Polysubstance use, mental health and high-risk behaviours: Results from the 2012 Global Drug Survey

Abstract

Introduction and Aims: Polysubstance use is associated with adverse health and social outcomes, but few studies have investigated whether these associations differ between individuals engaged in different patterns of illicit drug and non-prescription medication use. Design and Methods: Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify patterns of drug use in the Global Drug Survey, a purposive sample collected in late 2012 and surveyed using an online questionnaire including past-year drug use, sociodemographics, mental illness, involvement in violence and sexual behaviour. The sample analysed (n=14869; median age 27 years; 68.5% male) included those residing in the UK (n=5869), Australia (n=..