Substance use among college athletes: a comparison based on sport/team affiliation

OBJECTIVE: Prior research shows that college athletes have higher rates of substance use, especially alcohol, than do college students who are not involved in athletics. To augment the literature, the author sought to determine which sports/teams are at the greatest risk for substance use. PARTICIPANTS: The author used data from the 1999 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, a national survey of college and university students in the United States. METHODS: A series of chi-square and logistic regression models examined variation in substance use among college athletes on the basis of sport/team affiliation. RESULTS: Findings indicated that male hockey and female soccer athletes were the most likely to report substance use and that male basketball and cross-country/track athletes reported lower levels of substance use. CONCLUSION: There is variation in substance use on the basis of sport/team affiliation, and future researchers should examine why certain groups of athletes have higher rates of substance use.