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Risk-taking and drug-use behaviour: an examination
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
|June 1, 1983
Summary
This study found that polydrug use, but not drug dependence potential or level of use, significantly correlates with higher risk-taking scores in high school students. Risk-taking may better differentiate drug users from non-users.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Criminology
- Public Health
Background:
- Adolescent drug use is a significant public health concern.
- Understanding the psychological factors associated with drug use is crucial for prevention and intervention.
- Risk-taking propensity is often cited as a potential correlate of substance use behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between various drug-use behaviors and risk-taking propensity in high school students.
- To test hypotheses linking drug dependence potential, level of drug use, and polydrug use to risk-taking scores.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Jackson's (1976) risk-taking measure.
- Surveyed a sample of 634 high school students from a province-wide probability survey on student drug use.
- Analyzed data to assess correlations between drug-use behaviors and risk scores.
Main Results:
- No conclusive evidence supported a link between drug dependence potential and risk-taking.
- No conclusive evidence supported a link between the overall level of drug use and risk-taking.
- A significant positive relationship was found between the level of polydrug use and risk scores.
Conclusions:
- Polydrug use is strongly associated with higher risk-taking propensity in adolescents.
- Risk-taking as a general personality trait may be more effective in distinguishing drug users from non-users than in differentiating levels of use among users.