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Characteristics and Social Representation of Ecstasy in Europe

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Characteristics and Social Representation of Ecstasy in Europe Characteristics and social representation of ecstasy in Europe Authors: Amador Calafat, Paolo Stocco, Fernando Mendes, Joseph Simon, Goof van de Wijngaart, Mª Pau Sureda, Alfonso Palmer, Nicole Maalsté, Patrizia Zavatti. Financed with the assistance of the EUROPEAN COMMISSION IREFREA Characteristics and social representation of ecstasy in Europe Characteristics and social representation IREFREA IREFREA is a european network interested in the promotion and research of primary prevention of different sorts of juvenile malaise and the study of associated protective and risk factors. CHARACTERISTICS AND SOCIAL REPRESENTATION OF ECSTASY IN EUROPE Research Coordinator: Amador Calafat 3 ORGANISATIONS AND NATIONAL RESEARCH GROUPS PARTICPATING IN THIS RESEARCH IREFREA - FRANCE UTRECHT UNIVERSITY CNDT CVO ADDICTION RESEARCH INSTITUTE 14, Av. Berthelot Bijlhouwerstraat 6 69007 LYON NL-3511 ZC UTRECHT - HOLANDA Tel.: +33 (0) 472 429307 Tel.: +31 (0) 30 2539303 - 2532686 Fax: +33 (0) 478 82714 Fax: +31 (0) 30 2534365 CHAFIC SALIBA E-mail: [email protected] GOOF VAN DE WIJNGAART C.S.S.T. / C.R.E.D.I.T. NICOLE MAALSTE, MIRIAM FRIS 10 Av. Malausséna 06000 NICE - FRANCE IREFREA - PORTUGAL Tel.: +33 (0) 493 92 63 21 Av. Joao de Deus Ramos, 130-A,1ºEs Fax: + 33 (0) 493 92 63 20 3030 COIMBRA - PORTUGAL E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +351 (0) 39 484 660 JOSEPH SIMON Fax: +351 (0) 39 483 727 CORINNE COTTRON E-mail: [email protected] FERNANDO J. MENDES IREFREA - ITALIA LUCIA MARIANO GUERRA C.T. VILLA RENATA Via Orsera, 4 IREFREA - ESPAÑA 30126 LIDO DI VENEZIA - ITALIA Rambla, nº 15-2º, 3ª Tel.: +39 41 5268822 07003 PALMA DE MALLORCA - ESPAÑA Fax: +39 41 5267874 Tel.: +34 971 727434 E- mail: [email protected] Fax: +34 971 718073 PAOLO STOCCO E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] UNIVERSITA DI MODENA AMADOR CALAFAT IST. DI MEDICINA LEGALE M. PAU SUREDA Policlinico. Via del Pozzo, 71 41100 MODENA - ITALIA UNIVERSITAT DE LES ILLES BALEARS Tel.: +39 59 422088 /89 /90 /91 Ctra. de Valldemossa, km. 7,5 Fax: +39 59 371393 07001 PALMA DE MALLORCA - ESPAÑA E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +34 971 173000 PATRIZIA ZAVATI E-mail: [email protected] ALESIA TRENTI ALFONSO PALMER 4 CHARACTERISTICS AND SOCIAL REPRESENTATION OF ECSTASY IN EUROPE Authors: Amador Calafat, Paolo Stocco, Fernando Mendes, Joseph Simon, Goof van de Wijngaart, Mª Pau Sureda, Alfonso Palmer, Nicole Maalsté, Patrizia Zavatti IREFREA Financed with the assistance of the EUROPEAN COMMISSION NEITHER THE COMMISSION, NOR ANY PERSON ACTING IN ITS NAME, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USE THAT MIGHT BE MADE OF THE INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS DOCUMENT This volume is dedicated very specially to Shafic Saliba and his family, the friend and colleague who began this research but who, sadly, was unable to complete it with us. It is also dedicated to the founding members of IREFREA whose initiative made possible this type of intervention. To all the professionals and other people who have participated, at one level or another, in this research. To Prof. Jean Bergeret because the flame of his teaching is behind the statistics of this survey. To Prof. Flament and Verges from Aix-en-Provence University, to share with us their knowledge of social representation theory and methodology. 7 © IREFREA & European Commission I.S.B.N.: ¿?-¿?¿-¿?¿?-¿ D. Legal: V-¿?¿?-1998 IREFREA ESPAÑA Rambla, 15, 2º, 3ª E 07003 Palma de Mallorca (ESPAÑA) Print: MARTIN IMPRESORES, S.L. • Pintor Jover, 1 • 46013 Valencia 8 PRESENTATION It’s a great pleasure for me to introduce a research into “Drug use characteristics and social representations of ecstasy” carried out in different European countries (France, Italy, Holland, Portugal and Spain) by an IREFREA research team, in order to evaluate comparatively the phenomenon of ecstasy diffusion. The research has been carried out in five different European cities, from a sample of 1.627 young individuals, and its results provide a general view of the matter that makes possible to reach important conclusions. Moreover, it clearly shows the ecstasy users difficulty in accepting they are dealing with a real drug, since they don’t realise they are drug users and believe they only take this synthetic substance in order to enhance physical and psychological abilities and a better socialisation. As the research points out this false idea makes young individuals think they are socially integrated, which shows a contrast with the fact that even that they are not marginal people, they present important differences with the control group used in the study. The importance of this study as an empirical research is to show the different motivations and new attitudes of the synthetic drug users in relation to stronger drug users. The present investigation also provides new data concerning the following objectives: 1) To define, from a personal, familiar and social level, the typology of ecstasy users. 2) To distinguish between the recreative nature of ecstasy use and the socialisation attempts facilitated in a illusory way by the substance empathogenous effects. 3) Allow to identify not real ways of socialisation but illusions of it, that it is mainly possible to find out by a research of the preferred places for ecstasy use. 4) Investigate the relationship between ecstasy use, the search of risk behaviours and deviant behaviours frequency. 5) Study in depth the different social representations of ecstasy, in relation to consumers as well as non consumers. 9 The conclusions of this research corroborate, in an experimental way and from the perspective of a comparative study in Europe, what we knew about the expectations among ecstasy users, as well as the under-evaluation of its dangers and, at the same time, the overvaluation of its efficacy among non consumers. As a result of the investigation it becomes clear the need for a programme planning and the setting of a series of different prevention strategies according to the type of use and the degree of drug involvement among young ecstasy users. I can’t but agree with these objectives, provided they were included in the wider context of primary prevention, where the efforts of IREFREA traditionally and institutionally have always been directed. Francesco De Fazio President of IREFREA 10 INDEX Pág. 1. INTRODUCTION . 13 1.1. Designer drugs, synthetic drugs and ecstasy . 13 1.2. Situation in Europe . 18 1.3. Objectives of the research . 25 2. METHODOLOGY . 27 2.1. Situation and need of the qualitative methodologies . 27 2.2. Research design . 30 2.3. Techniques and instruments used . 30 2.3.1. Semi-structured interviews . 31 2.3.2. Documentary and bibliographical analysis . 31 2.3.3. Questionnaire . 31 3. SAMPLE DESIGN AND FIELD WORK . 35 3.1. Sample design. General aspects . 35 3.2. Disco sample . 36 3.3. University sample . 37 3.4. Field work reports . 37 3.4.1. Coimbra (Portugal) . 37 3.4.2. Modena (Italy) . 38 3.4.3. Nice (France) . 39 3.4.4. Palma de Mallorca (Spain) . 40 3.4.5. Utrecht (Netherlands) . 41 4. SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND . 43 5. CHARACTERISTICS OF ECSTASY USE. DIFFERENCES 5. BETWEEN CONSUMERS AND NON CONSUMERS . 53 6. SENSATION SEEKING SCALE (SSS) . 75 6.1. Bibliographical analysis. Theoretical fundamentals . 75 6.2. Results sensation seeking . 78 6.2.1. SSS scores for the overall sample by country . 79 6.2.2. Score on the SSS Scale by sample type differentiating consumers or non-consumers of ecstasy . 82 11 6.2.3. The SSS by consumption frequencies . 83 6.2.4. SSS in the global sample by sex variable . 86 6.3. Resume of results . 86 07. SOCIAL DEVIATION SCALE . 89 7.1. Literature analysis . 89 7.2. Social deviation scale results . 91 08. SOCIAL REPRESENTATION . 95 8.1. The theorization of social representations . 95 8.2. The importance of social representations in designer drugs . 97 8.3. Study of the social representations of ecstasy . 104 8.3.1. Two associative chains in the social representation of ecstasy . 107 8.3.2. Social representation in the global sample . 110 8.3.3. Social representation in Coimbra (Portugal) . 113 8.3.4. Social representation in Modena (Italy) . 117 8.3.5. Social representation in Nice (France) . 120 8.3.6. Social representation in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) . 122 8.3.7. Social representation in Utrecht (The Netherlands) . 125 8.4. Literature review of every participant country . 129 8.4.1. Results of the documentary research in France . 129 8.4.2. Results of the documentary research in Italy . 139 8.4.3. Results of the documentary research in The Netherlands . 156 8.4.4. Results of the documentary research in Portugal . 171 8.4.5. Results of the documentary research in Spain . 173 09. SUMMARY . 183 10. EXPERIENCES WITH ECSTASY PREVENTION 10. CAMPAIGNS IN EUROPE . 189 11. PREVENTION PROPOSALS . 215 12. GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY . 221 ANNEX 1. Preparing the social representation questionnaire on design ANNEX 1. drugs (mainly ecstasy) . 231 ANNEX 2. Guidelines for gathering the material on media news, ANNEX 2. underground literature, pamphlets, etc . 233 ANNEX 3. Questionnaire of social representations of ecstasy . 237 ANNEX 4. Protocol to recruit the disco and university sample . 249 12 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. DESIGNER DRUGS, SYNTHETIC DRUGS AND ECSTASY DEFINITIONS Designer drugs or synthetic drugs are imprecise terms which cover a diverse and changing group of substances whose use began to spread through Europe, during the eighties in particular and taken up to now, mainly, as a recreational drug. Although there are certain differences between both designations for some people, in practice their use is rather indistinct. The term ‘designer drug’ originally described a chemical compound similar in structure and effect to another drug of abuse but differing slightly in structure, produced in clandestine laboratories to mimic the effects of controlled drugs.
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