Prevalence and Psychosocial Correlates of Party-Drug Use and Associated Problems among University Students in the Netherlands

Kunst, Laura E.; Gebhardt, Winifred A.

doi:10.1080/10826084.2018.1455700

Cited by 17 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…With regard to cannabimimetics, it could be argued that there is little reason for their continued use outside of prisons or treatment facilities, if cannabis, although controlled by the law, is easily available and its synthetic NPS versions are legally sanctioned. Moreover, many users experience psychological or health problems ( 9 , 24 ), for example panic attacks, nausea, or circulatory problems ( 19 ), a fact that could further reduce demand for these substances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence of Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) Use in Patients Admitted to Drug Detoxification Treatment

et al. 2020

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Background About 15 years ago, a diverse group of new recreational psychotropic substances began to emerge, which were marketed for example as “legal highs,” “research chemicals,” or “designer drugs.” These substances were later subsumed under the label “Novel Psychoactive Substances” (NPS). Important NPS classes are cathinones, synthetic cannabimimetics, phenethylamines, and herbal drugs. The health care system for psychotropic substance use disorders (SUDs) traditionally focused on a few substances, such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, or cannabis. Users of illicit substances often engage in polydrug use. However little is known about the prevalence of NPS use within the group of “classical” illicit substance users. Objective We investigated lifetime and recent use of NPS and other drugs in patients who underwent in-patient detoxification treatment from illicit drugs in Germany. Methods In a multicenter study with eight participating facilities, patients admitted to treatment underwent a standardized interview at admission, concerning their past and current substance use. The interview comprised classical substances of abuse, NPS, and rarely used substances such as LSD. In addition, participating sites had the opportunity to analyze their patients’ routine drug screenings by means of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), which permitted detection of NPS. Results Interviews from 295 patients could be analyzed. Most patients were opiate dependent and multiple substance users. About 32% reported use of synthetic cannabimimetics during lifetime, but usually only a few times. An important reason for their use was that NPS were not detected by drug testing in prisons or drug treatment facilities. Cathinones, herbal drugs or other NPS had rarely been used during lifetime. NPS use during the last 30 days before admission was nearly zero. This was confirmed by urine analysis results. In contrast, lifetime and current use of opiates, alcohol, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and cannabis was high. In addition, 18% reported of regular unprescribed pregabalin use during lifetime, and 20% had recently used pregabalin. Conclusion Patients admitted to drug detoxification treatment showed multiple substance use, but this did not include NPS use. The diversion of legal medications such as pregabalin in this group is a serious concern.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Estimates from Europe suggest between 1% and 8% of school students have used NPS at some point ( 2 ). In an online survey, 6.7% of Dutch university students reported of NPS use ( 9 ). Even higher consumption rates were found in young attendees of electronic dance music events or nightclubs ( 10 – 12 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) Use in Patients Admitted to Drug Detoxification Treatment

et al. 2020

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“…Misuse of illicit substances can have far-reaching consequences for students, particularly if misuse begins early in the college career [24] by negatively impacting academic outcomes [20, 25], increasing drop-out rates [24, 26–28], delaying graduation [24], leading to expulsion or suspension [29], or failure to attain a degree [30], and potentially impacting career trajectories [31]. Students have also reported missing classes [32] and receiving a lower grade [29] as a result of their illicit substance misuse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of the effectiveness of digital interventions for illicit substance misuse harm reduction in third-level students

et al. 2019

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Background Illicit substance misuse is a growing public health problem, with misuse peaking among 18–25 year-olds, and attendance at third-level education identified as a risk factor. Illicit substance misuse has the potential to harm mental and physical health, social relationships, and impact on academic achievements and future career prospects. Digital interventions have been identified as a vehicle for reaching large student populations and circumventing the limited capacity of student health services for delivering face-to-face interventions. Digital interventions have been developed in the area of alcohol and tobacco harm reduction, reporting some effectiveness, but the evidence for the effectiveness of digital interventions targeting illicit substance misuse is lacking. This review aims to systematically identify and critically appraise studies examining the effectiveness of digital interventions for illicit substance misuse harm reduction in third-level students. Methods We systematically searched ten databases in April 2018 using keywords and database specific terms under the pillars of “mHealth,” “substance misuse,” and “student.” To be eligible for inclusion, papers had to present a measure of illicit substance misuse harm reduction. Included articles were critically appraised and included in the qualitative synthesis regardless of quality. Results A total of eight studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. Studies reported harm reduction in terms of substance misuse or initiation, as consequences or problems associated with substance misuse, or as correction of perceived social norms. Overall, five out of the eight studies reported at least one positive outcome for harm reduction. The critical appraisal indicated that the study quality was generally weak, predominantly due to a lack of blinding of study participants, and the use of self-reported substance misuse measures. However, results suggest that digital interventions may produce a modest reduction in harm from illicit substance misuse. Conclusions The results of this review are positive, and support the need for further high-quality research in this area, particularly given the success of digital interventions for alcohol and tobacco harm reduction. However, very few studies focused solely on illicit substances, and those that did targeted only marijuana. This suggests the need for further research on the effectiveness of this type of intervention for other illicit substances. Trial registration This review is registered on PROSPERO, ID number: CRD42018097203.

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“…Internationally, just under a quarter of third-level students report current use of an illicit substance [7,[9][10][11]. The harms from illicit substance use are broad; affecting both mental and physical health [7,[12][13][14][15][16]. In addition, third-level students are at risk of many academic-related negative outcomes including missing classes [14] and receiving lower grades [12], an increase in drop-out rates [17][18][19][20], delayed graduation [18], expulsion or suspension [12], and failure to attain a degree [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Design of a Digital Behaviour Change Intervention for Third-Level Student Illicit Substance Use: A Persona Building Approach

Dick¹,

Heavin²,

Vasiliou³

et al. 2020

Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

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Illicit substance use among third-level students is an issue of increasing concern. Digital behavioural change interventions have been developed to target this population, but reports of their effectiveness are mixed. The importance of end-user involvement in digital intervention development has been well established, but it appears that many interventions in this area did not engage end-users during development. This absence may have affected engagement, undermining their potential effectiveness. This paper describes the process and contributions of a persona-building approach in the development of a digital behaviour change intervention tailored to the needs of third-level students. Nine exploratory persona-building workshops were carried out with 31 students, and 7 project team members to develop personas for heavy, occasional and nonsubstance using third-level students. Early analysis has identified five archetypes which will contribute to the design of an acceptable and user-friendly intervention, and to the identification of targeted behavioural change techniques.

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Prevalence and Psychosocial Correlates of Party-Drug Use and Associated Problems among University Students in the Netherlands

Cited by 17 publications

References 62 publications

Prevalence of Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) Use in Patients Admitted to Drug Detoxification Treatment

Prevalence of Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) Use in Patients Admitted to Drug Detoxification Treatment

A systematic review of the effectiveness of digital interventions for illicit substance misuse harm reduction in third-level students

The Design of a Digital Behaviour Change Intervention for Third-Level Student Illicit Substance Use: A Persona Building Approach

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