Alcohol and Marijuana Have Longitudinal Effects on Student Achievement, Study Says
Drug abuse has been a growing concern for the United States. The heroin and opioid epidemic is affecting people of diverse backgrounds and age groups. During the last few years, many children and adolescents became addicted to illegal substances, posing a great danger to their developing brains. Unfortunately, drugs harm not only those who abuse them, but also those close to them.
When it comes to young adults, drug addiction can wreak havoc on their overall physical and mental well-being. In the United States, alcohol and marijuana are two of the most widely used substances, especially among teenagers. According to a recent study published in the open access journal “Plos One,” medium to high-level alcohol and marijuana use leads to consistently lower GPA among college students.
Alcohol, marijuana behind higher college dropouts
It is known that addiction to any substance can have serious effects on a child’s academic performance. In the current study, the researchers focused on the combined effects of alcohol and marijuana, a concept that scientists have largely remained unexplored. Lead author Shashwath Meda, from the Hartford Hospital Life Institute, USA, together with colleagues, evaluated the association between alcohol and marijuana use in college students and their GPA score each semester.
To conduct the study, the researchers used self-reported data from the longitudinal study entitled “Brain and Alcohol Research in College Students.” They focused on 1,142 students, who were followed for two years, semester by semester. The participants were then grouped into groups that included low users or users of medium to high alcohol or both.
Students who used both medium- to high-level substances were found to have a lower predicted college GPA at the end of the first semester, and they also continued to earn lower GPAs throughout the two years of the study. However, there were no differences in pre-college school aptitude test (SAT) scores.
Similarly, consumption of medium to high levels of alcohol and little marijuana led to a lower predicted GPA, although no differences were observed in the GPA scores of low alcohol users. Interestingly, those students who decreased their substance use over time witnessed an increase in their GPA scores, compared to their peers who generally remained constant in their drug use patterns.
“Using a lot of both drugs had a significant impact, in terms of lower scores in our study, and in other studies, with the number of dropouts and those who dropped out of school., “said Godfrey pearlson, lead author of the study.
Recovery roadmap
Even if you develop a habit of abusing marijuana or alcohol, seeking medical help early can protect you from adverse effects. The first step in addiction treatment is detoxification. It helps to cleanse the body of accumulated toxins, a result of this habit.
Sovereign detox services You have several treatment options, which can work well to improve the life of an addicted patient. Our detox and rehab centers offer addiction treatment and detox programs to help patients fully recover. Our recovery management programs help patients stay sober throughout their lives.