October 23, 2013

Dr. Stephen Lankenau, (right) an associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Prevention, and Aleksandar Kecojevic, (below, left)MPH, a DrPH candidate in the Department of Community Health and Prevention, coauthored a recent article titled, “Perceived Drug Use Functions and Risk Reduction Practices Among High-Risk Nonmedical Users of Prescription Drugs,” in the Journal of Drug Issues.

The study discussed in this article examines the reasons young polydrug users misuse prescription drugs, and explores how young users employ risk reduction strategies to minimize adverse consequences. The sample in this study was 45 nonmedical users of prescription drugs, aged 16 to 25, and the data analysis included quantitatively and qualitatively analyzing data from a semistructured interview.

Dr. Lankenau and Mr. Kecojevic also coauthored a recent article titled, “Coping and emotion regulation profiles as predictors of nonmedical prescription drug and illicit drug use among high-risk young adults,” in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

The study described in this article used latent profile analysis to empirically derive coping and emotion regulation typologies/profiles that were then used to predict different patterns of substance use; because deficits in the ability to organize, integrate, and modulate emotions, thoughts, and behaviors when dealing with stress have been found to be related to the onset and escalation of substance use among adolescents and young adults, though there is a limited understanding of how patterns might be associated. This study provides the groundwork for additional investigations that could have significant prevention and clinical implications for substance-using high-risk young adults.