Model for quantifying the drug involvement of medical students. Int J Addict 1987 Mar;22(3):249-71
Date
03/01/1987Pubmed ID
3495497DOI
10.3109/10826088709027428Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84907122673 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 11 CitationsAbstract
We have applied a two-parameter normal item-response model to analyze data on "drugs ever used" by freshman medical students, then used the result to predict their subsequent drug use patterns over the first 18 months of medical school. Our results provide strong evidence for the existence of a single latent dimension of "drug involvement," and they demonstrate that a student's initial position on this dimension predicts subsequent drug use well. The model applies to male and female students equally well, suggesting the dimension is not sex specific. Students' drug use is cumulative in the sense that an individual tends to add new drugs to all previous drugs, rather than "graduating" from a previous to a new drug, as he/she becomes more "drug involved." Greater "drug involvement" is also associated with more frequent use of most drug categories.
Author List
Clark DC, Gibbons RD, Daugherty SR, Silverman CMAuthor
David C. Clark PhD Assistant Dean, Professor in the Research Office department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAlcoholism
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Models, Psychological
Risk
Students, Medical
Substance-Related Disorders
United States
