Drug use characteristics and correlates of multiple risk behaviors among synthetic drug users

ABSTRACT

Objective: Understanding drug use characteristics can help inform preventive education and behavioral therapy. The aims of the current study are to describe drug use characteristics and examine factors associated with multiple risk behaviors among synthetic drug users in China.

Method: Cross-sectional data were obtained in 2015 from 846 (457 men and 389 women) adult synthetic drug users in China. SAS 9.4 was used for all data analyses.

Results: Multiple regression analyses showed that female participants were more likely to have engaged in a suicide attempt, while male participants were more likely to have engaged in group sex under the influence of drugs, gambling, vandalism, beating up others, motorcycle racing, and other criminal activities. Moreover, age, occupation, education level, household socioeconomic status, age of drug initiation, and drug use frequency were associated with multiple risk behaviors.

Conclusions: Future health promotion efforts to reduce risk behaviors among synthetic drug users need to focus on reducing drug use frequency and helping them find possible ways to improve livelihoods. The gender differences in risk behaviors also suggest the needs of gender-specific prevention intervention strategies such as mental health services and reduction of partner influence among female users, and reduction of peer influence among male users.

KEYWORDS:

• Drug use characteristics
• risk behaviors
• synthetic drug users
• China

Disclosure statement

All authors agree to the submission and declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The study protocol and consenting procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Nanjing Medical University in China.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 71673146 & 71203098] and sponsored by Qing Lan Project 2018. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSFC.