@article{ref1,
title="Patterns of polysubstance use and simultaneous co-use in high risk young adults",
journal="Drug and alcohol dependence",
year="2019",
author="Bailey, Allen J. and Farmer, Eli J. and Finn, Peter R.",
volume="205",
number="",
pages="e107656-e107656",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Polysubstance use (PSU) is associated with worse prognosis and poorer physical and mental health compared to single substance use. The current study provides information about PSU patterns by examining a diverse range of alcohol/substance use behaviors ranging from low-level experimentation to indicators of severe abuse. In addition, the current study, for the first time, examines how simultaneous co-use of multiple substances cluster with other more commonly studied PSU behaviors. <br><br>METHODS: Latent Class Analysis was used to identify patterns of substance use, in a sample of young-adults (n = 2098), using 25 items from the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA-II) including: items assessing severity of problems with alcohol, cannabis, stimulants, opiates, and sedatives; items assessing # of lifetime uses; items assessing simultaneous co-use of all combinations of substances. Then the association of class membership and age, antisocial and impulsive personality, experience seeking, anxiety, and neuroticism was examined using Multinomial Regression. <br><br>RESULTS: Fit indices (i.e. AIC, SSABIC, and entropy) and interpretability of classes supported a five-class solution: &quot;Low Problems&quot; (32% of sample), &quot;Alcohol Primary&quot; (11%), &quot;Alcohol and Cannabis&quot; (25%), &quot;Moderate PSU&quot; (23%), and &quot;Severe PSU&quot; (9%). Simultaneous co-use behaviors discriminated between lower and higher severity groups. Externalizing personality constructs robustly predicted membership in the &quot;Moderate&quot; and &quot;Severe&quot; PSU classes compared to the &quot;Alcohol Primary&quot; class. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: PSU patterns followed an additive pattern of use with lower severity classes using alcohol/cannabis and more severe classes using other illicit substances in addition. Co-use items provided valuable information about PSU severity.<br><br>Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0376-8716",
doi="10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107656",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107656"
}