BEYOND PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT - POLYPHARMACY AMONG COLLEGIATE USERS OF STEROIDS

The extremely low prevalence of steroid use among college students mak es it virtually impossible to conduct analyses on any single college c ampus. By studying a cohort of 58,625 college students from 78 institu tions that administered the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey in 1990 and 1 991, a critical mass of 175 users on which it was possible to conduct statistical analyses was identified. Compared with a randomly selected group of nonusers, the steroid users reported consuming dramatically more alcohol and demonstrated higher rates of binge drinking. In addit ion, a significantly higher percentage of steroid users reported using tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, sedatives, hallucinogens, opiates, inhalants, and designer drugs. A higher percentage of steroid users than nonusers also reported experiencing negative consequences as a result of substance abuse, and a greater percentage of the steroi d users reported family histories of abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Implications from the standpoint of student development are discussed .