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Use, abuse and dependence of ecstasy and related drugs in adolescents and young adults – a transient phenomenon? Results from a longitudinal community study

Objective: To determine incidence and patterns of natural course of ecstasy/stimulant/hallucinogen (ESH) use and disorders as well as cohort effects in a community sample of adolescents and young adults.
Method: Cumulative incidence and patterns of ecstasy use and disorders were examined in a prospective longitudinal design (mean follow-up period=42 months) in a representative sample (N=2446) aged 14–24 years at the outset of the study. Patterns of DSM-IV defined ESH use, abuse and dependence were assessed with the Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI).
Results: (1) Cumulative lifetime incidence for use of ESH at second follow-up: 9.1%, 1.0% for abuse, 0.6% for dependence; (2) men used and abused ESH more often than women; (3) the younger birth cohort (1977–81) tended to start earlier with substance (ab)use compared to the older birth cohort (1970–77); (4) use of ESH was associated with increasing rates of concomitant use of other licit and illicit drugs; (5) the majority of the lifetime ESH users without disorder had stopped to use these substances and not consumed them during the 12 months preceding the second follow-up; (6) those who had stopped to take ecstasy and related drugs at follow-up also took other illicit drugs less often than those who continued to consume ESH.
Conclusions: Use of designer drugs is widespread in our sample, but the probability of developing use disorders is fairly low (1.6%). The majority of the ESH users stopped their use spontaneously in their twenties (80% of the prior users without disorder, 67% of the prior abusers), but 50% of those that once had fulfilled DSM-IV criteria of dependence continued to use these substances.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa.de:bsz:14-qucosa-110008
Date05 April 2013
CreatorsSydow, Kirsten von, Lieb, Roselind, Pfister, Hildegard, Höfler, Michael, Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich
ContributorsTechnische Universität Dresden, Fakultät Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften
PublisherSaechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden
Source SetsHochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typedoc-type:article
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceDrug and Alcohol Dependence, Bd. 66 (2002), Nr. 2, S. 147–159, ISSN: 0376-8716

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