Examining Potential Substance Use Disorders Among Former Interscholastic Athletes

ABSTRACT

Background: Despite numerous studies examining the association between competitive sports participation and substance use behaviors among adolescents and young adults, the use of standardized measures to assess potential substance use disorders has been largely neglected. The objective of this study was to examine if past involvement in interscholastic sports (competitive school-sponsored sports) was associated with potential substance use disorders in young adulthood. Methods: Data for this study were taken from the Student Life Survey (SLS). A total of 3442 young adults participated in the SLS during the spring semester in 2013, with 74% of males and 71% of females indicating participation in interscholastic sport during high school. Results: Respondents who participated in interscholastic sports during high school had higher odds of positive screens for potential alcohol use disorders when compared with their peers who did not participate in interscholastic sports. No association was detected between interscholastic sports participation and potential drug abuse disorders. Moreover, previous involvement in certain types of sports was found to be associated with positive screens for potential alcohol use disorders (i.e., crew and football) and positive screens for potential drug abuse disorders (i.e., lacrosse) among the sample of young adults. Conclusions: School and community sport organizations should be aware of the potential link between sports participation and potential substance use disorders, and may consider brief substance use screeners during yearly physicals to monitor potential substance use problems among athletes.

Keywords:

• Adolescence
• alcohol
• drugs
• interscholastic sport
• substance use
• substance use disorder

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Dr. Veliz and Dr. McCabe contributed equally to the manuscript with respect to concept, analysis, and the write-up of results.

Funding

Development of this paper was supported by research grants R01DA024678, R01DA031160, and T32 DA07267 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.