Why Some College Students Mix Alcohol and Marijuana on the Same Occasion
College students who simultaneously use alcohol and marijuana are distinguished by higher sensation seeking, lower perseverance, and stronger positive expectations about mixing — not just general substance use risk.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
SAM users reported significantly more binge drinking and alcohol problems than alcohol-only users; sensation seeking, low perseverance, and stronger positive/weaker negative SAM expectancies distinguished simultaneous users from both alcohol-only users and nonusers.
Key Numbers
1,369 college students; SAM users had significantly higher binge drinking frequency and alcohol-related problems; key distinguishing factors: sensation seeking, low perseverance, positive SAM expectancies.
How They Did This
Online survey of 1,369 Argentinean college students (ages 18-25) assessing substance use, impulsivity traits, behavioral emotion regulation, and SAM-related expectancies, analyzed with ANOVAs and multinomial logistic regression.
Why This Research Matters
Simultaneous alcohol-marijuana use is more dangerous than using either alone — understanding the psychological profile that predicts this behavior enables targeted prevention.
The Bigger Picture
SAM-specific expectancies (beliefs about what happens when you mix substances) may be a more important intervention target than general substance use attitudes.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design; Argentinean sample may not generalize to other countries; self-report measures; online survey recruitment may not represent all college students.
Questions This Raises
- ?Could expectancy-based interventions specifically targeting SAM reduce this risky pattern?
- ?Do SAM expectancies predict escalation over time?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Adequately powered cross-sectional study with appropriate statistical methods, but limited by single-country sample and cross-sectional design.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2026, representing underexplored Latin American college substance use patterns.
- Original Title:
- Simultaneous Use of Alcohol and Marijuana Among College Students: The Role of Expectancies, Impulsivity and Behavioral Emotion Regulation.
- Published In:
- Substance use & misuse, 61(4), 587-597 (2026)
- Authors:
- Barey, Agostina, Pilatti, Angelina(4), Ruiz, Paul, Pautassi, Ricardo M
- Database ID:
- RTHC-08107
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Is mixing alcohol and marijuana more dangerous than using either alone?
Yes — this study found simultaneous users had significantly more binge drinking episodes and alcohol-related problems compared to alcohol-only users.
What makes someone more likely to mix alcohol and marijuana?
Key factors include sensation seeking, low perseverance (difficulty sticking with tasks), and holding positive expectations about what happens when you mix the two substances.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-08107APA
Barey, Agostina; Pilatti, Angelina; Ruiz, Paul; Pautassi, Ricardo M. (2026). Simultaneous Use of Alcohol and Marijuana Among College Students: The Role of Expectancies, Impulsivity and Behavioral Emotion Regulation.. Substance use & misuse, 61(4), 587-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2568938
MLA
Barey, Agostina, et al. "Simultaneous Use of Alcohol and Marijuana Among College Students: The Role of Expectancies, Impulsivity and Behavioral Emotion Regulation.." Substance use & misuse, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2568938
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Simultaneous Use of Alcohol and Marijuana Among College Stud..." RTHC-08107. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/barey-2026-simultaneous-use-of-alcohol
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.