Cocaine use, risk taking, and fatal Russian roulette.

Overview

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between recent cocaine use and risk taking, particularly in the form of playing Russian roulette, a paradigm for extreme risk-taking behavior. DESIGN: A case-control study. CASES AND CONTROLS: The prevalence of cocaine use among all Russian roulette fatalities (N = 14) was compared with a demographically similar, randomly selected sample (N = 54) of all suicides by handgun during a contemporaneous 4-year period in New York City, NY. RESULTS: Recent use of cocaine, the most common drug found at autopsy, was detected in 64% of Russian roulette fatalities and in 35% of the control group (P less than .05). All Russian roulette fatalities were male and usually young and unemployed. Blacks and Hispanics accounted for 80% of all cases and were overrepresented compared with their numbers in the general population. CONCLUSION: In some populations cocaine may be associated with life-threatening risk-taking behaviors.