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Initiation into intravenous drug abuse
Author(s) -
Stenbacka M.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1990.tb05481.x
Subject(s) - intravenous drug , drug abuser , substance abuse , psychiatry , drug , medicine , psychology , family medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , viral disease
At the Stockholm Police Arrest Centre, 156 intravenous drug abusers (103 men, 53 women) were interviewed during the first part of 1987. A structured questionnaire was used in order to survey the initiation process into drug abuse, focusing on the differences and similarities between men and women. Of the men, 80 (78%) had been introduced to illegal drugs by a man and only 14 (14%) by a woman. Of the women, 39 (74%) had been introduced by a man and only 11 (21%) by a woman. The majority of both the men (62%) and the women (51%) were introduced by a close friend. Most of the introductions took place in a secure environment, at the home of either the novice, a friend or the introducer.