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Biomedical subjects

R R Clayton

Publications and source records attributed to R R Clayton.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Substance use among Dutch dental students.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to assess the prevalence of substance use among Dutch dental students and to determine their attitudes about substance use and its consequences. METHODS: In association with a national study of drug use among US dental students, a questionnaire was translated from English into Dutch and administered to dental students at two dental schools in The Netherlands. Students received an anonymous 115-item questionnaire in the fall of 1996. RESULTS: Alcohol was the students' drug of choice for lifetime (95%), past year (94%) and past month (88%) use. No significant correlations were found between alcohol use and gender, schools, and years in dental education. In the past month, 58% of students reported drinking on 5 or more days; 53% had 5 or more drinks on the same occasion, 20% had 5 or more drinks on the same occasion on 5 or more days; and 17% reported getting drunk at least monthly. Prevalence rates for past month use of tobacco was 24% and marijuana, 4%. Male students smoked twice as much as females, with significant differences found for all three periods of use (X2>19.00, P<0.01). When asked whether their schools offered policies and education programs on alcohol and other drugs, 52% of students reported that these were not available. CONCLUSIONS: Dental schools should develop effective programmes to educate students about responsible use of alcohol and other licit and illicit drugs. Schools should also inform students about their susceptibilities to substance abuse and dependency.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The influence of school environment and self-regulation on transitions between stages of cigarette smoking: a multilevel analysis.

In this research, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to address how school context influences the likelihood of transitioning between stages of cigarette smoking as well as modifies the individual-level risk factor of self-regulation. Survey data were collected from 25,186 middle and high school students attending 38 public schools in Kentucky. Results show that students are less likely to increase use in schools with higher levels of teacher discipline and faculty involvement. The analyses of the multi-level interactions between self-regulation and school context reveal that students possessing low emotional regulation are more likely to initiate experimental smoking in schools with poor levels of discipline and involvement than similar types of students in schools with higher levels of these characteristics. This study illustrates how psychological risk factors for substance use may vary across social environments.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Alcohol risk reduction for fraternity and sorority members.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of "Talking about Alcohol and Drugs... Among Greeks" (TAAD), a lifestyle risk reduction program that is research- and theory-based, protocol-driven, and targeted for fraternity and sorority members. METHOD: One fraternity and two sororities on five campuses participated in the program. A total of 780 participants completed pre- and posttest questionnaires. Posttest data were collected 1 academic year after pretest data collection. RESULTS: Results indicate that the program decreased positive attitudes toward alcohol consumption among program participants, with participants in the true experimental condition indicating greater disagreement than control participants (F = 3.05, 2/701 df, p < .05). Belief in myths about the etiology of alcoholism was reduced among experimental participants who did not actually attend the program, with those participants indicating greater disagreement than control or true experimental participants (F = 10.92, 2/702 df, p < .0001). The program had no apparent effect on alcohol consumption by experimental participants. CONCLUSIONS: The program's ability to influence behavior was hindered by systemic problems, such as trainer credibility and implementation infidelity, and probable participant psychological reactance. Training by professionals and mandatory attendance would set the stage for improved program effectiveness. Beyond that, an approach that emphasized how high-risk drinking norms jeopardize the goals of the fraternities and sororities might be better received than the current approach, which focuses on how individual attitudes, beliefs and behaviors lead to alcohol-related problems and alcoholism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Sensation seeking and drug use by adolescents and their friends: models for marijuana and alcohol.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prospective influence of individual adolescents' sensation seeking tendency and the sensation seeking tendency of named peers on the use of alcohol and marijuana, controlling for a variety of interpersonal and attitudinal risk and protective factors. METHOD: Data were collected from a cohort of adolescents (N = 428; 60% female) at three points in time, starting in the eighth grade. Respondents provided information about sensation seeking, the positivity of family relations, attitudes toward alcohol and drug use, perceptions of their friends' use of alcohol and marijuana, perceptions of influence by their friends to use alcohol and marijuana, and their own use of alcohol and marijuana. In addition, they named up to three peers, whose sensation seeking and use data were integrated with respondents' data to allow for tests of hypotheses about peer clustering and substance use. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling analyses revealed direct effects of peers' sensation seeking on adolescents' own use of both marijuana and alcohol 2 years later. An unexpected finding was that the individual's own sensation seeking had indirect (not direct) effects on drug use 2 years later. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate the potential importance of sensation seeking as a characteristic on which adolescent peers cluster. Furthermore, the findings indicate that, beyond the influence of a variety of other risk factors, peer sensation seeking contributes to adolescents' substance use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Peer networks and sensation seeking: some implications for primary socialization theory.

This article draws on recent work in sensation seeking and peer influences in drug use prevention and considers some possible implications for primary socialization theory. A particular point of focus is a postulate of the theory that an individual's personal characteristics and personality traits do not directly relate to drug use and deviance but ordinarily influence those outcomes only when they affect interactions between the individual and the primary socialization sources. The article suggests a more broadly encompassing perspective which holds that socialization learning through the primary socialization sources gives people's lives direction; it may be the tugs of activation needs which provide impetus for the actions. The authors cite a recent study in which they developed a structural equation model of influence of individual and peer variables on later alcohol and marijuana use. The model indicates an indirect route from individual sensation seeking through peers to drug and alcohol use, with adolescents picking persons of similar sensation-seeking levels, and the sensation-seeking level of these peers tending to influence alcohol and marijuana use. Although previous studies have suggested causal relationships between sensation seeking and drug use and between peer influence and drug use, the findings in this study suggest that the actual process involves both. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]

Exploratory Behavior↗
PubMed1997

Differences in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among fraternity and sorority members.

This study examined gender differences in alcohol consumption and problem behaviors among fraternity and sorority college students. Males were more likely to drink 13+ drinks at one time; females were more likely to drink 1-3, 4-6, and 7-12 drinks. Females experienced more problems at the 4-6 level; number of problems experienced were approximately equal at the 7-12 and 13+ levels. The correlation between consumption and problems was stronger for females (r = 0.58) than for males (r = 0.42). Problem behaviors might be due to individual differences or environmental forces acting upon individuals. Longitudinal studies should investigate possible causal pathways to inform the design of interventions for this at-risk population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The effects of role socialization on the initiation of cocaine use: an event history analysis from adolescence into middle adulthood.

This research examines three relatively unexplored questions about the effects of role socialization on the initiation of cocaine use: (1) What are the effects of adult social roles on the initiation of cocaine use? (2) What are the effects of the life-course timing of entry into adult social roles on the initiation of cocaine use? and (3) What are the effects of life-course timing of the initiation of other drugs -- on the initiation of cocaine use? The data used in these analyses are from a national probability sample of men born between 1944 and 1954, inclusive (N = 1,933). Results indicate that the marital role was the only role which demonstrated a significant effect on the initiation of cocaine use. We find that either early or late entry into the marital role reduces its effect to nonsignificance. The timing of entry in the drug use roles indicates that the later the initiation of drug use the greater the odds of cocaine initiation. Results are discussed in light of the role socialization and developmental perspectives.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Drinking coffee and carbonated beverages blocks absorption of nicotine from nicotine polacrilex gum.

Patients failing to obtain benefit from nicotine polacrilex gum in their efforts to quit smoking may be inadvertently blocking nicotine absorption. Effective nicotine absorption depends on the mildly alkaline saliva that is produced when buffering agents in the polacrilex are released along with nicotine as the polacrilex is chewed. We found that intermittent mouth rinsing with coffee or cola, but not distilled water, substantially reduced salivary pH and nicotine absorption. Because many commonly consumed substances were also found to be highly acidic, we recommend that patients do not ingest any substance during or immediately before nicotine polacrilex use.

Absorption↗
PubMed1989

Stop-smoking program using nicotine reduction therapy and behavior modification for heavy smokers.

One hundred eighteen volunteers were studied in a hospital-based smoking cessation program in which nicotine polacrilex (Nicorette) was used as an adjunct to behavioral modification (group support). The "success" rate of 40% to 47% at 1 year was chemically verified. The regimen for using the nicotine polacrilex was "within labeling" but decidedly different from the regimen used in most smoking cessation programs involving this product.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Stages in involvement with drugs.

There are distinct stages in involvement with drugs, and data obtained in the 1985 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse are presented to show the extent to which people follow these stages. Cigarette smoking usually precedes consumption of alcoholic beverages, and use of these licit substances precedes use of marijuana and cocaine.

Adolescent↗