behavioral, and cognitive correlates of club drug use among Hispanic college students

Brenda Sue Hanson, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

Limited information exists about club drug use among minorities. This study examined potential affective, behavioral, and cognitive correlates of club drug use in a Hispanic college student sample. Participants ( N = 321) completed multiple measures assessing demographic information, acculturation, depression, anxiety, positive and negative affect, alexithymia, polysubstance use, sensation seeking, need for cognition, and prospective memory. Primary analyses included logistic regression models assessing the impact of affective, behavioral, and cognitive correlates on club drug use, while secondary analyses included moderation analyses exploring potential relationships between variables of interest, as well as assessment of univariate relationships between club drug use and study constructs. Eighteen percent of participants indicated club drug use. Increasing age and male gender were consistently related to club drug use. Within the affective model, none of the constructs were significantly related to club drug use; within the behavioral model, significant predictors included marijuana use (OR = 3.99, p = .01) and sensation seeking (OR = 1.13, p < .001); and within the cognitive model, prospective memory (OR = 1.56, p = .01) was a significant correlate of club drug use. Need for cognition was found to moderate the relationship between sensation seeking and club drug use (OR = 1.01, p = .05). Univariate tests demonstrated additional significant relationships between club drug use and alexithymia, smoking, and polysubstance use. These findings suggest the relative importance of behavioral and cognitive constructs in Hispanic college students' use of club drugs and provide researchers and healthcare providers avenues for future studies and prevention and intervention program development.

Subject Area

Behavioral psychology|Clinical psychology|Hispanic American studies

Recommended Citation

Hanson, Brenda Sue, "The affective, behavioral, and cognitive correlates of club drug use among Hispanic college students" (2008). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI3341643.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI3341643

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