some new findings about drug use

Greetings!

I have spent a bit more time working with the data from the Bareback Project, focusing additional attention on the issue of substance use/abuse.  Here are some of the findings that I've come up with most recently, pertaining to when men begin using drugs.  Let me know your thoughts when you've had a chance to read through the latest from the study.  I always welcome hearing from you guys, and getting your reactions and responses to the work I'm doing relating to the project.

Hugh


Late Onset Experimentation with Drugs


For men currently in their 40s, 27.0% tried at least one illegal drug that they had never tried before sometime in their 40s.


For men currently in their 50s, 42.5% tried at least one illegal drug that they had never tried before sometime in their 40s or 50s. Nearly half of these men (19.2% of the total sample) tried this illegal drug during their 50s.

For men currently in their 60s or 70s, 58.7% tried at least one illegal drug that they had never tried before sometime in their 40s, 50s, or 60s. Most of these men (46.2% of the total sample) tried this illegal drug during their 50s or 60s, and nearly half of these men (19.2% of the total sample) tried this illegal drug during their 60s.


TAKE-AWAY POINT:  Although most of the scientific literature shows that people mature out of their drug use by the time they reach age 40, among men participating in the Bareback Project, experimentation with illegal drugs after that age was fairly commonplace.






Initial Experimentation with Alcohol and/or Other Drugs


The median age for using any substance–legal or illegal–for the first time was 15. Nearly half of the men who reported having used alcohol and/or another drug by the age of 15 (20% of the total sample) had done so by the age of 12.


For men who reported the use of at least one illegal drug during their lifetimes, the median age of first use was 18. More than half of the men who had used an illegal drug by the age of 18 (26.0% of the total sample) had done so by the age of 15.


Not surprisingly, the younger men were when they first began using substances, the more likely they were to experience drug-related problems during their lifetimes (p<.0001). Also, the younger men were when they first began using substances, the more drug use they reported during the month prior to interview (p<.05). This was particularly true with regard to methamphetamine use (p<.004). Earlier onset of initial substance use was also associated with an increased likelihood of having been in a drug treatment program at least once in their lives (p<.0005).


All types of childhood maltreatment were associated closely with the age of first using alcohol and/or other drugs, with more maltreatment being associated with an earlier age of onset. This was true for physical abuse (p<.0008), sexual abuse (p<.02), emotional abuse (p<.01), physical neglect (p<.004), emotional neglect (p<.008), or total amount of maltreatment (p<.0004). Men who had been severely maltreated during their formative years began using alcohol and/or other drugs approximately 1.5 years earlier than men who had not been severely maltreated (p<.008).


TAKE-AWAY POINTS:  Bareback Project men tended to begin using alcohol and/or other drugs on the early side, on average, about one year earlier than adults in the general population. Early-onset substance use tended to coincide with later-life problems with drug use/abuse, and appears to be related closely to men’s experiences with childhood maltreatment.