Psychological Distress and Drug Use Patterns of Young Adult Ecstasy Users: A Complementary Analysis of Australian Datasets

Abstract

We examine psychological distress (PD) in young adult Ecstasy users in relation to age of initiation and frequency of use of Ecstasy, cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco. Using two Australian community samples, we assess whether different sampling methods produce comparable estimates of these associations. The Natural History Study of Drug Use (NHSDU; N = 339) in 2009 used population sampling and the 2009 Ecstasy and Related Drug Reporting System (EDRS; N = 359) used purposive sampling. Participants, aged 19–23 years, were recurrent Ecstasy users. PD was assessed using Kessler 10 in the EDRS and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale in the NHSDU. In both samples, PD was associated with daily tobacco use and early drug initiation, but not frequent Ecstasy use. One-third smoke tobacco daily. Study limitations and implications are noted.

Keywords :

• Ecstasy (drug)
• age of initiation
• psychological factors
• young adult
• adolescence
• tobacco

THE AUTHORS

Andrew Smirnov is senior research officer with the Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education Centre (QADREC) at the University of Queensland. He is also a Ph.D. candidate with University of Queensland's School of Population Health. His thesis addresses the natural history of Ecstasy use in early adulthood. Previously he worked for the Drug Harm Reduction Branch, Queensland Health (2001–2010), conducting program and policy-oriented research, and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (1998–2000), developing national drug treatment data. His interests include social and public health aspects of stimulant use, drug harm reduction, natural history of drug use, and research methods for studying illicit drug use.

Reza Hayatbakhsh is principal research officer at QADREC in the School of Population Health, University of Queensland, and also a medical practitioner in a Queensland public hospital. He holds an M.D. from Tehran University of Medical Science (1992) and a Ph.D. from the University of Queensland (2007). He has conducted teaching and research at SPH since 2008. As an investigator with Mater/University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) his research involves early life factors associated with adolescent/young adult mental health and substance use behavior, and physical and psychological consequences of substance use. Dr. Hayatbakhsh is an Australian Longitudinal Studies Network member and supervises clinical research in Iran. He has co-authored over 50 research papers and government reports.

Rosa Alati, Ph.D., is an associate professor with the School of Population Health and the Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research. She has an established academic profile in the epidemiology of alcohol and mental health studies. The driving force of her current research program is to establish causal mechanisms linking in-utero exposure to drug and alcohol to health and disease later in life. Her research on the etiology of alcohol disorders has led to sustained collaborations with outstanding international research teams, media attention, and new evidence for translation to public health policy.

Margot Legosz is senior research fellow in the Arts, Education and Law at Griffith University. Formerly the director, Research and Prevention, at the Crime and Misconduct Commission and researcher in School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Queensland, she has a B.A. (English, psychology, and fine arts), a Masters of Public Health (epidemiology and statistics), a Ph.D. in public health/epidemiology, and a Diploma of Business. Margot's research interests include social diseases (e.g., sexual abuse, child abuse, drug use, domestic violence) and she has extensively researched major and organized crime, policing, misconduct, and public policy.

Lucy Burns has been senior lecturer within the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre since 2008. Dr Burns holds a Ph.D. (1999–2003) from School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, concerning the epidemiology of comorbid alcohol use disorders, anxiety, and depression; a Master of Public Health (1992–1996); and Graduate Certificate in Health Policy (2007–2008) from School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Sydney University. Dr Burns has expertise in statistical and research methods using linked data, and interests in drug use among marginalized groups including women who are pregnant and people who are homeless. Dr Burns is manager of the Drug Trends Program including the EDRS, IDRS, and NIDIP.

Robert Kemp has been manager of the Queensland Needle and Syringe Program (QNSP), Queensland Health, since September 2000. As QNSP Manager, Robert has developed a statewide network of primary needle and syringe programs and implemented NSP policy and other facets of program enhancement. Over the past five years, Robert supervised development and roll-out of the Queensland Minimum Data Set for Needle and Syringe Programs and initiated exploratory research regarding Injection Related Injury and Disease (IRID) among IDU. Throughout these projects, Robert has pursued his interest in natural histories of illicit drug use and social determinants of health and their relationship to contemporary public policy.

Helene Wells, M.Sc., is a criminologist with a keen research interest in organized crime and drug-related behavior in young people. She currently works at the Crime and Misconduct Commission (Australia) as a senior research officer. Helene has also worked as a teaching fellow and senior research officer at Bond University (Australia), a research fellow in the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), and a researcher at Birkbeck College, UK. She is completing her Masters of Business Administration at Bond University.

Jake M. Najman has a joint appointment as director of the Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education Centre, School of Population Health, and professor of sociology in the School of Social Science, University of Queensland. Professor Najman has authored, co-authored, and co-edited 10 monographs and over 400 research papers. He has served on numerous NHMRC committees and has been successful in obtaining over 80 research grants. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia.