Social factors and social contexts have long been implicated in shaping/influencing behaviours, actions, and outcomes, including social and health inequities. The social determinants of health concept has shown that health and health inequities are shaped by a variety of socio-cultural factors including education, socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, and the social and physical environments in which people live. Critical drug scholars have specifically sought to understand how contexts and environments shape drug use and related harms. The “risk environment” framework, for example, suggests that drug use, risky drug use practices (e.g., needle sharing), and drug use-related harms are shaped by social, physical, economic and policy environments. Yet while contexts are frequently implicated in framing and shaping behaviours, the specific mechanisms at play are rarely unpacked. I address this gap by further “opening up” contexts of drug consumption and social marginalization in order to extend our knowledge of drug use among marginalized people who use drugs (PWUD) My dissertation includes 3 analyses of my data in the form of published (2) and submitted (1) manuscripts. Two-stage interviews (a short quantitative survey and longer qualitative interview) were conducted with fifty PWUD in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada. Data were analyzed with conceptual and theoretical tools borrowed from Situational Analysis, as well as actor-network and assemblage theories. In my first paper, I explore reasons for using drugs, and suggest that, despite known negative consequences of drug use, substance use among marginalized PWUD can be meaningful and beneficial. Participant narratives revealed four main themes regarding positive aspects of drugs and drug use in their lives: (1) pain relief and management; (2) alleviating mental health issues; (3) fostering social experiences; (4) pleasurable embodied experiences. These findings draw attention to the fallacies of drug prohibition and much current drug policy which has fabricated boundaries between the acceptable and unacceptable, resulting in the criminalization and stigmatization of certain substances and the people that use them. In my second paper, I draw upon actor-network theory and event analysis to explore how contexts shape drug consumption practices. My findings illustrate how specific methods of drug consumption (e.g., smoking or injecting) are shaped by an assemblage of objects, actors, affects, spaces and processes. Rather than emphasising the role of broad socio-structural factors (e.g., poverty, drug policy) participant narratives reveal how a variety of actors, both human and non-human, assembled in unique ways produce drug consumption events that have the capacity to influence or transform drug consumption practices. In my third paper, I explore how spaces/places frequently used by PWUD in the DTES that are commonly associated with risk and harm (e.g., alleyways, parks) can be re-imagined and re-constructed as spaces/places of safety and wellbeing. Conceptualizing spaces/places as assemblages, I trace the associations among/between a host of seemingly disparate actants – such as material objects, actors, processes, affect, temporal elements, policies and practices – to better understand how experiences of harm, or conversely wellbeing, unfold, and shed light on how risky spaces/places can be re-constructed as places that enable safety and wellbeing. Taken together these 3 papers/analyses provide unique insight into not only drug use among marginalized PWUD, but our understanding of the ways in which contexts and environments shape behaviour and social phenomena. These findings have direct implication for harm reduction theory and drug policy. With greater insight into the contexts of drug use, drug policy and harm reduction strategies may be better tailored to prevent drug use-related harms. / Graduate / 2019-12-07

abstract: The research on female juvenile gang members is limited in scope and research has not yet examined mental health issues in this population. This study examines the case histories of 127 female juvenile gang members who were arrested by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. To add to the limited gender-specific research on female juvenile gang members, data are presented regarding this population's mental health problems, childhood maltreatment, substance abuse problems, age of contact with the juvenile justice system, and other factors salient to female juvenile gang members' prevention, treatment, and intervention needs. Female juvenile gang members who had a mental health diagnosis were significantly more likely to report childhood maltreatment. Female juvenile gang members who were younger at their age of first arrest were significantly more likely to report chronic substance use. Clinical levels of anger-irritability and depression-anxiety were found for approximately half of female juvenile gang members and suicide ideation was found for approximately one fourth. These findings have important implications for practitioners and gender-specific prevention, intervention, and treatment programs targeted specifically for female juvenile gang members. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.W. Social Work 2012

The goal of this research is to analyze the stigmatization of opioid addiction within the framework of emergency care from an ethnographic perspective. Interviews with those who have been swept up in the current opioid epidemic indicate that stigma, or a shame or dishonor, and socioeconomic insecurity emerge often as common themes in their emergency care experiences. In many cases, socioeconomic insecurity most intensely translates into a lack of access to healthcare and emergency rooms across the country often function as primary care for uninsured populations. The central field site selected for this study was the emergency department of an urban trauma-level research hospital in an attempt to document the process of care for those in opioid crisis and the challenges healthcare providers face in facilitating this care. The aim of this research is to discover how stigma affects care in emergency room settings during an acute opioid crisis. This is a moment when patients may be most open to the idea of detoxification and sobriety. In this study, I argue that addiction can be shifted from being viewed as a disgraceful state to a medical condition, by uncovering what experiences overdose victims have while under emergency care, how patients experience stigma related to their opioid crisis, and what challenges healthcare providers describe while facilitating care during crisis. Findings suggest that stigma permeates the interactions drug-addicted patients have with healthcare professionals and that it may have a negative impact on their decision to seek further treatment. Application of results in the form of a community resource guide made available to patients and hospital staff indicate the potential for reducing stigma of intravenous/opioid-related addiction as healthcare providers are more able to discern gaps in care for addicted patients and facilitate greater follow-up care and access to resources. This thesis illustrates the potential for qualitative analysis of acute care to uncover vital next steps in reducing the stigma surrounding opioid addiction. Reducing stigma in the provision of care could foster more integrative approaches to treatment, help inform new protocols for caregivers, uncover resources to aid healthcare providers, and potentially provide a more substantial level of care and access to resources for the patient in crisis—one that may facilitate recovery in lieu of relapse.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O presente trabalho visa a investigar historicamente o uso de droga enquanto objeto de intervenção da Medicina e da Psiquiatria, a partir do início do século XX até os dias atuais, refletindo sobre a articulação e a cooperação entre essas duas instituições, inserindo o problema no panorama geral da questão no Brasil e no mundo. Para atingir esse objetivo, farse-á a análise de documentos produzidos ao longo do período referido nos dois âmbitos: documentos legais e as principais referências da bibliografia psiquiátrica. Assim, o principal foco do estudo é encontrar as convergências e divergências dos processos de medicalização e criminalização do uso de droga, dando especial atenção para o arranjo atual dessa problemática. Após a análise documental, far-se-á um contraponto das informações colhidas na pesquisa com alguns trabalhos genealógicos de Michel Foucault, pensando como este teórico pode ajudar a compreender o surgimento, a evolução e a configuração atual da questão da droga no Brasil. / The present study aims to investigate drug use historically as an object of intervention of Justice and Psychiatry, from the early twentieth century to the present day, reflecting on the relationship and cooperation between these two institutions, placing the problem in the Brazilian panorama and worldwide. To achieve this goal, the analysis of documents produced in these two areas during the referred period will be carried out: legal documents and major psychiatric literature references. Thus, the main focus of the study is to find the similarities and differences between the processes of medicalization and criminalization of drug use, paying particular attention to the current arrangement of this problem. After documentary analysis, the information collected in the research will be analyzed in the light of some of Michel Foucaults genealogical work, reflecting on how his theory can help us understand the emergence, evolution and current configuration of the drug issue in Brazil.

abstract: This study examined the influence of the traditional values held by Mexican heritage parents on the intention of their adolescent children to use drugs. Specifically, the study tested a mediation model in which the traditional cultural values of parents were hypothesized to influence adolescent drug use intentions indirectly by influencing ethnic identify and adolescent perceptions of parental injunctive norms against drug use. Parents reported on traditional cultural values and expectations for their child. Adolescents reported perceived reaction from parents if they used drugs (parental injunctive norms), ethnic identity, and their intention to use drugs in the future. Two direct effects were observed: parental values on expectations and parental injunctive norms on adolescent drug use intentions. Two paths were also moderated by the sex of the adolescent. The path from parent values to parent expectations was significantly stronger for adolescent girls than boys; the path from ethnic identity affirmation to drug intentions was protective for boys but not for girls. The negative relationship between perceived parental reaction and adolescent drug use intentions suggests that anti-drug norms communicated by parents had a protective influence and can deter youth from using drugs. The results of the current study did not support the hypothesized mediational model, but did provide additional support for the importance of parental influence on adolescents' plans and ideas about using alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. More research is necessary to examine the influence of culture and the mechanisms by which cultural values impact Mexican heritage adolescents' intentions to use drugs and subsequent use. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Psychology 2012

A delinqüência juvenil e o uso de drogas são problemas sociais e de saúde pública, que vem recebendo uma atenção especial por parte dos profissionais que atuam nesta área e dos órgãos públicos para um melhor entendimento dessa realidade e uma ação efetiva em relação às possibilidades de prevenção. Este estudo tem como objetivo identificar a primeira experiência do uso de drogas e do ato infracional entre os adolescentes em conflito com a lei e analisar sua possível relação. A amostra foi composta por 150 adolescentes do sexo masculino, com idade entre 12 a 21 anos e que estavam em cumprimento de medida sócio-educativa de internação, nas unidades da FEBEM (Fundação Estadual do Bem estar do Menor) de Sertãozinho e Ribeirão Preto-SP. Este é um estudo quantitativo descritivo. Para o instrumento de coleta de dados foi formatado questionário individual, estruturado com perguntas fechadas, divididos em três partes: 1ª) contém as informações sócio-demgráficas, 2ª) o uso de drogas e a 3ª) o ato infracional. Foram realizadas análises descritivas e univariável com intervalo de confiança de 95%. Dentre as caracterisitcas sócio-demográficas, os adolescentes tinham idade de 16 anos, cor pardo ou negro, procedentes da região de Ribeirão Preto-SP, com nível baixo de escolaridade e 99(66%) pertencem à família monoparental e se sustenta com prática infracional. Os índices do primeiro uso do álcool, cigarro e maconha são elevados e ocorrem concomitantemente com idade média de 12 anos. Com relação aos delitos, os mais praticados são roubo 61(40,7%), seguido do tráfico de drogas 44(29,4%) e o furto 14(9,3%) e ocorrem precocemente como o uso da droga com idade média de 13 anos. A associação destas variáveis demonstrou que existe uma correlação significativa entre o uso do álcool e da maconha e os atos infracionais, exceto o homicídio, o estudo também apontou uma relação entre o uso do crack e o tráfico de droga. Este dado confirma que quando o uso destas drogas ocorre precocemente, existe uma chance maior deste adolescente a se envolver mais cedo em comportamentos de risco como, por exemplo, a prática infracional. Não foi encontrada nenhuma relação estatisticamente significativa entre o uso do cigarro e da cocaína e o ato infracional. Os resultados do presente estudo nos aponta indicadores para o desenvolvimento de programas preventivos do uso de drogas entre adolescentes, que podem contribuir para uma redução a escalada para outros comportamentos de riscos. / Juvenile delinquency and drug use are respectively a social problem and a public health burden that have been particularly addressed by health professionals and public authorities for a better understanding of such issue and effective prevention actions. The goal of this study was to identify the first drug use experience and law infraction among adolescents in conflict with the law and attempt to find a possible correlation. The sample consisted of 150 male adolescents aged 12 to 21 institutionalized in the FEBEM (State Foundation for the Well-being of Minors) detention centers under socio educational measures in Sertãozinho and Ribeirão Preto/SP. This is a quantitative and descriptive study. An individual questionnaire, which was divided into three parts, containing closed questions was developed and used as a data collection tool. Those questions addressed the following: 1) Socio demographic information; 2) drug use, and 3) offenses. Descriptive and one- variable analyses were performed, with a confidence interval of 95%. The socio demographic characteristics showed that the average age of adolescent offenders was 16; most of them were Afro descendants or mullatoes and were originally from the region of Ribeirão Preto/SP, had low educational, and 99 (66%) came from mono parental families who supported themselves by means of offenses. The rates of first- time alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use were high and occurred around the age of 12. As for offenses, the most common were robbery (44.7%) followed by drug traffic (29.4%) and theft (9.3%) and occurred around the age of 13. The association of these variables indicated the there was a significant link between the use of alcohol and marijuana and offenses, except for homicide. The study also showed an association between the use of crack and drug traffic. Such data suggest that the earlier children use these drugs, the sooner they are likely to get involved with risky behaviors, e.g., offenses. No significant statistical association was found between cigarette and cocaine use and offenses. The results of the present study indicate that effective programs for drug use prevention among teenagers should be developed in order to reduce escalation to other risky behaviors.

OBJETIVO: Analisar o padrão de consumo de medicamentos segundo características demográficas e condições de vida da população de estudo. METODOLOGIA: A pesquisa foi desenvolvida a partir dos dados do projeto Inquérito de Saúde de São Paulo, ISA-SP, estudo transversal com base populacional, que levantou as condições de vida e saúde da população de quatro áreas do Estado de São Paulo. Foi utilizado período recordatório de 3 dias para o uso de medicamentos. A caracterização demográfica da amostra foi feita por meio da idade e sexo, e a sócio-econômica pelas renda familiar e escolaridade do entrevistado e do chefe de família. RESULTADOS: O uso de medicamentos foi declarado por 33,9% e revelou-se maior entre: os grupos de maior idade, o sexo feminino, as famílias com maior escolaridade do chefe, aqueles que se declararam brancos e os que relataram maior renda familiar. Mais de um terço dos que relataram uso de medicamento declarou automedicação, que foi mais freqüente entre jovens e homens. Uma minoria declarou desconhecer o que é “medicamento genérico”. A média da fração da renda familiar gasta com medicamentos foi de 6,2%, e aumentou com a idade, com a menor renda e com a menor escolaridade. CONCLUSÃO: Essa pesquisa revelou diferenças significativas no consumo, na automedicação e no gasto com medicamentos de diferentes sugrupos populacionais. Os trabalhos sobre perfil de consumo de medicamentos podem contribuir para a discussão sobre a problemática de acesso da população às terapias farmacológicas e podem subsidiar políticas públicas que visem promover acesso universal e uso racional dos medicamentos. / OBJECTIVE: To analyze the pattern of medicine use, according to demographic characteristics and life conditions of the population. METHODS: This study was developed with the databank of the project “Health Survey of State of Sao Paulo (ISA-SP)”, a population based household survey transversal study, that studied the life and the health condition of the population of four areas in the State of Sao Paulo. The information about drug consume was collected with a recall period of 3 days. The sample was characterized by the sex and the age, as demographic data, and by the years of study of the subject and the head of the family, and the household income, as socioeconomic data. RESULTS: The drug use was declared by 33,9% of the subjects, which revealed to be higher among the elders, the women, the individuals which the head of the family presented more years of study, among the ones who declared to have white skin, and among the subjects with higher household income. More then one third of the individuals who used drugs reported selfmedication, which was more frequent among the youngsters and the men. A minority declared to ignore what does “generic medicine” means. The average expense with medicines was 6,2% of the household income, which shows to increase with the age, lower hosehold income and less years of study. CONCLUSION: This research revealed significant differences on consume, selfmedication, and expenses with medicines of different population subgroups. Studies about the pattern of drug use can contribute to the discussion of the problematic involving the access of the population to pharmacological therapies and support public policies which aims the rational use and the universal access to the drugs.

A assistência em saúde mental e, mais especificamente, os cuidados às pessoas que fazem uso problemático de álcool e outras drogas foram por muito tempo negligenciadas pelo Estado. Atualmente, existem diferentes formas de tratamento para o uso problemático de drogas, contudo, as políticas públicas atuais têm aumentado o financiamento para internações em Comunidades Terapêuticas. O objetivo deste estudo é compreender os sentidos construídos sobre a internação em Comunidades Terapêuticas por indivíduos que passaram por estas instituições e atualmente são usuários de um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial II álcool e drogas. Para isto, foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com pessoas em tratamento em um CAPS- AD do município de Ribeirão Preto SP, que passaram por pelo menos uma internação em Comunidades Terapêuticas. Foi realizada uma análise de categoria temática tendo como referencial epistemológico o construcionismo social, levando-se em consideração a influência dos tempos longo, vivido e curto na produção de sentidos. A discussão realizada dialogou com a literatura sobre a Reforma Psiquiátrica. O projeto foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa, respeitando-se os critérios éticos da resolução n.º 466 de 12 de Dezembro de 2012. A análise e resultados foi realizada com 10 entrevistas, sendo construídas quatro categorias: 1) Comunidades Terapêuticas e equipamentos da rede de atenção psicossocial; 2) Momentos marcantes como desencadeadores da decisão de internação e suas expectativas; 3) Funcionamento das Comunidades Terapêuticas; e 4) A saída da Comunidade Terapêutica: decisão e experiências na sociedade. As políticas públicas, ao abrir espaço para financiamento das, CTs, tem investido em um modelo pouco estudado e que age em contradição com as diretrizes da Reforma Psiquiátrica. As CTs trabalham unicamente com a abstinência propondo atividades domesticas, do campo (laborterapia) e espirituais, como principais intervenções. Há uma construção social, pautada no discurso moral religioso e jurídico, de que as internações prolongadas seriam a resolução para os problemas relacionados ao uso de drogas, sendo as CTs privilegiadas pelo financiamento público. Contudo, os usuários e familiares são constantemente enganados e expostos a situações de violência (coerção, imposição e punições). Tem-se desconsiderado a complexidade desse campo, impactando na forma como usuários de drogas são descritos e se descrevem. / Mental health assistance and specifically problematic alcohol and drug use care has been neglected by state policies for a long time. Nowadays, there are different sorts of possible treatments for problematic drug use, however, the current public policies has grown funding for Therapeutic Communities (TC) inpatient treatment. This study aims to comprehend the constructed meanings regarding Therapeutic Communities inpatient treatment experienced by patients whose had been treated by this kind of strategy and now are under treatment on Centro de Átenção Psicosocial - Álcool e Drogas of Ribeirão Preto (CAPS-AD).To achieve this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with people on treatment in a CAPS- AD Ribeirão Preto - SP, who have undergone at least one inpatient experience on Therapeutic Communities. A thematic-categorial analysis was carried out using social constructionist epistemology as reference, taking into account the influence of the long-time, short-time and lived-time in the production of meanings. The discussion held dialogued with the literature on the Brazilian psychiatric reform. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee, respecting the ethical criteria of Resolution No. 466 of December 12, 2012. The presented analysis and results were based on 10 interviews, being constructed four categories: 1) Therapeutic Communities and equipment of psychosocial care network; 2) Memorable moments as triggers of inpatient admission decision and their expectations; 3) Operation of Therapeutic Communities; and 4) The output of the Therapeutic Community: decision and experiences in society. The public policies fostering funding for TCs, has invested in an understudied model and acts in contradiction with the guidelines of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform. The TCs works only with the perspective of abstinence treatment, proposing as key interventions: domestic, field (larbotheraphy) and spiritual activities. There is a social construction based on moral-religious and legal discourse that extended inpatient stays would be a resolution for problems related to drug use, and this has made the CTs privileged by public funding. However, TCs users and their family members are constantly deceived and exposed to violence (coercion, enforcement and punishment). It has disregarded the complexity of this field, impacting the way drug users are described and describe themselves.

O Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar (TAB) é uma condição crônica, caracterizada pela existência de episódios agudos e recorrentes de alteração patológica do humor, que ocasiona grande impacto na vida do paciente, reduzindo seu funcionamento e sua qualidade de vida. O uso de medicamentos consiste em uma realidade necessária ao cotidiano da pessoa com TAB. Este estudo teve como objetivo compreender o significado da terapêutica medicamentosa para a pessoa com TAB, em sua perspectiva e na de seu familiar. Dada a natureza do problema, esta investigação utilizou uma abordagem qualitativa, tendo como referencial metodológico a Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados, à luz do Interacionismo Simbólico. Participaram do estudo 14 pessoas com TAB que estavam em acompanhamento em uma Unidade Ambulatorial de Transtornos do Humor de um hospital universitário e 14 familiares indicados pelas mesmas. A entrevista e observação foram utilizadas como principais estratégias de obtenção de dados. As entrevistas gravadas, após serem transcritas, foram codificadas em três etapas: codificação aberta, codificação axial e codificação seletiva. A análise comparativa dos dados resultou no fenômeno central: ?ESTANDO ENTRE A CRUZ E A ESPADA? em relação à terapêutica medicamentosa. Tal processo foi constituído pela integração entre categorias no modelo de paradigma de Strauss e Corbin, envolvendo a causa desencadeadora do fenômeno, o contexto em que o mesmo está inserido, as condições intervenientes, a estratégia de ação sobre o fenômeno e suas conseqüências. O fenômeno ESTANDO ENTRE A CRUZ E A ESPADA permitiu compreender que, para pessoas com TAB, existe uma situação de ambivalência em relação à terapêutica medicamentosa: no início, não reconhecendo o transtorno e, paralelamente, tomando muitos medicamentos. Como não se percebem doentes, geralmente não identificam motivos para utilizar medicamentos que lhes impõem como realidade conviver com o preconceito e com as perdas e limitações impostas tanto pelos seus efeitos colaterais quanto pelos sintomas do transtorno, sendo freqüente o abandono da terapia medicamentosa. Ao identificar a real necessidade do medicamento, evidenciada pela vivência de crises na ausência do mesmo, as pessoas com TAB percebem-se frente a um dilema entre as duas alternativas de vida em que se constituem a saúde e a doença. Nesse sentido, ao mesmo tempo em que depositam no medicamento o símbolo de sanidade, esse passa a ser a prova concreta e cotidiana de que possuem um transtorno mental e crônico. Este estudo permitiu, assim, compreender os fatores associados e determinantes da realidade vivenciada pelas pessoas com TAB em relação à terapêutica medicamentosa, possibilitando um salto na implementação de estratégias de intervenção nos serviços de saúde direcionadas à qualidade da assistência a esses pacientes / Bipolar Affective Disorder (BAD) is a chronic condition, characterized by the existence of acute and recurring episodes of pathological mood change, which causes a great impact on patients? lives, reduces their functioning and quality of life. Taking medication is a necessary reality in the daily lives of BAD patients. This study aimed to understand the meaning of medication therapy for these patients, according to their perspectives and those of family members. Given the nature of the problem, this research used a qualitative approach, based on Grounded Theory, in the light of Symbolic Interactionism. Study participants were 14 BAD patients who were followed at a Clinical Unit for Mood Disorders of a university hospital and 14 relatives they indicated. Interviews and observation were the main strategies for data collection. The recorded interviews were first transcribed and then coded in three phases: open coding, axial coding and selective coding. Comparative data analysis resulted in the central phenomenon: BEING BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA with respect to medication therapy. This process was constituted by integrating categories in Strauss and Corbin?s paradigm model, involving the cause that triggered the phenomenon, the context in which it is inserted, intervening conditions, the strategy to act on the phenomenon and its consequences. The phenomenon of BEING BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA allowed us to understand that, for patients with BAD, there is an ambivalent situation related to medication therapy. This is perceived, at first, by not acknowledging the disorder and, in parallel, by taking many drugs. As patients do not perceive themselves as ill, they generally do not identify, at this moment in the history of the disorder, motives to take drugs that impose the reality of living with prejudice and with the losses and limitations imposed by their collateral effects as well as by the symptoms of the disorders, with frequent abandonment of medication therapy. By identifying the real need for the drug, evidenced by the experience of crises when it is absent, patients with BAD find themselves faced with a dilemma between the two alternatives of life, which are health and disease. In this sense, patients place the symbol of sanity in the medication but, at the same time, it becomes the concrete and daily proof that they have a mental and chronic disorder. This study allowed us to understand associated and determinant factors of the reality BAD patients experience in relation to medication therapy, permitting a leap in the implementation of intervention strategies in health service directed at the quality of care for these patients

Os estudos da utilização de medicamentos refletem o que acontece com os medicamentos num ambiente com variáveis não-controladas, ao contrário do que acontece nos ensaios clínicos. Dessa forma, este estudo visa determinar o consumo de psicofármacos, contextualizando-o com o crescimento populacional no município de Ribeirão Preto - SP no período de 2008 a 2012, bem como descrever o principal grupo consumidor. Para isto, este estudo observacional analítico transversal foi conduzido por meio do levantamento do uso de psicofármacos por meio dos bancos de dados Hygia (banco de dados da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Ribeirão Preto). Os medicamentos utilizados foram classificados de acordo com a classificação Anatômica Terapêutico Química (ATC) e suas quantidades foram expressas em Doses Diárias Definidas (DDD) a cada 1.000 habitantes por dia (DHD) e em Dose Diária Prescrita (DDP). Exceto para a faixa etária de 0 a 9 anos, em que o consumo tanto de medicamentos no geral quanto de psicofármacos foi maior ou igual para os homens; nas demais faixas etárias observa-se o consumo igual ou maior para todos os medicamentos, sendo o aumento no consumo correlacionado com o aumento da idade das mulheres. Para a maioria dos psicofármacos nota-se uma diferença significativa quando o valor da DDP foi comparado ao da DDD. Quando a taxa de aumento no consumo dos psicofármacos foi comparada a taxa do crescimento populacional, apenas o crescimento no consumo do clonazepam e da sertralina superam o crescimento populacional. Dessa forma, nota-se a importância de estabelecer comparações dos resultados encontrados dos trabalhos que avaliem a utilização de medicamentos com outras variáveis, como no caso, a taxa de crescimento populacional, para se ter uma real dimensão do seu aumento. / The drug utilization studies reflect what happens to the drug in an environment with non-controlled variables, unlike what happens in clinical trials. Thus, this study aims to determine the consumption of psychotropic drugs, contextualizing it with the population growth in RibeirãoPreto - SP from 2008 to 2012, as well as describing the main consumer group. Therefore, this cross-sectional analytical observational study was conducted through survey of the use of psychotropic drugs through databases Hygia (the RibeirãoPreto\'s Municipal database). The drugs used were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification (ATC) and their amount were expressed in Defined Daily Dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day (DHD) and Prescribed Daily Dose (PDD). Except for the age group 0-9 years, when the demand for both drugs in general and of psychotropic drugs was higher than or equal to men; in other age groups was observed a consumption equal to or greater for all medicines, the increase in consumption related with the increasing of women\' age. For most psychotropic drugs a significant difference was noticed when the value of PDD was compared to DDD. When increase rate in the consumption of psychotropic drugs was compared the rate of population growth, only the growth in consumption of clonazepam and sertraline exceed population growth.In this way, the importance of comparisons of the founded results of studies were highlighted; assessing the use of medications with other variables, as in the case, the rate of population growth, to have a real size of its increase.