Linden-Carmichael Ashley N, Stamates Amy L, Sheehan Brynn E, Lau-Barraco Cathy
a Old Dominion University , Norfolk , Virginia , USA.
b Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology , Norfolk , Virginia , USA.
Subst Abus. 2016 Jul-Sep;37(3):474-479. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2015.1137536. Epub 2016 Jan 28.
Molly is one form of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) that is touted to be more "pure" and potentially less harmful than other forms, such as ecstasy. Media reports and case studies suggest that this drug is popular among college students and is related to adverse health problems. The current study sought to address the knowledge gaps about Molly by examining whether users differ in substance use outcomes and sensation seeking than nonusers. Specifically, this study tested whether Molly users engaged in heavier use of other substances and experienced more substance-related harms in general than nonusers. Further, the current study investigated whether Molly users exhibited higher levels of sensation seeking than nonusers. Lastly, this study examined whether Molly user status would be associated with substance-related harms beyond the confounding influence of other substance use and trait sensation seeking.
Participants were 710 (71.9% female) college alcohol drinkers who completed self-report surveys about substance use (i.e., Molly, alcohol, and other drug use), substance-related problems, and sensation seeking.
Results revealed that approximately 12% of the sample reported lifetime Molly use. Molly users compared with nonusers reported higher levels of other drug use, alcohol use, substance-related problems, and sensation seeking. Further, Molly users reported experiencing poorer substance use outcomes (e.g., blacking out, academic/occupational problems, and withdrawal symptoms) after accounting for sensation seeking and other substance use.
These findings indicate that Molly users are higher in sensation seeking and that use is uniquely related to greater risk for substance-related harms. These preliminary findings demonstrate a need for correcting possible misperceptions regarding the purity of Molly and educating users on the potential for experiencing associated harms. Such information could be used to develop efficacious prevention programming for college students.
莫莉是摇头丸（3,4－亚甲基二氧甲基苯丙胺）的一种形式，据称比其他形式（如摇头丸）更“纯”，潜在危害更小。媒体报道和案例研究表明，这种药物在大学生中很流行，并且与不良健康问题有关。当前的研究试图通过检查使用者与非使用者在物质使用结果和寻求刺激方面是否存在差异，来填补关于莫莉的知识空白。具体而言，本研究测试了莫莉使用者是否比非使用者更大量地使用其他物质，以及总体上是否经历更多与物质相关的危害。此外，当前研究调查了莫莉使用者是否比非使用者表现出更高水平的寻求刺激。最后，本研究检查了莫莉使用者状态是否会在其他物质使用和特质性寻求刺激的混杂影响之外，与物质相关危害相关联。
参与者为710名（71.9%为女性）大学饮酒者，他们完成了关于物质使用（即莫莉、酒精和其他药物使用）、与物质相关的问题以及寻求刺激的自我报告调查。
结果显示，约12%的样本报告有过终生使用莫莉的经历。与非使用者相比，莫莉使用者报告的其他药物使用、酒精使用、与物质相关的问题以及寻求刺激的水平更高。此外，在考虑了寻求刺激和其他物质使用因素后，莫莉使用者报告的物质使用结果更差（例如，昏厥、学业/职业问题和戒断症状）。
这些发现表明，莫莉使用者的寻求刺激水平更高，且使用莫莉与物质相关危害的更大风险存在独特关联。这些初步发现表明，有必要纠正关于莫莉纯度的可能误解，并教育使用者认识到可能经历相关危害的可能性。此类信息可用于为大学生制定有效的预防方案。
