Swedish high-school pupils’ attitudes towards drugs in relation to drug usage, impulsiveness and other risk factors

Abstract

Background. Illicit drug use influences people’s lives and elicits unwanted behaviour. Current research shows that there is an increase in young people’s drug use in Sweden. The aim was to investigate Swedish high-school pupils’ attitudes, impulsiveness and gender differences linked to drug use. Risk and protective factors relative to drug use were also a focus of interest.Method. High school pupils (n = 146) aged 17–21 years, responded to the Adolescent Health and Development Inventory, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and Knowledge, and the Attitudes and Beliefs. Direct logistic, multiple regression analyses, and Multivariate Analysis of Variance were used to analyze the data.Results. Positive Attitudes towards drugs were predicted by risk factors (odds ratio = 37.31) and gender (odds ratio = .32). Risk factors (odds ratio = 46.89), positive attitudes towards drugs (odds ratio = 4.63), and impulsiveness (odds ratio = 1.11) predicted drug usage. Risk factors dimensions Family, Friends and Individual Characteristic were positively related to impulsiveness among drug users. Moreover, although boys reported using drugs to a greater extent, girls expressed more positive attitude towards drugs and even reported more impulsiveness than boys.Conclusion. This study reinforces the notion that research ought to focus on gender differences relative to pro-drug attitudes along with testing for differences in the predictors of girls’ and boys’ delinquency and impulsiveness. Positive attitudes towards drugs among adolescents seem to be part of a vicious circle including risk factors, such as friendly drug environments (e.g., friends who use drugs) and unsupportive family environments, individual characteristics, and impulsiveness.

Actitudes hacia el consumo de sustancias. El efecto de la transición adolescencia-adultez en una muestra de ecuatoriano

“…Al parecer, la coherencia entre actitud asociada y conducta tiene como fin evitar la incongruencia entre las creencias del sujeto y las experiencias que admite, pues esta genera tensión psíquica y malestar (Mayorga Lascano, 2018). Por ejemplo, en los consumidores se dan atribuciones favorables a las drogas para minimizar sus efectos y justificar su consumo (Mousavi et al, 2014). Sin embargo, la variabilidad y la ambivalencia actitudinal se sostendrán mientras el proceso de consolidación culmina por condicionamiento operante (refuerzo positivo).…”

“…La investigación sobre el uso de sustancias desde la cognición social considera como precursora de esta conducta a la combinación de aspectos contextuales (herencia, economía, entorno social y otros) más elementos afectivos y cognitivos internos propios del individuo que influyen en la decisión de la conducta de consumo. Si bien es cierto que existe limitación en la exploración de la cognición social de este fenómeno, varios estudios muestran la relación que existe entre este y la predisposición cognitiva y afectiva de un individuo (Mousavi et al, 2014;Friis et al, 2017;Wells et al, 2018;Mayorga-Lascano et al, 2019). La evidencia recoge que la disposición y las actitudes hacia un objeto o comportamiento tienen un rol predictor en dicha conducta (Ajzen & Cote, 2008); y este mecanismo no es ajeno a la práctica del consumo de sustancias (Myrtveit et al, 2016;Moreta-Herrera et al, 2018), aunque el mismo es discutible.…”

Student's Risk Perception and Attitude towards Drug Abuse in Educational Institutions of Pakistan

“…Drugs are historically abused in all societies and cultures, for example, residents of ancient Greece used alcohol, Indian in South America used to chew the leaves used in the production of cocaine and Chinese used opium for intoxication (Goldberg, 1993). Researchers have conducted studies in diverse cultural contexts for understanding the role of drugs, such as Australian skinheads associate drinking with British identity (Moore, 1994), and the culture of the pub is considered as an expression of masculinity (Mousavi et al, 2014). Prevalence of illicit drugs is increasing with a rapid speed, and it was estimated that 4-6% of the people in the age group 15 to 64 years were consuming the different illicit drug in 2009.…”

“…Attitude is a person psychological predisposition which is expressed through the confirmation or denial of a particular person, thing or act. Additionally, attitude guides an individual decision about the attainment of goals and seeking environment consistent with his own attitude (Mousavi et al, 2014). Modifications and changes in a person attitude are considered as strategies to balance with the social environment (Helkama, Myllyniemi & Liebkind, 2004).…”

“…Similarly, drug-addicted youth share their non-harmful drug abuse experiences with their non-addicted peers and influences their attitude towards drug abuse. Exposure to more and more addicted peers increases the possibility of a positive attitude towards drugs and ultimately towards its abuse (Mousavi et al, 2014). There are some gender variation in exposure to drugs as boys usually have earlier exposure to substance abuse in comparison to girls (Van Etten & Anthony, 2001) The literature on drug abuse highlights different factors resulting in the usage of drugs among individuals.…”