NCJ Number
164208
Date Published
1993
Length
105 pages
Annotation
This report presents the methodology and findings of the 1990 Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, which solicited information on drug and alcohol use on selected American college campuses.
Abstract
The survey involved institutions that had received funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE); however, student demographics for these institutions are similar to those of American colleges and universities generally. This report presents survey information from 78 institutions that used representative sampling techniques in survey administration in the academic year 1989-90; 37 of these institutions collected follow-up data in the academic year 1990-91. The survey addressed the following topical areas: demographics (including year in school, age, ethnic origin, marital status, and gender); working and living arrangements and academics (including self-reported grade average, focus of coursework, and full- or part-time status); perceptions of campus substance abuse policies and their enforcement; average number of drinks consumed per week; frequency of binge drinking; patterns of use of specified drugs; age of first use; perceptions of others' use; location of use; consequences of use; family history of substance abuse problems; and desire for an alcohol-free and drug-free social environment. Drug use information focused on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, sedatives, hallucinogens, opiates, inhalants, designer drugs, steroids, and "other drugs." Among the findings were that five times as many males as females consumed 21 or more drinks per week. For many drugs, the 18-25 age group contained the highest percentage of reported first use. More students at 2-year institutions used cocaine than students at 4-year institutions. At both 2-year and 4-year institutions, the heaviest drinkers obtained the lowest grades. Extensive tabular data and the survey instrument