Illicit Drug Use During Travel: A Longitudinal Study of Risk in Emerging Adults

Osnat C. Melamed; Sophie D. Walsh; Shmuel Shulman

doi:10.1177/00220426251384849

Illicit Drug Use During Travel: A Longitudinal Study of Risk in Emerging Adults

Osnat C. Melamed
, Sophie D. Walsh
, Shmuel Shulman

University of Toronto
College of Management Academic Studies Israel

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

International travel by emerging adults is increasingly recognized as a context for experimentation with illicit drugs. This longitudinal study examined predictors of drug use trajectories among 249 young adults traveling to South America or Southeast Asia. Participants completed assessments before departure and after their return. Latent profile analysis identified three use trajectories: Stable Low (48.4%), Experimental Increasing (28.4%), and Consistently High (23.2%). Use of illicit substances such as cocaine and LSD increased markedly during travel in the Consistently High group. Higher novelty seeking and lower commitment to developmental goals predicted membership in this group, while elevated depressive symptoms predicted membership in the Experimental Increasing group, which showed a temporary escalation. These findings highlight the role of personality, motivation, and emotional vulnerability in shaping responses to permissive environments. This study contributes to international drug research by identifying at-risk youth and informing targeted prevention strategies in youth health, and public drug policy.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Drug Issues
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00220426251384849
State	Accepted/In press - 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

personality traits
risk-taking
substance-related disorders
travel
young adult

Access to Document

10.1177/00220426251384849

Cite this

@article{b357a0aaec7f46d0af2e8eb4d70683a7,

title = "Illicit Drug Use During Travel: A Longitudinal Study of Risk in Emerging Adults",

abstract = "International travel by emerging adults is increasingly recognized as a context for experimentation with illicit drugs. This longitudinal study examined predictors of drug use trajectories among 249 young adults traveling to South America or Southeast Asia. Participants completed assessments before departure and after their return. Latent profile analysis identified three use trajectories: Stable Low (48.4\%), Experimental Increasing (28.4\%), and Consistently High (23.2\%). Use of illicit substances such as cocaine and LSD increased markedly during travel in the Consistently High group. Higher novelty seeking and lower commitment to developmental goals predicted membership in this group, while elevated depressive symptoms predicted membership in the Experimental Increasing group, which showed a temporary escalation. These findings highlight the role of personality, motivation, and emotional vulnerability in shaping responses to permissive environments. This study contributes to international drug research by identifying at-risk youth and informing targeted prevention strategies in youth health, and public drug policy.",

keywords = "personality traits, risk-taking, substance-related disorders, travel, young adult",

author = "Melamed, \{Osnat C.\} and Walsh, \{Sophie D.\} and Shmuel Shulman",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1177/00220426251384849",

language = "אנגלית",

journal = "Journal of Drug Issues",

issn = "0022-0426",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Illicit Drug Use During Travel

T2 - A Longitudinal Study of Risk in Emerging Adults

AU - Melamed, Osnat C.

AU - Walsh, Sophie D.

AU - Shulman, Shmuel

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - International travel by emerging adults is increasingly recognized as a context for experimentation with illicit drugs. This longitudinal study examined predictors of drug use trajectories among 249 young adults traveling to South America or Southeast Asia. Participants completed assessments before departure and after their return. Latent profile analysis identified three use trajectories: Stable Low (48.4%), Experimental Increasing (28.4%), and Consistently High (23.2%). Use of illicit substances such as cocaine and LSD increased markedly during travel in the Consistently High group. Higher novelty seeking and lower commitment to developmental goals predicted membership in this group, while elevated depressive symptoms predicted membership in the Experimental Increasing group, which showed a temporary escalation. These findings highlight the role of personality, motivation, and emotional vulnerability in shaping responses to permissive environments. This study contributes to international drug research by identifying at-risk youth and informing targeted prevention strategies in youth health, and public drug policy.

AB - International travel by emerging adults is increasingly recognized as a context for experimentation with illicit drugs. This longitudinal study examined predictors of drug use trajectories among 249 young adults traveling to South America or Southeast Asia. Participants completed assessments before departure and after their return. Latent profile analysis identified three use trajectories: Stable Low (48.4%), Experimental Increasing (28.4%), and Consistently High (23.2%). Use of illicit substances such as cocaine and LSD increased markedly during travel in the Consistently High group. Higher novelty seeking and lower commitment to developmental goals predicted membership in this group, while elevated depressive symptoms predicted membership in the Experimental Increasing group, which showed a temporary escalation. These findings highlight the role of personality, motivation, and emotional vulnerability in shaping responses to permissive environments. This study contributes to international drug research by identifying at-risk youth and informing targeted prevention strategies in youth health, and public drug policy.

KW - personality traits

KW - risk-taking

KW - substance-related disorders

KW - travel

KW - young adult

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105023514503

U2 - 10.1177/00220426251384849

DO - 10.1177/00220426251384849

M3 - ???researchoutput.researchoutputtypes.contributiontojournal.article???

AN - SCOPUS:105023514503

SN - 0022-0426

JO - Journal of Drug Issues

JF - Journal of Drug Issues

ER -

Illicit Drug Use During Travel: A Longitudinal Study of Risk in Emerging Adults

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this