Protective factors against involvement with illegal drugs: the perception of family members and significant others

Abstract

Protective factors are aspects that enhance resiliency and decrease the probability of drug abuse. The aim of this study was to identify the opinion of family members or people significant to illegal drug users about protective factors that help to prevent involvement with these drugs. The study used a convergent parallel mixed methods design that combines quantitative and qualitative methods. In the quantitative component, 100 subjects participated in the study. Participants were recruited at a primary health-care service located in the Northern district of an inner city in Brazil. They defined themselves as being personally affected by having a family member or significant other who was a former or current illegal drugs user. The subjects were asked about protective factors in general and linked to the specific case of their relative or significant other who is or was a drug user. Data were statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 subjects who were selected among the participants and declared themselves as highly involved with the illegal drug user. Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Among the protective factors mentioned, the participants highlighted the community circumstances with a higher percentage than the other domains, suggesting a notion of institutionalization of the problem of illegal drug use. The results brought key information for the implementation of protective factors at the individual, family, and community levels by different private and public actors.

Keywords:

• illegal drug users
• protective factors to drug use
• family and significant others perceptions
• individual protective factors
• family protective factors
• community protective factors