Substance Use Among Sexual Minority Collegiate Athletes: A National Study

ABSTRACT

Background: The empirical research examining substance use among sexual minority collegiate athletes is sparse. Problematically, this group may be at a greater risk of substance use due to their marginalized status within the context of sport. Objectives: We examined different types of substance use during the past 30 days, and diagnosis of substance use disorders during the past 12 months, among sexual minority collegiate athletes. Methods: This study uses data from college students for the fall semester between 2008 and 2012 from the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment. Results: Sexual minority collegiate athletes had greater odds of past 30-day cigarette use, past 30-day alcohol use, past 30-day marijuana use, and indicating being diagnosed or treated for a substance use disorder during the past 12 months when compared to either heterosexual collegiate athletes or heterosexual nonathletes, but had similar odds on these outcomes when compared to sexual minority nonathletes. Sexual minority collegiate athletes also had greater odds of binge drinking during the past 2 weeks when compared to either heterosexual nonathletes or sexual minority nonathletes, but had similar odds on this outcome when compared to heterosexual collegiate athletes. Additional analyses by gender reveal that male sexual minority athletes are at the greatest risk of being diagnosed or treated for a substance use disorder. Conclusions: Possible explanations as to why sexual minority collegiate athletes (particularly males) may be at a greater risk of substance use disorders could include the difficulty of trying to maintain an athletic identity within a social environment that is traditionally homophobic.

KEYWORDS:

• College athletes
• sport
• sexual orientation
• substance use
• gender

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Corrigendum

Glossary

• American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA II): The ACHA-NCHA has been conducted biannually since 2000 and has had 624 different U.S. postsecondary institutions administer the ACHA-NCHA to roughly one million college students.

• Collegiate athletes: Collegiate athletes were identified as any respondent who indicated participating in varsity college athletics during the past 12 months.

• Sexual minorities: Sexual minorities include respondents who identified as being gay/lesbian, bisexual, or unsure of their sexual identity.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Philip Veliz

Dr. Philip Veliz is an assistant research professor at the University of Michigan Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG). His current research focuses on examining how different types of competitive sports participation influences substance use among adolescents and young adults. In particular, he has been focusing on the use and misuse of prescription opioids among male athletes who participate in high contact sports. Moreover, he is also currently working with various longitudinal data sets to examine if participation in sports during high school limits the risk of substance use and abuse during the transition into young adulthood.

Quyen Epstein-Ngo

Dr. Quyen Epstein-Ngo is an assistant research professor at the University of Michigan Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG). Her research interests broadly concern substance use and co-occurring aggression. Dr. Epstein-Ngo's current work focuses on intervention development for at-risk youth, with the goal of reducing alcohol and drug use and partner aggression perpetration. Her work employs mobile health and tele-mental health approaches to leverage current technologies for more efficient and effective mental health assessments and treatment delivery.

Jennifer Zdroik

Jennifer Zdroik is a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan in the School of Kinesiology in Sport Management. Her work has centered on understanding the phenomenon of pay to participate fees in high school sport. Her current research focuses on stakeholder management and decision making. In particular, her dissertation is using a mixed methods approach looking at how high school athletic directors manage stakeholder's needs and interests in the ever changing resource landscape of education.

Carol J. Boyd

Dr. Carol J. Boyd is a Deborah J. Oakley Collegiate Professor of Nursing, research professor at the Institute for Research on Women & Gender (IRWG), and a professor in Women's Studies (all at the University of Michigan). She has conducted mixed-method studies that use innovative technologies to examine the relationship between gender and health behaviors. Dr. Boyd is known as a methodologist who designs studies aimed at hidden populations (e.g., drug users, adolescents, prisoners, low resource communities). Her current research focuses on prescription medication adherence and misuse, maternity waiting homes in Zambia and Liberia and clinical interventions to increase medication adherence in high-risk populations. Dr. Boyd's international experiences include teaching, mentoring, and research in China, Ghana, Liberia, Poland, and Zambia.

Sean Esteban McCabe

Dr. Sean Esteban McCabe is an educator, social worker, and research professor at the University of Michigan Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG). He received his M.S.W., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. His current research focuses on the epidemiology, etiology and prevention of substance use disorders among adolescents and young adults. He is currently working on several projects examining the medical use, nonmedical use and diversion of prescription medications. Dr. McCabe specializes in using the Internet for survey research and he is currently developing web-based intervention programs aimed at reducing prescription medication misuse among adolescents.