Associations between Alcohol-Free Sources of Reinforcement and the Frequency of Alcohol and Cannabis Co-Use among College Freshmen

Daiil Jun and Tera L. Fazzino ()
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Daiil Jun: Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Tera L. Fazzino: Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-9

Abstract: Co-use of alcohol and cannabis is common among young adults in the United States. A behavioral economics framework indicates that greater engagement in substance-free sources of reinforcement may be protective against co-use frequency. The current study tested the association between proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement and the frequency of co-use among college freshmen. Participants (N = 86) were freshmen who enrolled in a freshman orientation course and completed surveys at the beginning of the semester. Past month alcohol use, cannabis use, and reinforcement from alcohol-free and alcohol-involved activities were assessed. A zero-inflated Poisson regression was used to test the association between proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement and days of co-use. The results indicated that proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement was negatively associated with co-use days in the count model when controlling for alcohol use days and gender as covariates (β: −3.28, p = 0.016). Proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement did not significantly differentiate individuals who did not engage in co-use in the zero-inflated model (β: −1.68, p = 0.497). The study suggested that greater proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement may be associated with lower engagement in the co-use of alcohol and cannabis among young adults. Increasing engagement in alcohol-free sources of reinforcement may be considered a target for co-use prevention or harm reduction efforts.

Keywords: alcohol; behavioral economics; co-use; heavy drinking; marijuana; young adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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