Recreational Nightlife: Risk and Protective Factors for Drug Misuse Among Young Europeans in Recreational Environments

• NCJ Number: 223058
• Journal: Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2008 Pages: 189-200
• Author(s): Amador Calafat; Cesareo Fernandez; Montse Juan; Elisardo Becona
• Date Published: April 2008
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study assessed the predictive relevance of recreational nightlife-related variables for drug use compared to other intrapersonal and interpersonal risk and protective factors.

Abstract

The finding suggests the need to address the management of weekend recreational habits as an important objective in the prevention of drug use and misuse, including the implication and meaning given to recreational nightlife. Global multivariate logistic regression analysis correctly classified 92 percent of the management of recreational activities (opinions, motivation, and clubbing habits) as the best predictors of drug use. Traditional risk factors are also relevant in predicting drug use among recreational drug users. Young people going out in recreational settings in Europe are completely different from the old profile of people coming from social exclusion zones; most of them study, work, and come from middle-class families. Going out for them is a part of their social capital, and possibly for the majority of them, the experience of going out often to recreational settings will not have a negative influence on their personal careers. Nevertheless, this study found that the use of legal and illegal drugs in the sample cell was still related to several typical risk factors found in the literature: a sociodemographic (good student, religiosity), deviant behavior (age of onset of drug use, adaptation to school), risky and antisocial behaviors of different kinds (driving while under the influence of drugs, stealing), peer and family drug use, personality characteristics, and other mediating variables (motivation, expectancies, and risk perception related to drug use) or attitude to social and legal control. The factors relating to the management of recreational activities were relevant and useful as predictors, including: intense involvement in the activity, main motivations for going out (meeting friends, looking for a partner, looking for alcohol or drugs), and certain criteria for the selection of venues (nonsmoking, difficulty in using illegal drugs, or seedy appearance). Data were collected from 1,777 young people in 10 European cities. Tables, references