Social versus solitary drug use studied

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. study finds children using drugs when alone may have more health and behavioral problems as young adults than those doing so only in social settings.

A Rand Corp. study released Thursday finds solitary alcohol, cigarette and marijuana users are less likely to graduate from college, more likely to have substance use problems as young adults and tend to report poorer physical health by age 23 than their peers who were primarily social substance users.

"While substance use is a problem in itself, these findings suggest that risk among solitary users is especially high," said Joan Tucker, a Rand psychologist and lead author of the study. "Solitary use is a warning sign that youth will be less productive and have more problems as young adults -- more problems, even, than others who also used substances during childhood.

"The challenge is to identify these at-risk children and find out what type of assistance might benefit them."

Among eighth graders studied, 16 percent smoked cigarettes while alone, 17 percent engaged in solitary drinking and 4 percent had used marijuana while alone.

The Rand study is detailed in the December edition of the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.