Changes in Drug and Alcohol Behaviors before and after an Educational Intervention among At-Risk Adults and Youth

Authors

• Isabel Cuellar Acker, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Advisor(s)

Luz Padilla

Committee Member(s)

Ellen Eaton
Luz Padilla
Peter Hendricks

School

School of Public Health

Document Type

Thesis

Department (new version)

Epidemiology

Date of Award

9-9-2024

Abstract

Introduction: Substance abuse is defined as the excessive use of a drug in a way that is detrimental to oneself, society, or both. Gender is important to examine because it is becoming more common for females to develop substance use disorders and for their substance use to be more severe. This study will address the role of an education-based intervention on substance abuse in an area that is at the intersection of rural and urban geography with a unique pool of participants. Methods: This is a longitudinal cohort study that has a pre-post intervention design. A linear model was used to analyze the different levels of reported substance use across the three time points for each variable of interest. Baseline, 6 months (exit), and 12 months (follow-up). An ANOVA was also used to compare the mean days of substance use across the three time periods. Results: Most participants were female (64.4%). Only roughly 13% (n=6) of the participants identified as Hispanic/Latin/Spanish. However, 54% (n=24) of participants identified as Black/African American, meaning more than half of the participants are a racial minority. Only 1 participant identified as Native American/Alaskan. The variables of interest are asking how many times in the last 30 days “any tobacco,“vapes/e-cigarettes”, “alcohol”, “binge drinking”were used. In the questionnaire, there were questions about “tobacco use” as well as “cigarette use”. There were not enough valid responses across all interview types for these to be included in the analysis. The most frequently used substances were vapes/e-cigarettes with an average use of 10.09 days at baseline out of 30. Binge drinking had the lowest reported number at 0.26 average days at baseline. For females, vaping was found to have a statitically significant p-value across all survey periods (<0.0001). Conclusion: MI showed to have no statistically significant effects on behaviors and attitudes except for vape usage among females. Further research on youth populations will be vital in understanding the role that Motivational Interviewing could play.

ProQuest ID

https://proquest.com/docview/3101842601