RESUMEN
Native American/American Indian (NA/AI) and Multiracial people (those who claim multiple racial identities) report notably high alcohol use compared to other racial groups in the United States. Nearly half of the NA/AI population is also Multiracial, yet NA/AI and Multiracial college students report different motivations for drinking alcohol. Therefore, it remains unclear if NA/AI individuals who are also Multiracial are at different risk for alcohol use and negative alcohol-related consequences, and if there are distinct patterns of risk factors in these understudied populations. Because college-aged students are at risk for high levels of alcohol use, this exploratory study used the AlcoholEdu for College™ survey to compare the association between initial drinking age, college location (urban vs. rural), and alcohol use motivations and consequences between monoracial NA/AI (N = 2,363) and Multiracial NA/AI college-aged students (N = 6,172). Monoracial NA/AI students reported higher incidences of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems such as blacking out and missing class, compared to Multiracial NA/AI students. Risk factors like earlier age of drinking onset were more strongly associated with negative consequences for monoracial NA/AI students compared to Multiracial NA/AI students. Despite similar levels of Internal Coping motivations for drinking (e.g., to feel more confident or sure of yourself), monoracial NA/AI students reported drinking more than Multiracial students and experienced more negative drinking-related outcomes. These results suggest Multiracial NA/AI students may draw on protective factors not accessible to monoracial NA/AI students, highlighting the need for interventions tailored to students at highest risk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Asunto(s)
Trastornos Relacionados con Alcohol , Indio Americano o Nativo de Alaska , Humanos , Motivación , Estudiantes , Estados Unidos/epidemiología , Universidades , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Like other recreational drugs, cannabinoids may produce different effects in men and women. In this study we measured the effects of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on spatial learning in two groups that are underrepresented in drug research--females and adolescents. In the first experiment, adolescent (postnatal day 30) and adult (postnatal day 70) rats of both sexes were treated subchronically with 5.0 mg/kg THC or vehicle for five consecutive days. Thirty minutes after each daily injection, they were tested on the spatial version of the Morris water maze task. In the second experiment, a separate group of adolescent and adult rats of both sexes was treated with 5.0 mg/kg THC or vehicle daily for 21 days and tested, 4 weeks later, on the spatial version of the water maze. Subchronic THC impaired spatial learning, and this effect was dependent upon both the age and sex of the animals tested. Prior exposure to chronic THC, however, did not cause any long-lasting spatial learning deficits. On the basis of our previous studies in male rats the third experiment assessed the dose-response relationship for the effects of THC on spatial learning and memory in female animals. We found that subchronic THC treatment (2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) disrupted learning in both adolescents and adults, but with greater effects at higher doses in adolescents compared with adults. The developmental sensitivity to subchronic THC confirms previous work carried out in our laboratory, and the sex-dependent effects highlight the importance of including females in drug abuse and addiction research.