Reported reasons for initiating drug use among drug-dependent adolescents and youths in Yunnan, China.
BACKGROUND
As an entry point for illicit drug trafficking, Yunnan was hit hard by the twin epidemics of drug abuse and HIV/AIDS. There are no empirical studies regarding the reasons for initiation of drug use in Yunnan.


OBJECTIVE
The study investigated the reasons for initiating drug use in drug-dependent adolescents and youths in five regions in Yunnan.


METHODS
The data were collected in 2004-2005 from a stratified random sample of 467 registered drug addicts under age 25. Pearson chi-square tests were used to analyze the association of reasons for drug use with sociodemographic factors, knowledge of drug related harm, and access to illicit drugs.


RESULTS
Curiosity was the most commonly reported reason for initiating drug use and the majority of the respondents reported having little or no knowledge of drug-related harm. The majority of the drug abusers initiated drug use at the age of 13-14 years or younger.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a potential for sustained educational programs to reduce the high prevalence of adolescent drug use in Yunnan.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first empirical study that has investigated reasons for initiating drug use based on a random sample of registered drug users in a high risk province of China.
Yang
Lijun
L
Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Criminal Science and Forensic Technology, Yunnan Police Officer Academy, Kunming, China.
Li
Jianghong
J
Yiping
Zhang
Z
Wendong
Zhang
Z
Fuqiang
Dai
D
Ren
Zhouyang
Z
Maycock
Bruce
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D017668:Age of Onset; D002681:China; D003710:Demography; D055030:Drug Users / Q000523:psychology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult