NCJ Number
127514
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A meeting held in Austria in September, 1988 was the first international meeting to consider the sociocultural influences on drug abuse in the European region. The meeting aimed to review current knowledge of various factors among different European communities and to design an action research program on relevant topics in this context.
Abstract
Working papers examined trends in levels of drug use as well as substances used, focusing on cannabis, heroin, and polydrug use. Six sociocultural factors pertaining to drug abuse were considered: age, sex, ethnic status, ideology and religion, social and economic deprivation, and family background. Little research exists on the social responses to drug use, which are themselves influenced by various sociocultural and economic factors. The institutionalized forms of response include law enforcement, treatments, media messages, and drugs research. The program for future research agreed upon during the consultation specified five areas of study including interrelationships between abused substances, changes in attitudes toward drug use, comparison of responses in drug abuse in small communities, treatment responses, and drug users' perceptions of the various sociocultural influences. 6 references and 1 appendix