Adolescent health brief
The co-occurrence of substance use and high-risk behaviors

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Abstract

Study findings suggest that alcohol and methamphetamine use heighten the risk for violence, multiple sexual partners, and unprotected sexual intercourse. Although the odds of engaging in risky behaviors increased dramatically with alcohol and methamphetamine use, the majority of subjects did not become involved in high risk behaviors even though they used alcohol and illicit drugs.

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Recruitment methods

A total of 243 students from three universities in Los Angeles were surveyed. Recruitment flyers were posted at each university and described the research as a study on young adult health behaviors. The flyers included a telephone number to call about the study. Individuals aged 18–24 years were eligible to participate in the study. Potential research subjects were screened by the research staff, the study was explained in detail, and arrangements were made for administering the questionnaire.

Results

Respondents reported that they engaged in a wide range of high risk activities (Table 1). Of the 243 people in the sample, 25% had committed at least one violent act. Among those respondents who had sexual intercourse during the past six months (79.8%), 121 (62.4%) reported that they had multiple sexual partners during this time period and 35.1% (n = 68) indicated that they did not use condoms at least once during past six months.

Data reported in Table 2 highlight the co-occurrence of substance

Discussion

Study findings suggest that alcohol and methamphetamine use heighten the risk for violence, multiple sexual partners, and unprotected sexual intercourse. These findings are consistent with previous research [6], [9], [10]. A possible explanation of these results is that alcohol and methamphetamine use may have had a disorganizing effect on the participants’ cognitive functions. It is important to note that, although the odds of engaging in risky behaviors increased dramatically with alcohol and

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