Factors associated with the initiation of cocaine and heroin among problem drug users: reflections on interventions

This study identifies self-reported factors facilitating initiation of cocaine and heroin among young problem users in Amsterdam to enable interventions to be targeted at issues personally relevant for this population.

A qualitative study using in-depth interviews to obtain retrospective drug use histories. Recruitment took place both directly (by street outreach, outreach at methadone outposts) and indirectly (by respondent-driven sampling). The study started in the year 2001 and included 50 problem drug users, aged 18-30, of whom 72% were male, 64% were polydrug users, and 36% were homeless.

The seven most common self-reported factors facilitating initiation of cocaine and heroin are desire for affect regulation, drug availability, curiosity, desire to be part of a group, misinformation, desire for energy, and starting because it has a depressant effect.

Some factors perceived to facilitate initiation of cocaine and/or heroin revealed in this study are hardly addressed by current prevention programs and could inform future initiatives. Programs can be targeted at young people who we identified to be at high risk. Research using quantitative methods is likely to be valuable in determining the relative importance of mentioned factors for different groups of young people. The study's limitations are noted.