Substance use behaviors among college students with same-sex and opposite-sex experience: results from a national study.
OBJECTIVE
This study seeks to describe the population of college students with same-sex sexual experience and determine if these students report more substance use than their peers with only opposite-sex experience.


METHODS
Questionnaires were completed by a national random sample of college students on 119 campuses in 1999. A total of 10,301 sexually active students were categorized as having only opposite-sex, only same-sex, or both-sex partners, and their smoking, binge drinking, and marijuana use behaviors were compared.


RESULTS
Students who report same-sex sexual experiences comprise 6.1% of respondent. Women with both-sex partners were approximately twice as likely to smoke, binge drink, and use marijuana as women with only opposite-sex partners (OR=1.41-2.78), but women with only same-sex partners were not at increased risk for these behaviors. Men with both-sex partners were less likely to binge drink (OR=0.54) than men with only opposite-sex partners.


CONCLUSIONS
Students with same-sex experience are present at every type of college. College women with both-sex partners appear to be an appropriate target for health interventions; outreach to these students and further study of related behaviors are warranted.
Eisenberg
Marla
M
Department of Health and Social Behavior, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. eisen012@tc.umn.edu
Wechsler
Henry
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000506:poisoning; D000431:Ethanol / Q000506:poisoning; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D020010:Heterosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol