Abstract
This exploratory study examined the association between self-reported caffeine "addiction" among high school students and their sociodemographic, health and welfare characteristics. Study subjects ( n = 6,867) were drawn from the approximately 59,000 students in grades 9 through 12, who were surveyed about their drug use in 108 randomly selected Tennessee high schools in 1995. They indicated lifetime abstinence from all psychoactive drugs except caffeine. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed excess risks for caffeine "addiction" among females who were white (OR = 2.0), in poor health and/or physically disabled (OR = 1.6), chronically depressed (OR = 1.5), had a parent with an alcohol or other drug problem (OR = 1.4), and perceived little or no harm from caffeine use (OR = 2.2). Excess risks for caffeine "addiction" were found among males who were white (OR = 1.8), severely stressed (OR = 1.8), had a friend with an alcohol or other drug problem (OR = 1.5), and perceived little or no harm from caffeine use (OR = 2.5).