Characteristics of users of recreational drugs in Spain and other EU member countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20882/adicciones.464Keywords:
Drug-use, going-out, peers, family, personalityAbstract
Background: Predictive models on substance use include personality, peers and family characteristics and mediating variables (expectancies, motivation, risk perception, etc.). This study aim to compare the relative capacity of management of recreational life with the mentioned predictors, when the objective is to “predict” substance use. Method: Two samples of young people were interviewed, both balanced between substance users and non – users. One were composed only by Spanish people (N = 806) and the other was composed by people from ten European cities (N = 1,777). Discriminant analyses and logistic regression methods were used to classify individuals regarding their status (user and non – user), to estimate the relative weight of different domains of variables in the models and to compare findings in the two samples. Results: Similar findings were obtained across the two samples. A discriminant model classified around 90% of individuals correctly as users and non – users. Personality, peers and family characteristics and mediating variables were included. Management of recreational life was the stronger predictor, followed by peers substance use. Conclusion: Substance use prevention should include management of recreational life as a relevant factor, together with another determinants as peers and family substance use, personality and mediating variables.References
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