Nonmedical prescription drug use (NMPDU) is a serious issue on college campuses. We examine the factors affecting instrumental and recreational NMPDU within the same sample, and test the efficacy of learning and strain theories in predicting NMPDU for both instrumental and recreational use. This cross-sectional study utilizes survey data gathered from a convenient but representative sample ( n = 2,466) of students attending a large public university in the Southwestern United States. There is support for learning theory, but not for strain theory, in predicting both recreational and instrumental use. Logistic regression analyses also show that while marijuana smokers, illicit street drug users, and those possessing less of an academic ethic are more likely to partake in NMPDU for both recreational and instrumental purposes, the predictors for recreational and instrumental NMPDU differ in interesting ways with regard to race, gender, binge drinking, living arrangement, and Greek organization membership.
This article uses an original data set to explore the utility of three classic sociological theories to test patterns of college student alcohol consumption: social learning, strain, and acculturation. The survey data indicate that the first two theories are supported. Acculturation, however, does not appear to explain variations in drinking habits of Latino students in our sample.
The racial animus model argues that public support for punitive sentencing of criminal offenders is shaped by threat perceptions associated with cultural minority groups. This study applies the racial animus model to examine support for the punitive sentencing of criminal offenders in the United States and Australia. It also examines whether racial animus mediates the possible difference in punitive attitudes between each country toward different crime types. Online survey data were obtained in the US and Australia to assess racial animus and punitive attitudes using six different crime scenarios. Results indicate that (a) individuals with higher levels of racial animus demonstrate greater levels of punitiveness; (b) Australians have higher levels of racial animus as compared to their US counterparts; and (c) racial animus mediates the difference of punitive attitudes between the two countries. Overall, punitive attitudes and racial animus vary cross-culturally, with Australians demonstrating more racial animus. Our mediation model provides evidence for the importance of racial animus in the cross-cultural demand for the punishment of criminal offenders.
The purpose of this article is to assess the quality of health and health care services available to rural Texans. Specifically, we seek to answer two related questions. First, do people living in rural areas of Texas generally suffer from poorer health than people living in urban Texas? One undoubtedly would think so, given frequent references to the low quality of personal services in general for rural America. Moreover, the persistence of the congressional Rural Health Care Caucus over the past two decades points to a rural health care crisis. Second, to what extent are these differences in health conditions explained by differences in access to health care enjoyed by people living in the two different regions? Access certainly appears to be the problem alluded to above. Rural people apparently lack physician care. In addition to providing answers to these questions, we also examine the difference in the health conditions and access to care enjoyed by minority and non‐minority rural Texans. Is this a part of the rural health care problem given the high incidence of non‐whites in rural Texas? If so this may be minority rather than rural neglect. We briefly conclude the article with some recommendations for improving the problems we identify.
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