Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Harm Reduct J. 2021 Mar 17;18(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s12954-021-00481-9.
The use of psychoactive substances frequently starts at a younger age than adulthood. Considering the perspective of young people, this retrospective study tried to provide them with a role in identifying their own needs regarding drug use and interventions focused on it; the obstacles in accessing both general health and harm reduction services; the changes needed for a more effective, congruent and empowering response to the use of psychoactive substances before the age of 18.
The study was divided into two parts having both parts a qualitative focus. In the first part of the study, an online questionnaire was sent to all harm reduction teams and two focus groups were carried out with eight harm reduction professionals and six people who use(d) drugs. The second part used an online questionnaire applied to 143 participants aged between the age of 18 and 25 complemented by two semi-structured interviews.
The need for education about psychoactive substances, namely in the educational context; the lack of information about available services; and the need for confidentiality were the most mentioned issues by the young people. Also, the informal network played a significant role in the participants relationship with psychoactive substances.
The lack of information was the most highlighted obstacle. Also, there is a confluence of various vulnerabilities such as being under 18, using drugs and the different social situations that they live in. To improve policy and practice regarding drug use among young people, harm reduction interventions must be scaled-up as well as intentionally driven to empower youth to deal with. School environment was chosen by participants as one of the elected environments to implement harm reduction services.
使用精神活性物质的行为通常始于未成年之前。从年轻人的角度出发，本回顾性研究试图让他们在识别自己对药物使用的需求方面发挥作用，并关注相关干预措施；了解在获得一般健康和减少伤害服务方面存在的障碍；需要做出哪些改变，以便在 18 岁之前对精神活性物质的使用做出更有效、更一致和更赋权的反应。
该研究分为两部分，两部分都采用定性研究方法。在研究的第一部分，向所有减少伤害团队发送了在线问卷，并与 8 名减少伤害专业人员和 6 名吸毒者进行了两次焦点小组讨论。第二部分使用在线问卷对 143 名年龄在 18 至 25 岁之间的参与者进行了调查，其中包括两次半结构化访谈。
年轻人最常提到的问题是需要关于精神活性物质的教育，特别是在教育背景下；缺乏有关可用服务的信息；以及对保密性的需求。此外，非正式网络在参与者与精神活性物质的关系中发挥了重要作用。
信息匮乏是最突出的障碍。此外，18 岁以下、使用毒品以及他们所处的不同社会环境等各种脆弱性相互交织。为了改善针对年轻人的药物使用政策和实践，必须扩大减少伤害干预措施的规模，并有意地赋予年轻人权力以应对。参与者选择学校环境作为实施减少伤害服务的首选环境之一。
