Risk factors for involvement with illegal drugs: opinion of family members or significant others

Abstract

This study was aimed at identifying how family members or significant others of illegal drug users in an inner city in São Paulo State, Brazil, perceive the risk factors related to involvement with these drugs. A quantitative and descriptive approach was used. The subjects were people who self-defined that having a family member or significant other who has used/is using illegal drugs personally influenced them and who agreed to participate in the research. The participants were recruited at a Primary Health Care Unit located in the North of an inner city in São Paulo, Brazil. In this study, the risk factors were classified in three categories: “personal characteristics and behaviors”, “family circumstances” and “other social pressures”. The interviewees acknowledge most of the risk factors in the individual, family and community domains as related to people’s involvement in illegal drugs use, although the factors indicated were not the same when they talked about the general population or about a relative or significant other.

• Drugs
• family
• risk factors
• street drugs
• substance-abuse

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.