Monitoring the Future

“The trends show that the gap between men and women has narrowed,” said co-author Megan Patrick, research professor at U-M’s Institute for Social Research. “There have been increases in solitary drinking among young women, in particular, over the past 25 years. Solitary drinking, or sometimes drinking when they are alone, was reported by about 40% of young adults who drank in the past year.”

A new study from @umisr.bsky.social & @cmu.edu reveals 40% of young drinkers report drinking alone, a pattern linked to significantly higher risk of alcohol use disorder. Solitary drinking is often tied to coping with anxiety & depression, making this a red flag for future harm.
More: myumi.ch/W6Pw5

Solitary drinking has soared among young adults, ⬆️ to rates not seen since the late 1970s.

This trend, found in a #MonitoringtheFuture & @cmu.edu study, is especially evident in young women, shrinking the historical gender gap in this high-risk drinking behavior.

Learn more: myumi.ch/3RmGD

Illustration of prescription drug bottle, pills

New research using #MonitoringtheFuture Panel data finds a strong link between teens' nonmedical use of Rx stimulants (like Adderall or Ritalin) & later cocaine use.

Even experimental use (1–2 times) was linked to ⬆️ risk—highlighting the need for early assessment & intervention.

myumi.ch/9pbw1

Great news! The MTF longitudinal panel data for ages 18-30, including the core and all six form-specific data files are now available! myumi.ch/w9d64

CONGRATULATIONS Inbal Nahum-Shani Megan Patrick Collegiate Research Professorships Office of the Vice President for Research

The Office of the Vice President for Research will award Inbal Nahum-Shani & @meganepatrick.bsky.social‬ with Collegiate Research Professorships for their exceptional scholarly achievements and advanced knowledge in their field myumi.ch/3RME9 @mtfstudy.bsky.social‬ @d3center.bsky.social‬

Prevalence and Perceived Accessibility of Cannabis Products among Underage Young Adults, 2019-2023: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs: Vol 0, No ja Objective: Using a national U.S. underage young adult sample, we examined prevalence of smoking, vaping, eating, drinking, and dabbing cannabis; perceived accessibility by product type; and perceived ...

Using @mtfstudy.bsky.social‬, Yvonne Terry-McElrath, Yuk Pang & @meganepatrick.bsky.social found that while young adults can't legally buy cannabis products, they report easy access. Among non-users, state policy & college attendance are linked to easier perceived access myumi.ch/R3QAW

The deadline to apply to the Monitoring the Future @icpsrsummer.bsky.social workshops is June 6th! Online only: myumi.ch/mRRmJ & in-person: myumi.ch/jJJmg

A hand holding several nicotine pouches.

Nicotine pouches are inserted between the gum and lip & allows teens to use nicotine in an easily concealed way. @usnews.com reported on a study using @mtfstudy.bsky.social which finds teens are twice as likely to have used nicotine pouches in the last month or year in 2024 myumi.ch/XyyVq

Using @mtfstudy.bsky.social, Rebecca Evans-Polce, Brooke Arterberry, Stephanie Lanza & @meganepatrick.bsky.social conducted a comprehensive investigation of patterns of young adult substance use on a given day

Joint impact of cigarette taxes and smoke-free laws on youth cigarette smoking and related disparities in the USA Objective To examine the impact of cigarette taxes on youth smoking in counties with and without workplace and hospitality smoke-free laws. Methods Using a nationally representative sample of 8th, 10...

Using @mtfstudy.bsky.social data, Michael Elliott, @meganepatrick.bsky.social et al. examined the interaction of cigarette taxes & smoke-free laws on youth smoking, finding laws and taxes may work together to reduce smoking in certain populations myumi.ch/mRZg8

In 2024, most youth vapers used very high or unknown nicotine levels—higher nicotine linked to more frequent, chronic vaping. Read more: myumi.ch/79PMG
#MonitoringtheFuture

New research using Monitoring the Future data show that sustained community service from ages 18–30 is linked to better health outcomes at ages 35–40, including lower substance use and higher life satisfaction. #MonitoringtheFuture
Read more: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

New research from @meganepatrick.bsky.social in @addictionjournal.bsky.social reveals younger adults lead in daily cannabis use, while alcohol consumption remains steady across all age groups. Read more: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
#MonitoringtheFuture

New paper in @ajpmonline.bsky.social:
1 in 8 young adults in the US used delta-8-THC in the past year, with differences by other cannabis use & policy context,
in Monitoring the Future data @mtfstudy.bsky.social
with @adam-leventhal.bsky.social @alyssaharlow.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1016/j.am...

A collage of four images of UM ISR projects at the PAA 2025 conference.

✨ That’s a wrap on #PAA2025! ✨
Thank you to everyone who joined our sessions, stopped by our exhibit booths, and connected with us. We’re already looking forward to what’s next! #ISRatPAA

#umisr @mtfstudy.bsky.social @umnanda.bsky.social @nacda-icpsr.bsky.social #sbeccc #ICPSRconference

ICPSR Summer Program Workshop Announcement: Exploring "Monitoring the Future" Data, Online: July 9-11 and In-Person: July 28-30, Free to attend!

Receive an overview of the MTF Cross-sectional and Panel studies and discussion of the content of MTF public release and restricted-use data, data management, and analysis planning. For more details: myumi.ch/n18R9 and myumi.ch/3RkD1

#SumProg25 #ICPSR

📢 Join our virtual AND in-person Monitoring the Future @icpsrsummer.bsky.social workshops this summer! The workshops will provide an overview of the MTF Cross-sectional & Panel studies, focusing on the public-use & restricted-use data available from @icpsr.bsky.social & @nahdap.bsky.social

Join us April 10-13, 2025 in the #PAA2025 exhibit hall as we showcase our Monitoring the Future study and research!

Nicotine Concentration of E-Cigarettes Used by Youths This cross-sectional study investigates rates of nicotine concentrations vaped by US youths and associated substance use characteristics.

The FDA recently authorized e-cigarettes w/ultrahigh concentrations (6%). Using @mtfstudy.bsky.social, Richard Miech et al. investigated the prevalence of nicotine concentrations that teens reported vaping. myumi.ch/5kWyx

NEW #MonitoringtheFuture panel data has just been released at @nahdap.bsky.social. Learn more about applying for access at the links below.

Trends in use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes among young adults who had smoked in adolescence: 2017–2022 Background This study considers recent trends in combustible and e-cigarette use among US young adults who smoked cigarettes in adolescence, who are the originating source of most adults who smoke. M...

Young adults who smoked as teens are shifting habits ➡️ Between 2017 & 2022, cigarette use dropped by 10%, while exclusive e-cig use rose from 6% to 21%. These results suggest that as young adults switch to e-cigs, smoking will keep dropping—though many may continue vaping for years
myumi.ch/JPW5G

Daily or near‐daily cannabis and alcohol use by adults in the United States: A comparison across age groups Background and aims Patterns of daily or near-daily (DND) use of alcohol and cannabis among adults in the United States have been changing. The current study measured how these shifts have occurred ...

New research from @meganpatrickphd.bsky.social using #MTF data shows surprising shifts in daily alcohol & cannabis use in the U.S.
Young adults: Cannabis use is almost 3x higher than alcohol (10.4% vs 3.6%).
Late midlife adults: Alcohol use still ⬆️ than cannabis (11.4% vs 5.2%)

myumi.ch/15N5r

Links between adolescent binge drinking and midlife alcohol use behaviors by age, sex, and race/ethnicity Among Monitoring the Future Panel study participants aged 35–60 in 2022, midlife alcohol use was generally higher among respondents aged 35–40 (vs. older), males (vs. females), White respondents (vs.....

ICYMI: @meganepatrick.bsky.social, Sarah Peterson, Yuk Pang & Yvonne Terry-McElrath used the @mtfstudy.bsky.social to examine the links between age 18 binge drinking status and midlife drinking outcomes, as well as moderation by sociodemographic characteristics myumi.ch/79ARG

Are you a researcher interested in using #MonitoringtheFuture data? We are committed to providing access to MTF data, including longitudinal data! For more info on data sets, visit the @nahdap.bsky.social data portal to start your MTF data journey! bit.ly/MTFdatasets @icpsr.bsky.social

New research using #MonitoringtheFuture data from @meganpatrickphd.bsky.social & colleagues in the journal Pediatrics, explores reasons for vaping among U.S. adolescents. Read more here: bit.ly/MTFvaping

Celebrating 50 Years of Monitoring the Future Research!
For half a century, the Survey Research Center at the Institute for Social Research has conducted the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, examining the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American students. Read more: myumi.ch/M6Qd6

Use of Delta-8-THC and Other Types of Cannabis among Young Adults in the U.S.

🧪 Delta-8-THC is a psychoactive compound derived from hemp forms of cannabis increasingly used in vapes. @meganepatrick.bsky.social, Richard Miech et al used @mtfstudy.bsky.social to report on the prevalence of Delta-8-THC use among young adults aged 19-30 years myumi.ch/3ReMn