Prior drug use is the greatest predictor of ecstasy use US high school seniors

Ecstasy, also known by its chemical abbreviation MDMA, is an illicit drug that is commonly taken at nightclubs and dance parties. Ecstasy’s street names include: “Molly” (U.S.), “Mandy” (U.K.), “E,” and “X.” Although not limited to nightlife scenes, ecstasy is popular at dance parties, as it tends to enhance the party experience (e.g., perceptions of lights and music, nightlife socialization).

A study just published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse by researchers affiliated with New York University’s Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (CDUHR), examined a national sample of high school seniors to determine who is currently at high risk for ecstasy use. Although ecstasy use in the U.S. is not as prevalent as in the late 1990s and early 2000s, its use remains popular among adolescents and young adults. The authors feel the popularity of ecstasy use may be related to increasing popularity of electronic dance festivals.

“We found that roughly 4.4% of high school seniors reported use of ecstasy within the last year, with males being at particularly high risk for use,” said Joseph J. Palamar, PhD, MPH, a CDUHR affiliated researcher and an Assistant Professor of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center. “We delineated many important sociodemographic risk factors, but the most consistent and important risk factor we found is use of other drugs.”

The study, “An Examination of Sociodemographic Correlates of Ecstasy Use Among High School Seniors in the United States,” used data from Monitoring the Future (MTF), a nation-wide ongoing annual study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students.

The MTF survey is administered in approximately 130 public and private schools throughout 48 states in the US. Roughly 15,000 high school seniors are assessed annually. The researchers examined the most current data for high school seniors (modal age = 18), focusing on 26,504 students from 2007-2012.

A key finding of this study was that other drug use tended to drown out significant sociodemographic predictors of ecstasy use. Results suggest that while there are many important sociodemographic factors associated with ecstasy use, the researchers note that prevention of other drug use may be the most important factor in preventing ecstasy use, in part, because use of other drugs appears to override protective effects of certain characteristics.

Researchers found that females and religious students were consistently at lower odds for use. Black and Hispanic students, and students residing with two parents, were at lower odds for ecstasy use, unless other substance use was already present.

“Odds of use were consistently increased for students with weekly income of >$50 from a job or >$10 weekly from other sources. Students residing in a city were also at increased risk, as were those who reported lifetime use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, or other illicit drugs,” said Dr. Palamar. “This is among the first studies to examine how student income is related to ecstasy use.”