Individual Differences in Substance Use Motives, Trauma, and Stress Among College-Based Polysubstance Users.

Background: Co-use of alcohol and other drugs within a certain time frame (i.e., polysubstance use) has become increasingly prevalent, particularly among college-aged individuals, but understanding motives for co-use remains limited. Polysubstance use has been associated with a higher likelihood of negative health consequences as compared to single substance use. Objectives: The current study examined associations between motivations for using alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis among college students who use multiple substances versus students using only one substance or no substances. Additionally, we examined the effect of trauma and daily stress on polysubstance use in self-report data from individuals (N=134) participating in the MAPme Study. Results: First, the observed prevalence of polysubstance use was greater than expected by chance, with most individuals co-using alcohol and cannabis. "Alcohol and Other Drug Users" were more frequently motivated to drink for social (ß=0.27, CI=[0.07, 0.44]), enhancement (ß=0.26, CI=[0.01, 0.42]) and coping (ß=0.21, CI=[0.06, 0.47]) reasons compared to individuals who consumed alcohol alone. Conclusions: Individual differences in motivations for use were partly explained by frequency of alcohol use and alcohol problem severity, but not by history of trauma or stress. Finally, while patterns of correlations among motivations for use across substances suggested a general tendency to be motivated to use substances for similar reasons, this was not supported by confirmatory factor models. Overall, shared motives may inform potential behavioral patterns for co-use of substances during college and might advise future treatment efforts.

Emerging adults tend to use multiple substances, particularly alcohol and cannabisCorrelation patterns suggest shared motives within rather than across substancesAlcohol problem severity and alcohol frequency predict motives for use.

Bacterial adherence and contamination during radiographic processing.

Oral fluids are potential contaminants of radiographic processors. This investigation measured bacterial contamination in a radiographic processing room during times of high and low clinical activity and processing effects on five types of microorganisms. Cultures in the clinical setting, during high and low activity, were taken by brain-heart infusion agar plates placed near automatic processors. Site samples were taken of entrance, developer, fixer, water, and exit surfaces. Measurements of processing effects were accomplished by intentional contamination of films run in series through an automatic processor. Site samples were again taken of the processor. In the clinical setting colony-forming units increased with activity. Radiographic processing after intentional contamination decreased colony-forming units on films, but they increased for all processing solutions. Bacteria on radiographic film survived processing. Although processing procedures significantly reduce the number of bacteria on films, the potential for contamination and cross-contamination remains.