A Longitudinal Investigation of Powder Cocaine Use Among Club-Drug Using Gay and Bisexual Men

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective:Few studies have analyzed the use of powder cocaine over time and its relation to psychosocial states. The purpose of the present analysis was to examine trajectories of powder cocaine use among club-drug using gay and bisexual men in New York City. Method: A purposive sample of 355 powder cocaine using men was surveyed four times over a period of 12 months. We analyzed natural trajectories of cocaine use and examined use in relation to demographic and psychosocial variables. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine associations of use at baseline and over time. Results: Frequency of use at baseline was negatively related to sexual sensation seeking and positively related to triggers of unpleasant emotions, physical discomfort, and the desire for pleasant times with others. Men who reported using cocaine to avoid physical discomfort or to enhance pleasant times with others were also more likely to decrease their frequency of use during the yearlong investigation. Conclusions: The antecedents that explained cocaine use in this sample indicate the need for treatment and prevention programs that consider the interplay between emotions and behaviors related to use of this drug. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 69: [806][807][808][809][810][811][812][813] 2008)

Substance Use and Abuse Among Men Using the Internet Specifically to Find Partners for Unprotected Sex

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Predictors of change in cocaine use in a street-recruited cohort of young cocaine users

“…With regard to participants in the second interview, our follow-up figures are fairly similar to those of other studies based on cocaine users recruited in the community (68-71.3%) [15,17]. Making contact face to face, rather than by telephone, could have acted as a handicap with regard to encouraging subjects to participate in the second interview.…”

Motivation and Self-Regulation in Addiction

“…In the domain of alcohol use, Wiers and his colleagues found that heavy drinkers demonstrated stronger alcohol-arousal associations compared with light drinkers (Wiers, van de Luitgaarden, van den Wildenberg, & Smulders, 2005; Wiers, Van Woerden, Smulders, & De Jong, 2002). Other studies using modified versions of the IAT showed that alcohol was associated with approach action tendencies in heavy drinkers and that such action tendencies were significantly correlated with the urge to drink as well as arousal reactivity in anticipation of alcohol consumption (Ostafin & Palfai, 2006; Palfai & Ostafin, 2003). …”