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AIMS -- This paper explores different approaches to quantify the human costs related to drug use. DATA AND METHODS -- The data come from a representative survey of 3092 respondents above the age of 18 in four Nordic capitals: Copenhagen, Heisinki, Oslo and Stockholm. RESULTS -- The results show that in most Nordic capitals more than half of the respondents at some time have known and worried about the drug use of somebody they know personally. Moreover, while the average reported harm was about 2 on a scale from 0 to 10, a significant minority (1074 of those knowing drug users indicated that the harm was above 5. CONCLUSIONS -- Many persons have at some time personally known somebody who uses drugs. This causes significant human harm and should be included in the estimate of the social cost of illegal drugs. These results are relevant in the debate on the size of the drug problem as well as for targeting groups that experience the highest costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the fact that drug consumption in young people is a matter of great interest in our society, more and more surveys have studied about it, to the point of existing a great amount of unconnected epidemiologic data nowadays, which lack coherence and haven't been properly related. Considering this situation, this paper proposes an integrated analysisof the current situation of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and other illegal drugs consumption in Spanish adolescents. Besides, in this discourse, it is exposed the influence of social, cultural and political factors, that is, factors that may be responsible either of the decrease or stabilization in some substances or of the increase in others. In line with this explanation, we propose some recommendations for the prevention of substance use in Spanish young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to examine parent-child drug talks specific to African American single mothers and their preadolescent children who live in a inner city neighborhood. Thirty-two single mothers participated in 1-hr individual interviews describing how they communicated with their preadolescent (8-12 years old) about drug use. Three areas were addressed: why drug talks occur, how drug talks take place, and the content of these talks. The interviews revealed that parent-child drug talks were culturally and communally driven, taking place out of necessity, incorporating real life situations as evidence of drug use outcomes, and occurring quite frequently with open communication regarding drug use. The implications are discussed related to the design of parent-child communication strategies in preadolescent drug use prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically interrogates contemporary forms of addiction medicine that are portrayed by policy-makers as providing a ‘rational’ or politically neutral approach to dealing with drug use and related social problems. In particular, it examines the historical origins of the biological facts that are today understood to provide a foundation for contemporary understandings of addiction as a ‘disease of the brain’. Drawing upon classic and contemporary work on ‘styles of thought’, it documents how, in the period between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s, such facts emerged in relation to new neurobiological styles of explaining and managing social problems associated with drug abuse, and an alliance between a relatively marginal group of researchers and American policy-makers who were launching the ‘War on Drugs’. Beyond illustrating the political and material conditions necessary for the rise of addiction neuroscience, the article highlights the productivity of neurobiological thought styles, by focusing on the new biological objects, treatments and hopes that have emerged within the field of addiction studies over the last several decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has confirmed the effectiveness of medications, when used in conjunction with ongoing counseling, to treat substance abuse disorders. This article describes a national, mixed-methods research project designed to investigate single state authorities' (SSAs) perceptions of adoption of evidence-based practices in substance abuse treatment. Results are focused specifically on medication-assisted treatment, one of five evidence-based practices defined by the National Quality Forum. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is an important and effective part of comprehensive care options available to clients who are chronically ill with alcohol and other drug disorders. Despite mounting clinical evidence and increased availability, overall rates of implementation and sustained adoption of medications to treat addiction remain limited. The results illustrate that the SSA representatives who fund public treatment programs believe MAT is a priority and worthy of system-wide implementation. Current strategies utilized by SSAs to support the adoption of MAT are detailed, as are barriers to adoption and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Substance-related terminology is often a contentious topic because certain terms may convey meanings that have stigmatizing consequences and present a barrier to treatment. Chief among these are the labels, "abuse" and "abuser." While intense rhetoric has persisted on this topic, little empirical information exists to inform this debate. We tested whether referring to an individual as "a substance abuser (SA)" versus "having a substance use disorder" (SUD) evokes different judgments about treatment need, punishment, social threat, problem etiology, and self-regulation. Participants (N-314, 76% female, 81% White, M age 38) from an urban setting completed an online 35-item assessment comparing two individuals labeled with these terms. Dependent t-tests were used to examine subscale differences. Compared to the SUD individual, the SA was perceived as engaging in willful misconduct, a greater social threat, and more deserving of punishment. The "abuser" label may perpetuate stigmatizing attitudes and serve as a barrier to help-seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author cites the lessons to be learned from interpreting cost calculations related to alcohol and drug use based on articles published in the same issue. According to author Klaus Mäkelä, there is a tendency to recycle estimates regarding the claim that nearly 50% of children in Alberta have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). In response to the criticism by Ø. Horverak, he claims that not all cost calculations after the Prohibition are irrelevant. He believes that such calculations have no effect in decision making.

The author responds to the criticisms against cost-of-illness (COI) studies on alcohol and drug use in Nordic countries and the U.S. by H. O. Melberg and Ø. Horverak in the same issue. First, he offers a background on the definition and misconceptions on COI studies, and their social and economic implications. He refutes the claims by Melberg that intangible costs of drugs and alcohol such as human suffering cannot be estimated because it has been made in other studies. He also cites what he perceives as Hoverak's misunderstandings on economics.

Existing studies of the social cost of substance abuse give very different answers. Part of the reason for the differences is that the contributions differ in their definition of costs and the types of costs that are included or excluded from the study. Closer attention to the concept of cost employed in these studies also reveals some weaknesses with many of the existing studies. The policy relevant concept of cost necessarily implies a comparison between all realistically expected consequences (both positive and negative) of two policy alternatives and many cost studies do not use the concept of cost in this way. Finally, it is argued that cost estimates in this area cannot be neutral or scientific because the results depend on our views on when a choice can be characterized as voluntary and rational how we deal with the problem of inconsistent preferences, and which preferences we consider to be legitimate. Since there is no agreed consensus on these issues. the cost estimate necessarily becomes subjective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early onset of tobacco and cannabis use predicts later substance abuse and risk behaviour and has large health consequences. The aim of this study was to examine risk factors for the age at onset of smoking and cannabis use among a group of Danish children between 7 years and 18 years of age. Four hundred and eighty randomly selected children and their parents participated in a study about the prevalence of asthma. The study included questions about alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use. The children were interviewed face-to-face while the parents answered a questionnaire. The age at onset of daily smoking was significantly associated with the adolescents' tendency to binge drink [hazard ratio 4.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.85-12.34), P = 0.001) and to use hard drugs [hazard ratio 2.81, 95% CI (1.03-7.78), P = 0.047], whereas the age at onset of cannabis use was significantly associated with binge drinking [hazard ratio 3.29, 95% CI (1.51-7.20), P = 0.003] and cigarette smoking [hazard ratio 2.51, 95% CI (1.26-5.00), P = 0.009]. There were no significant effect of the parents' smoking and alcohol habits, their socioeconomic or marital status on the adolescent' age at onset of smoking or cannabis. This study shows a close connection between adolescent tobacco and cannabis use and alcohol habits. Knowledge of this is important when planning future prevention strategies. Please cite this paper as: Wium-Andersen IK, Wium-Andersen MK, Becker U and Thomsen SF. Predictors of age at onset of tobacco and cannabis use in Danish adolescents. Clin Respir J 2010; 4: 162-167. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Club studies are sociological investigations of youth drug use in the social context of the club. By being present at the club, the researcher tries to gain access to a somehow hidden population of drug users who only to a lesser extent - or not at all - perceive their drug use as problematic. This is the large group of people who primarily consider their drug use as a leisure activity, and thus as a means for deriving pleasure. In spite of impressive club studies conducted in both Great Britain and the USA, it seems that, broadly speaking, previous efforts can be characterised as either very broad and/or quantitative or very particular, sub-cultural and exclusively qualitative. Through a methodological discussion of these studies, this article suggests a mixed-methods approach to club studies that combines quantitative data, qualitative interviews and ethnography conducted in the club space. By introducing the concept of 'socionautics', this article suggests that the researcher travels into the social landscape of young people, clubs and drugs and utilises her ethnographic observations in interviews. An approach like this would cast light upon this very central part of youth leisure life in a systematic and detailed way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Aposta is the property of Aposta and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The relationship between ethnicity and the use of ‘party drugs’ (e.g., methamphetamine and ecstasy) has received little attention in Australia. This paper focuses on ethnicity and party drug use within the context of dance parties and clubs in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city. The young people who participated in our research, many of whom are long-time dance party attendees, or ‘old skool ravers’, frequently made claims to the possession of subcultural capital by labelling as ‘muzzas’ those they perceived to be outsiders to the dance scene. Muzzas are defined as heavily muscled young men, commonly of Southern European or Middle Eastern background, who use cocaine and steroids, have ‘no class’ and dance in an overly aggressive way. Although the old skool ravers were often from similar ethnic backgrounds to muzzas, they rarely drew on ethnicity in forming their own identities. They did, however, explicitly invoke ethnicity in the distinctions they created between themselves and muzzas. Their claims to subcultural capital are based on notions of nostalgia and an authentic involvement in the dance scene, and on their perceived distance from a mainstream culture consisting of ‘normal people’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Popularity or recognition as a friend among peers is a core element in some approaches to substance abuse prevention and treatment. Its effect on a child's risk of substance abuse has not been conclusive in view of the findings involving both positive and negative effects. This study analyzing survey data from 2,051 pupils in Hong Kong, China, ascertain the effects of popularity in the presence of other predictors. Results show that the effect of popularity on substance abuse risk was not significant. Nonetheless, the interaction between popularity and substance abuse generated a significant positive effect on the risk that a child who has experienced substance abuse has a high tendency to have a relapse. This effect embodies the logic of reinforcement in social learning theory. The findings imply that preventive approaches relying on the promotion of popularity among peers need to be cautious and selective to avoid the reinforcement effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study examined the drug resistance strategies of Hawaiian youth residing in rural communities in Hawai'i. Forty seven youth participated in 14 focus groups which focused on the social and environmental context of drug use for these youth. The findings indicated that there were 47 references to resistance strategies used in drug offer situations. These strategies fell within two different categories: (a) overt/confrontational drug resistance strategies, and (b) non-confrontational drug resistance strategies. These strategies occurred within the community context of relational networks of ascribed and biological family members and differed in frequency of use by gender. Implications for culturally grounded drug prevention programs for rural Hawaiian youth are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current drugs consumption became now a global and transversal phenomena, in relation to social and structural variables like age, sex, educational level, socio-economic status. Starting from Ardigo's insights, this paper suggests a better comprehension of the issue by analyzing two perspective. On the one hand, drugs use could be understood as a transaction crisis between vital worlds and social system. So systemic sense spreads alarmistic informations on drugs danger, whereas a different inter-subjective sense moves along vital worlds. It deals with the normalization of recreational and sensitive drugs use. On the other hand, this kind of ⪡break in common sense communication⪢ offers a severe challenge to current national drugs strategy and to organizational structures. Through Ardigo's reflections on the necessary shiftings of social policies for overcoming the crisis of welfare state, 4 drug abuse service systems will be put in comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to investigate potential predictors of drug risk among a community-based sample of individuals who are exposed to illicit drugs. The four domains of interest are individual socio-demographic and social-psychological attributes, current situational circumstances and family-of-origin characteristics. Interviews were conducted with 242 individuals who were recruited in Atlanta, Georgia. Initial descriptive analyses were followed by multivariate analyses. The final model predicted 60% of the variance in drug risk. Current situational circumstances were statistically significant regarding drug risk. Family-of-origin characteristics also were significant, even when entered into the predictive model after current situational circumstances. In addition to individual social-psychological characteristics such as depression and self-esteem, the impact of childhood emotional abuse is noted. The findings indicate a need for considering proximal as well as more distal influences on drug risk behavior when designing drug use prevention and intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous studies have found that black youths use drugs less than white youths, black- white differences have rarely been explained by using data that span childhood through young adulthood. To fill this research gap, we employ nationally representative panel data to examine whether race differences occur because black youths (1) are less likely to be reared by parents who smoke, drink, and/or use illicit drugs; (2) are less likely to have drug-using friends; more likely to grow up within an evangelical Protestant religion; and (3) are more likely to be religiously involved than white youths are. Results from estimating a series of ordinary least squares regression models show that the race differences in drug use during young adulthood are due partly to differences between black and white youths in exposure to parent and peer drug users, religious involvement, and, to a lesser extent, religious upbringing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study on the influence of deviant peers on the adolescent's behavior towards substance use. It mentions that early peer-rejected children may lead them into deviant peer group just to gain social acceptance as deviant peer network shifts from slightly negative to slightly positive during adolescent years. The study shows that inadequate parental supervision among adolescence leads to the association with deviant peers and on substance use. Moreover, the findings implicate the deviant peer group as the training ground for deviant behaviors among adolescence, which includes illicit drug use.

Copyright of Socialno Delo is the property of Socialno Delo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The 1996 U.S. presidential campaign represents an unusual and important case for research on the social construction of drug problems. Presidential candidate Robert Dole and other prominent politicians made dramatic claims about a growing teenage "drug crisis" based on supportive evidence from severe/national surveys. However, these claims were often ignored and even criticized by the news media. This paper examines how and why journalists responded so differently to this putative crisis than they did to earlier drug crises, such as the media "feeding frenzy" about crack cocaine in the 1980s. An analysis of news stories, political statements, and editorial commentary that appeared in major news outlets during 1995 and 1996 reveals a number of tactics that media workers employed to deconstruct politicians' claims and to frame the drug issue as an election-year strategy rather than as an authentic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bangladesh has experienced one of the highest urban population growth rates (around 7% per year) over the past three decades. Dhaka, the capital city, attracts approximately 320,000 migrants from rural areas every year. The city is unable to provide shelter, food, education, healthcare, and employment for its rapidly-expanding population. An estimated 3.4 million people live in the overcrowded slums of Dhaka, and many more live in public spaces lacking the most basic shelter. While a small but growing body of research describes the lives of people who live in urban informal settlements or slums, very little research describes the population with no housing at all. Anecdotally, the homeless population in Dhaka is known to face extortion, erratic unemployment, exposure to violence, and sexual harassment and to engage in high-risk behaviours. However, this has not been systematically documented. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted to better understand the challenges in the lives of the homeless population in 11 areas of Dhaka during a 13-month period from June 2007 to June 2008. A modified cluster-sampling method was used for selecting 32 clusters of 14 female and male respondents, for a sample of 896. In addition to sociodemographic details, this paper focuses specifically on violence, drug-abuse, and sexual harassment. The findings showed that physical assaults among the homeless, particularly among women, were a regular phenomenon. Eighty-three percent of female respondents (n=372) were assaulted by their husbands, station masters, and male police officers. They were subjected to lewd gestures, unwelcome advances, and rape. Male respondents reported being physically assaulted while trying to collect food, fighting over space, or while stealing, by police officers, miscreants, or other homeless people. Sixty-nine percent of the male respondents (n=309) used locally-available drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, and two-thirds of injecting drug-users shared needles. The study determined that the homeless are not highly mobile but tend to congregate in clusters night after night. Income-generating activities, targeted education, gender-friendly community police programmes, shelters and crises centres, and greater community involvement are suggested as policy and programmatic interventions to raise the quality of life of this population. In addition, there is a need to reduce high rates of urban migration, a priority for Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human groups make up for themselves, for the others and for the events they live explanations that, although not scientific, determine the practices that regulate their behavior. In the case of marijuana consumption, the representations of young people in particular and society in general influence the decision about whether or not to continue consuming. The perception of risk associated with consumption by high school students dropped from 60% in 1994 to 36.9% in 2004, which backs up the relationship between high consumption and low risk perception. Cannabis is the illegal drug with the highest indexes of consumption in the world with an increasing growth rate, to which we may add the alarming reduction in the age when people begin consuming it. This research paper is concerned with the effects of consumption on cognitive processes in school and social performance: a drop in performance, more problems getting along with others, absenteeism and drop out. The study aims to know how low marihuana doses affect cognitive ability in post-primary students. There are no studies concerned with the effect of marihuana in non-patient students (i.e. not diagnosed with addictive behavior and not considered socially as drug addicts). Material and methods Sample: The sample comes from high school students in public schools, private subsidized schools and private paying schools. The sample was stratified by non-proportional affixation, considering the sex, course and social economic level variables, and was made up of 304 students in high schools of the Metropolitan Area (Santiago), belonging to low, medium, and high socioeconomic groups (determined by dependence and the city in which the school is located). The research is descriptive, not experimental, ex post facto. Instruments: Group application to the entire sample (n=304) a) Psychosocial evaluation and consumption questionnaire, abbreviated and adapted, aimed at the collection of demographic data, consumption behaviors and other required information. The young people are identified with a number in order to ensure their anonymity and thus promote the truth of the responses. b) Domino Test (D-48): Evaluates non-verbal intelligence. It controls differences caused by social and educative factors. It is applied on a group basis in order to discard subjects whose IQ is lower than average, regardless of consumption. Individual application to the consumer group and the non-consumer group. a) Rey Complex Figure Test: Widely used in recent studies on the effects of drugs on teenagers. Evaluates neuropsychological functioning. b) Benton Test: Evaluates current intellectual efficiency from the attention span, concentration and immediate retention. c) Verbal memory (Rey): Evaluates immediate verbal memory. Results General: The total results for the three schools polled and evaluated show that 14.5% of the students declared that they consumed marijuana at least four times during the last month. The proportion in the three establishments is not distributed in a homogenous fashion, but is concentrated in the low social economic level school (27.8%), with the lowest percentage in the high social economic level school. With regard to sex, 11% are girls and 15.7% are boys. Although a higher proportion of the boys consumed, the consumption in girls shows a sustained increase in recent years. A significant group is beginning to consume marijuana at age 15 or even earlier. The perception of risk associated with frequent consumption and the possibility of quitting smoking on a voluntary basis show significant differences: among consumers (C), 51% consider that there is no risk or negative effect in consumption, while only 10% of nonconsumers (NC) share this perception. Protective factors or those associated with risk The family.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To examine the association between perceptions of neighborhood safety and drug use, as well as mediation by depression and self- esteem. Methods The sample included 210 inner-city young adults (18 to 25 years) recruited from the Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Results Respondents who indicated greater fear of their neighborhood environment also had significantly greater levels of drug use than did those with lower perceived fear. However, this relationship was not a result of lower self-esteem or higher levels of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Exploratory results point to the need to consider the broader role of the community environment and its impact on drug use among young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationships between certain cognitive and emotional factors (sensation seeking, impulsivity, self-esteem, anxiety sensitivity and loneliness) and regular consumption of alcohol and other drugs by a university population from Almería (South Spain). During 2005 and 2006 students were given a battery of questionnaires related to these personality variables and the substances they had consumed. After filling out the psychometric tests, the participants gave a urine sample which was then analyzed. The findings stress the role of sensation seeking and loneliness, understood as social maladjustment, in the regular consumption of alcohol and other drugs, in both men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We compared demographics and sexual and drug risk behaviors among HIV-positive Black men who have sex with women only, with men only, or with men and women to assess differences among and between these groups. Methods. We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Supplement to HIV and AIDS Surveillance Project for 2038 HIV-positive Black men who reported being sexually active. We classified the participants by their reported sexual behaviors in the past year: intercourse with women (n = 1186), with men (n=741), or with men and women (n = 111). Results. Respondents whose sexual partners were both men and women reported more noninjection drug use, sexual exchange, and sexual partners than did the other 2 groups. Bisexual respondents were also more likely than were heterosexuals to report unprotected intercourse with a steady female partner and were more likely than were both other groups to report having steady partners of unknown HIV serostatus and using drugs during their last sexual episode. Conclusions. HIV-positive Black men with both male and female sexual partners engaged in more sexual and drug risk behaviors than did their heterosexual and homosexual peers. More information concerning the prevention needs of behaviorally bisexual HIV-positive Black men is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We investigated covariates related to risky sexual behaviors among young African American men enrolled at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Methods. Analyses were based on data gathered from 1837 male freshmen enrolled at 34 HBCUs who participated in the 2001 HBCU Substance Use Survey. The covariates of risky sexual behavior assessed included condom nonuse, engaging in sexual activity with multiple partners, and history of a sexually transmitted disease. Results. Young Black men who had sex with men were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors than were young men who had sex with women. Two additional factors, early onset of sexual activity and consumption of alcohol or drugs before sexual activity, were independently associated with modestly higher odds of sexual risk behaviors. Conclusions. Services focusing on prevention of sexually transmitted diseases should be provided to all male college students, regardless of the gender of their sexual partners. Such a general approach should also address drug and alcohol use before sexual activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A country with drug-free society is lye in a Harm reduction vision of Malaysia. This study was aimed to describe the knowledge and behavior of individuals located in the drug hub of Malaysia. Objective: To identify the individual knowledge and attitude with the perception to the practices of the drug abuse in community. Methodology: KAP survey was conducted among the three heterogeneous groups of Penang as to compare intellectual variance among each group. Use of SPSS for statistical analysis by means of interferential statistical analysis. Results: Results conceived poor to moderate level of knowledge with the accommodate awareness about the drug practices in the society. The result reflects the negative perception towards the adaptation of addictive behavior and treatment opportunity. Conclusion: Educational program focused on youngsters to elderly persons needed to convert non-reproductive behavior into responsive ideological behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The current research examined drinking and drug use among college students. Using a self-report survey of students from a midwestern university, the frequency of alcohol use, binge drinking, and drug use were explored. Particular attention was paid to drinking behaviors and drug use among Criminal Justice (CJ) students compared to students from other majors. Differences were found between CJ and non-CJ students especially in terms of drinking behavior; fewer differences were found between majors in terms of drug use. Issues of moral authority were examined as well as issues of employability. Implications for CJ students, faculty and advisors are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The objective of this study was to examine adolescent age and experience with drug use on stigmatizing attitudes toward drug addiction. Data were derived from the  2005 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey. In total, 4078, 7- to 12-graders completed self-administered questionnaires that included a measure of drug abuse stigma. Results indicated that stigma scores were higher among younger than older adolescents, and the decline across age was robust, occurring among both males and females and those from rural and non-rural areas. The decline, however, was stronger among non-drug users and among those who had no close friends that use drugs. Despite the age-related decline, the level of stigma in general suggested that drug abuse stigma may continue into adulthood. Findings highlight that individual attitudes toward drug use and drug abusers are salient factors for personal drug use. Given that stigma is a barrier to treatment, but reduced stigma may encourage greater adolescent use, this study highlights the need for more in-depth studies of drug stigma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Problems associated with poor quality parent-child relationships are compounded for incarcerated girls. Using attachment theory as a framework, the present qualitative study examined how 18 incarcerated adolescent girls made meaning with regard to their parents’ drug use. We found that 8 of the 18 girls used drugs with their parents as a relational strategy to be close with them, particularly with their fathers, or as a means to share time together. The unique finding that girls used drugs together with their parents supports the need for relational parenting interventions that, whenever possible, support, encourage, and provide treatment and family strengthening services to parents who use drugs and their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify socio-cultural factors facilitating initiation of opium use among drug users in Darab, Iran. A qualitative study using in-depth interviews was conducted. The study began in June 2006 and included 76 drug users, aged 20–43, of whom 95% (72) were male, and 5% (4) were female. The five most common factors facilitating initiation of drug use were revealed to be: lack of hobbies, treatment of general medical problems, modeling, peer networks, and cultural norms. Partner pressure was a common complaint among women in this study. Cultural factors perceived to facilitate initiation of drug use revealed in this study have not been fully addressed by current prevention and rehabilitation programs. Programs can be targeted at social and family levels to alter drug use culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from a survey conducted in 2003 and employing multilevel modeling, this paper examines the impact of migration and urbanization on drug abuse and casual sex in China. The results suggest that being a migrant predicts significantly higher odds of having casual sex but lower odds of drug abuse. Living in an urban place is a significant risk factor for both illicit drug use and casual sex. There are significant cross-community (primary sampling unit) variances in the random intercept component, suggesting that the likelihood of drug abuse and casual sex is influenced by where one lives. After controlling for differences in individual demographic and psychosocial characteristics, social influences, and community factors, the intracommunity correlation is higher for drug use (0.32) than for casual sex (0.11). The results of random coefficient models further suggest that the impact of migration on drug use and casual sex also varies across communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is mostly transmitted through blood-to-blood contact during injection drug use via shared contaminated syringes/needles or injection paraphernalia. This paper used meta-analytic methods to assess whether HCV prevalence and incidence varied across different racial/ethnic groups of injection drug users (IDUs) sampled internationally. The 29 prevalence and 11 incidence studies identified as part of the HCV Synthesis Project were categorized into subgroups based on similar racial/ethnic comparisons. The effect estimate used was the odds or risk ratio comparing HCV prevalence or incidence rates in racial/ethnic minority groups versus those of majority status. For prevalence studies, the clearest disparity in HCV status was observed in the Canadian and Australian Aboriginal versus White comparison, followed by the US non-White versus White categories. Overall, Hispanic IDUs had greater HCV prevalence, and HCV prevalence in African-Americans was not significantly greater than that of Whites in the US. Aboriginal groups showed higher HCV seroconversion rates when compared to others, and African-Americans had lower seroconversion rates compared to other IDUs in the US. The findings suggest that certain minority groups have elevated HCV rates in comparison to other IDUs, which may be a consequence of stigma, discrimination, different risk behaviors or decreased access to health care, services and preventive education. Future research should seek to explicitly explore and explain racial/ethnic variations in HCV prevalence and incidence, and define the groups more precisely to allow for more accurate detection of possible racial/ethnic differences in HCV rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In drug treatment outcome literature, a focus on objective and socially desirable indicators of change (e.g. no drug use) has predominated, while outcome indicators that are important for drug users themselves (e.g. quality of life, satisfaction with treatment) have largely been neglected. Nonetheless, Quality of Life (QoL) has become an important concept to evaluate effectiveness of treatment in mental health care research and disability studies. Given the almost exclusive focus on Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in substance abuse research and the neglect of clients’ perspectives in this field, we explore in this study the concept of QoL as perceived by drug users. Focus group discussions ( n = 9) were organised in various treatment settings and community services for drug users in the region of Ghent, Belgium to identify important dimensions of QoL and their interpretation by drug users. Data were clustered and analysed based on the theoretical framework of Robert Schalock (Quality of life. Volume 1: Conceptualization and measurement, 1996). The domains ‘personal relationships’, ‘social inclusion’ and ‘self-determination’ were discussed most frequently by the participants. They stressed the importance of a supportive social network in particular. It can be concluded that QoL is not primarily associated by drug users with health and it involves much more than the aspects typically represented in measures of HRQOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of 2004 the UK government downgraded the legal status of cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug. Following a review of this decision two years later, cannabis remained a Class C substance—which for some contrasted with the potential harmful social and health effects associated with its use, particularly for young people. These included its links with respiratory damage, problems during pregnancy and its potential to exacerbate mental health problems. When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007 his government decided to revisit this issue and requested a reexamination of its legal status. Despite the advice of its own scientific advisory body, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the UK government reclassified cannabis back to a Class B drug in May 2008. This paper examines the existing scientific evidence on the potential impact of cannabis use on young people within the context of the UK government's reclassification initiative over the past four years. This evidence remains inconclusive whilst the perception of young people to the effects of cannabis use during, and now after, the period of the reclassification debate is not yet known. This now makes it particularly challenging to communicate a clear message in the most effective manner with young people about the possible risks of cannabis use, and would appear to make it difficult to provide a clear and unambiguous statement on what message this initiative has sent to the next generation of cannabis users, as they see the government rethink its position on several occasions before eventually changing its mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social costs of substance abuse problems in the United States are staggering. Although social work has a long history of working in the substance abuse field, the profession does not pay similar attention to potential substance abuse problems in non-substance-abuse practice areas despite the high prevalence of substance abuse in these settings. A screening and brief intervention practice model that emphasizes a feasible and practical framework for social workers to screen for potential substance abuse problems in non-substance-abuse practice settings and make appropriate brief interventions is provided. Implications for social work educators, administrators, and practitioners are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identified the predictors of youth violence and violent victimization among a sample of Dominican adolescents (N = 155) attending high school in a northeastern urban community. As part of a broader community-based needs assessment, students participated in an evaluation of a substance abuse prevention program funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Correlations, principal components, multiple imputation, and stepwise regression analyses were systematically employed to develop a parsimonious model for predicting violence-related behaviors among Dominican youth. Findings suggest that early onset of alcohol and marijuana use was associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in violence-related behaviors or being the victim of a violent act. In addition, students who reported a lowered sense of safety were more likely to be involved in acts of violence. However, adolescents who reported depressive symptoms were less inclined to become involved in violence-related behaviors. Implications for culturally-tailored violence and substance abuse prevention programming efforts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1960s, illicit drug use in Europe has been marked by the serious health consequences of drug injecting, in particular of heroin. The present article discusses the development of two major harm reduction interventions conducted in Europe to reduce heroin injection and its detrimental consequences, namely opioid substitution treatment and needle exchange programmes. Data collected by the EMCDDA, the specialized EU drug monitoring agency, show that these interventions have progressively become part of the common response in Europe for reducing problems related to drug injecting. The data illustrate the emergence in the mid-1980s of these measures as 'new' public health responses to injecting drugs and HIV/AIDS, a process that was preceded by intensive discussions between stakeholders at national and local level. Data also indicate that the scaling up of the measures was not immediate, but happened only about a decade later, during the 1990s—and predominantly in the Western part of the European region. While current social, cultural and legal responses to drug use in EU Member States remain diverse, a recent assessment of national priorities and approaches in preventing infectious diseases and drug-related deaths showed a considerable trend towards a convergence of policies across the whole region. This is discussed in relation to strategic guidance and target-oriented action plans that emerged at the level of the European Union since the late 1990s, concluding that European policy consensus was mediated by EU guidance, while not originating from it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa is experiencing significant changes in patterns of illicit drug use, including increasing injection and non-injection drug use, and the use of drugs by persons engaged in sex work, both of which could further expand the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2005, a rapid ethnographic assessment was conducted in Durban, South Africa, to learn more about patterns of drug use and HIV risk behaviors among drug-using, street-based sex workers. Field teams recruited 52 current injection and non-injection drug users for key informant interviews and focus groups, and they conducted mapping and observation in identified high-risk neighborhoods. Key informants were offered free, voluntary counseling and HIV rapid testing. The results of the assessment indicate that in this population, drugs play an organizing role in patterns of daily activities, with sex work closely linked to the buying, selling, and using of drugs. Participants reported using multiple drugs including crack cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy and Mandrax, and their choices were based on their expectations about the functional role and behavioral and pharmacological properties of the drugs. The organization of sex work and patterns of drug use differ by gender, with males exercising more control over daily routines and drug and sexual transactions than females. Activities of female sex workers are subject to considerable control by individual pimps, many of whom also function as landlords and drug dealers. A strong hold over the overlapping economies of drugs and sex work by a few individuals extends to control of the physical and social settings in which sex is exchanged and drugs are sold and used as well as the terms under which sex work is carried out. The potential for accelerated HIV spread is considerable given the evidence of overlapping drug-using and sexual risk behaviors and the mixing patterns across drug and sexual risk networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Street outreach encounters were used to collect data of reported alcohol and other drug use among gay and bisexual males ( N = 11,375) in Hollywood and West Hollywood, California over a 9-year period from January 1999 to December 2007. Analyses were conducted to assess demographic data, self-reported HIV status, and frequency of alcohol and other drug use. Participants averaged 32.3 (SD = 7.7) years, slightly over half were Caucasian/white (53%), and most were identified as gay (85.8%). Self-reported HIV seroprevalence was 20.7%. Observations began January to June 1999, with 46.0% reporting recent methamphetamine use, and ended July to December 2007, with 24.8% reporting recent use of methamphetamine. Percent reporting methamphetamine use peaked in the first half of 2002 at 53% and dipped to a low of 11.1% in the second half of 2006. Findings demonstrate the common use of methamphetamine over the observation period in this high-risk group even in the face of a recent decline in reported use. These data also indicate the need for ongoing methamphetamine abuse and HIV-prevention interventions in this particular high-risk population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: While the pleasures of drug use are sometimes acknowledged, they are normally limited to those who are socially privileged. The drug use of those who are impoverished and marginalised is linked instead to crime, social misery and addiction. Studying poverty in connection with drug use enriches our understanding of both poverty and drugs, but there are limitations to these connections, including their neglect of pleasure. Method: This paper draws on 85 qualitative interviews with service providers and clients, conducted for a project entitled ‘Comparing the role of takeaways in methadone maintenance treatment in New South Wales and Victoria’. Critical readings of psychoanalysis are used as a conceptual frame. Results: Although pleasurable and problematic drug use are often thought to be mutually exclusive, pleasure is reported from both the effects of drugs such as heroin and methadone, and from the social worlds of methadone maintenance treatment. Attention to drug users’ narratives of pleasure has the potential for new understandings of drug use and social disadvantage. Conclusion: Common distinctions between kinds of drug use, such as problematic and recreational, are less useful than is normally thought. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction The purpose of this article is to show the principal contributions of the social network perspective to the understanding of drug use behavior and its treatment, based on a review of studies undertaken using this approach. The study of social networks has become a new means of explaining the causality of numerous social phenomena. It has proved to be a valuable contribution to the understanding of various problems related to individuals' physical and mental health, including drug use behavior. The literature has shown that the study of social networks contains the key to understanding drug use initiation and progression over time, since it has been proved that persons that use and abuse drugs are often surrounded by friends, relatives and acquaintances that abuse these substances or approve of this behavior. Paradigm of social networks and drug consumption This approach comprises a set of theories, methods and techniques used to understand social relations and the way these relations can influence individual and group behavior. This perspective assumes that the social network influences its members' behavior to a certain extent and that the degree of influence will depend on the way this network is shaped, the person's level of integration within the latter, the position the individual occupies, how ho is linked to other members of the network and how important these links are in his life. Social network studies analyze the relationships established by individuals by examining their social network, defined as the set of significant individuals, family, friends and relationships established at school, university or work. They also analyze various components of social networks, such as their structure, type and the quality of the links and their function. Within the field of the study of addictive behavior, the social network perspective has proved useful in examining the pattern of individuals' relationships within their groups, analyzing the impact of this pattern on the level of similarity in substance use in these groups, and evaluating the influence of the peer group on behavior. Influence of social network on drug use behavior Various studies have repeatedly pointed out the influence of social networks on the various stages of addiction (starting, habituation and stopping). They have also shown that drug users' networks undergo significant changes during each of these stages. Several social factors have been linked to the starting, use and abuse of licit and illicit substances. The family, the prevailing norms in social networks and peer influence are the social aspects that have been most positively associated with this behavior. … [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes changes in young drug users' income-producing strategies as a way of understanding how neoliberal structural transformations have combined to change drug use micropractices and morbidity-mortality patterns in Greater Buenos Aires shantytowns. Mirroring transformations experienced in the labor system in the late nineties, younger drug users now question street drug dealing because of changes in the activity. The lack of stable payment agreements in both the legal and illegal contexts created a generalized feeling of being cheated and abused, modifying exchanges in local economies and forging a new social identity built around stealing. This trend cannot entirely be explained by the growing poverty, indigence, and social exclusion that structural economic policies have engendered. It is also linked to changing relationships between law and legitimacy, legality and illegality that supported these structural reforms, which have have modified the everyday experience of law, informal rules, and legitimacy within impoverished populations. In particular, the progressive blurring of the boundaries between legality and illegality in the workplace and police repression has engendered an economy of violence that changed the local status of drug dealing and affected the basis of exchanges among drug users. The article ends with a discussion of how these changes in drug users' everyday lives have modified modes of drug use, the logic of HIV risk, and mortality patterns. A consideration of local views about local violence shows that the criminalization of poverty and police abuse subject young drug users to lethal paradoxes that expose them to early, violent death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The drug user is a social scapegoat, often blamed for many social ills. This targeting and abjectification constitutes definitions of 'the public' by creating an Other against which the citizen is defined. Using the example of Seattle's Stay Out of Drug Areas ordinance as a case study, this article shows how the creation and enforcement of exclusionary anti-drug zones, produce an idealised notion of public space and its idealised inhabitant, the “citizen”. Modern citizenship pathologises those who are not considered citizens. Drug-using bodies are policed and segregated to reduce disorder in public space. This policing can lead to additional marginalisation of groups that are already marginalised. In this article, it is argued that discourses of abjection, citizenship and public space work together to form socio-spatial norms of appropriate bodies and actions in public space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To discuss three alternative roles and associated challenges for researchers as participants in community action projects for prevention of alcohol and other drug problems. Methods: To undertake a case study of alternative roles for researchers in community action projects in three Nordic countries. Findings: There are three alternatives roles for researchers in community prevention projects, each with scientific advantages and disadvantages. The researcher role in practice depends on key features of the intervention as well as the focus and overall aim of the evaluation study. The choice of the researcher role has important implications for the entire research methodology and responsibility and ethics of research. Conclusions: There is a need to assess the stage of local preventive work in a given country when planning evaluation of community action projects. The first stage of development of a solid scientific foundation for local substance prevention requires pilot and early demonstration projects. In the early developmental phases, researchers often choose to be active participants and partners with the communities. Without the researcher or other professional involvement, the risk of lack of any effect is increased. If the pilot projects and their efficacy trials are successful, it is mandatory to move on to the next (more natural) test phase. Effectiveness trials with researchers, who act as unobtrusive observers, will then be useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased concern regarding drug abuse among adolescents contributes to the elaboration of prevention programs at schools. This investigation aims to know teachers' social representations, regarding drug abuse, in a secondary school in Florianopolis, SC, Brazil. A total of 16 teachers of the 5th to 8th grades participated in the study. Data were collected through associations elaborated by teachers in response to the expression: drugs use/abuse. The teacher's representations are organized around a central concept - the vulnerable other: a needy adolescent, who becomes drugs user, highlighting the family, everyday coping, and the school's (in)visibility in prevention actions, as factors related. The complexity of factors involving drugs production, distribution and its commercialization, demands the implementation of actions that go beyond the scopes of education and health. The elaboration of inter-sector prevention programs considering local characteristics is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims In this exciting era of gene discovery, we review evidence from family, adoption and twin studies that examine the genetic basis for addiction. With a focus on the classical twin design that utilizes data on monozygotic and dizygotic twins, we discuss support in favor of heritable influences on alcohol, nicotine, cannabis and other illicit drug dependence. Methods We review whether these genetic factors also influence earlier stages (e.g. experimentation) of the addictive process and whether there are genetic influences specific to each psychoactive substance. Results Converging evidence from these studies supports the role of moderate to high genetic influences on addiction with estimates ranging from 0.30 to 0.70. The changing role of these heritable factors as a function of gender, age and cultural characteristics is also discussed. We highlight the importance of the interplay between genes and the environment as it relates to risk for addiction and the utility of the children-of-twins design for emerging studies of gene–environment interaction is presented. Conclusions Despite the advances being made by low-cost high-throughput whole genome association assays, we posit that information garnered from twin studies, especially extended twin designs with power to examine gene–environment interactions, will continue to form the foundation for genomic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]