The influence of the local and general environment on the use and distribution of drugs by adolescents in Belgrade

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to determine if there are significant differences in the variables of the local and general environment between adolescents who have not had any contact with drugs and those who use and distribute drugs. The examination of these differences was carried out on a two-stage random sample of 1286 high school students in Belgrade, of both sexes, between the ages of 15 and 19. All data were collected by a specially constructed questionnaire in a completely anonymous situation. Analysis of the data on the differences between drug-free and drug-using adolescents was performed by canonical discriminant analysis, especially for boys and especially for girls. In the difference analysis, one significant discriminative function was obtained for boys, whose canonical correlation was of the order of .616. That function is defined by the easy availability of drugs in the local environment, but some other variables of the local and general environment also played a significant role in the structure of that function. For girls, one discriminative function was also isolated, with the correlation of .540. That function is also defined by the ease of availability of the drug. In the structure of that function, certain differences can be observed in relation to this structure in boys. Research data undoubtedly show that when choosing preventive interventions, special attention must be paid to the form of abuse that manifests itself as the simultaneous use and distribution of drugs, and to the factors from these two environments that influence the behavior.

Keywords

• adolescents
• drug abuse
• risk factors
• prevention