Peers as Perceived by Drug Abusers in their Drug‐Seeking Behaviour

Abstract

This paper is part of a major study in drug abuse. It attempts to investigate from the social learning perspective the importance of peers in the interpersonal relationship and in drug-seeking behaviour among a group of drug abusers including adolescents and adults. The subjects included 100 drug abusers randomly selected from those registered with voluntary organizations for treatment and rehabilitation, and 100 non-abusers individually matched for sex, approximate age, ethnic group, educational stream, and neighbourhood. A questionnaire was constructed to collect biosocial and drug-use data and 11 items of them common to those on the official record were used to check the veridicality of the responses of drug abusers. Exact agreement ranged from 83% to 100%. It is found that peers were identified significantly more by the drug abusers than by the non-abusers to be the person they most associated with, and that peer group influence is a strong motivator in the trigger mechanism of drug-taking.

Risk factors for HIV‐1 seropositivity in drug users under 30 years old in Haiphong, Vietnam

“…This observation is consistent with the view that peer pressure is more powerful than the in uence of family members regarding drug-taking behaviors. 25 Until the beginning of the 1980s little was known about the role of drug users in the transmission of STIs. Recent studies in the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, and Yunnan, China have reported high rates of sexual activity and STIs among drug users, especially IDUs.…”

“…The average level of education was high school (grades 9-12). The median age at marriage was 24 years (range [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. Almost one-third (147) were married, with a mean of 1.3 children per family.…”

Neural Correlates of Social Influence Among Cannabis Users

“…Peers play a pivotal role in introducing an individual to a drug [2, 3], and drug use primarily occurs in social settings [4]. Surveys of adolescents [5, 6], college students [3], and treatment-seeking adults [7] consistently find links between peer behavior and drug use. For example, individuals who are more susceptible to peer influence are more likely to have problems with drug and alcohol use, and are more likely to have friends who also engage in risky behavior [8].…”

The Construction and Testing of an Interactive Model for Understanding Alcohol Misuse in Middle Adolescence

“…The present study did not reveal any significant gender differences in relation to drinking group membership, in contrast to other studies in the area which support the hypothesis of gender differences (Laracantu et. al., 1990;Ong Teck-Hong, 1989;Grube et. al., 1989;Wyllie et.…”

“…Ong Teck-hong (1989), also argues that peer-group influence is a strong motivation in the trigger mechanism of drug taking. In his study, he administered a biosocial and drug use data questionnaire to 100 drug abusers aged 14-46 years.…”