Where college students live may shape risky alcohol-cannabis use

Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis (i.e. marijuana; [SAM]) use is prevalent among college students and is linked to greater negative consequences than using alcohol or cannabis alone or using both substances concurrently. While certain sociodemographic factors are associated with alcohol and cannabis use individually, little is known about which sociodemographic factors are associated with SAM use specifically. The present study examined several sociodemographic variables potentially associated with SAM use in a large, ethnically/racially diverse multi-site sample of college students (n = 3655, 69.7% women, 51% White). Significant differences were not found for most sociodemographic factors between groups differing in endorsement of past-year SAM use. However, students who lived at home with parents or relatives and those living on-campus were both less likely to report engaging in past-year SAM use than those living in off-campus housing. Regarding differences in SAM use frequency, age, gender, race, fraternity/sorority membership, and residency status were significantly associated with frequency of SAM use, whereby older, White, fraternity/sorority members, or students identifying as men were more likely to engage in frequent SAM. Conversely, living with parents or relatives or on campus made it less likely that students would endorse frequent SAM use relative to living off-campus. These findings underscore important sociodemographic factors in understanding, and developing interventions for, problematic SAM use among college students.