The Relationship Between Club Drug Use and Other Drug Use: A Survey of New York City Middle School Students

Abstract

In order to explore the relationship between use of club drugs (crystal methamphetamine, ecstasy, GHB, ketamine), and use of other drugs, survey data collected from 23,780 middle school students in New York City during 2002–2003 was examined. Results of HGLM analyses (a generalization of HLM to accomodate nonlinear outcomes), controlling for the effect of school, indicate that Black students are less likely than White students to use club drugs depending on the timeframe of use. The use of alcohol and/or marijuana predict club drug use regardless of the timeframe of use, and lifetime cigarette use predicts lifetime club drug use. Recommendations for future research and prevention efforts are discussed.

Keywords:

• club drugs
• middle school students
• school
• drug use
• survey
• hierarchical modeling

Notes

“Substance abuse” is used as a diagnostic toxonomy in substance use and misuse. Substances can be and are used and misused; living organisms can be and are abused, Editor's note.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lloyd A. Goldsamt

Lloyd A. Goldsamt, Ph.D., is Deputy Director of the Institute for International Research on Youth at Risk (IIRYAR) at NDRI; Principal Investigator of a NIDA-funded study looking at the HIV/HBV/HCV risks among new drug injectors, and Co-Investigator on a study of young injection drug users in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He is also the Principal Investigator on projects evaluating drug prevention programs in New York City public schools, and on a series of projects evaluating the training of Drug Court practitioners. Dr. Goldsamt has served as Co-Investigator on studies looking at HIV risk among injection drug users, youth, and men who have sex with men. Dr. Goldsamt is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York State.

Julie O'Brien

Julie O'Brien is a research analyst in the Institute for International Research on Youth at Risk (IIRYAR) at NDRI. She works on a number of studies involving HIV/HBV/HCV risk, injection behavior, and drug use prevention programs in New York City public schools.

Michael C. Clatts

Michael C. Clatts, Ph.D., is a medical anthropologist whose principal area of interest is in community epidemiology and the development of community-based public health programs. Dr. Clatts is Director of the Institute for International Research on Youth at Risk (IIRYAR) at National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. He is also Associate Professor in the Department of Socio Medical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Dr. Clatts was one of the first social scientists involved in HIV research, having participated in the first NIH epidemiological study of risk factors of AIDS in 1981. Subsequently, he has conducted a number of epidemiological studies related to HIV risk in NYC. These include two NIDA-funded studies of out-of-treatment drug injectors; a CDC-funded evaluation of AIDS outreach and prevention services for homeless youth; an AMFAR-funded study of homeless youths' risk from the NYC street economy; a HOPWA-funded needs assessment of HIV-related services for homeless youth in NYC; and, a NIDA-funded study of HIV risk among young men who have sex with men. Dr. Clatts serves as Principal Investigator on three NIDA-funded studies that combine comparative ethnographic methods and laboratory virology in the study of HIV transmission in high-risk drug injection practices, including heroin, crack-cocaine, and methamphetamines. Currently, Dr. Clatts is initiating a NIDA-funded study of HIV risk among young injectors in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Laura Silver McGuire

Laura Silver McGuire, Psy.D., is Assistant Director of the Psychological Services Center and Adjunct Faculty member, both at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. Previously, Dr. Silver McGuire worked as Project Director at NDRI, where she directed school-based research projects on violence, tobacco, and drug prevention. The bullying curriculum Dr. Silver McGuire co-developed for her dissertation is currently being taught and implemented in schools across Long Island by Child Abuse Prevention Services of Roslyn, NY. Dr. Silver McGuire is a New York State licensed clinical psychologist, with a private practice specializing in adolescents and young adults.