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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Gilbert Quintero, PhD¹, Bonnie N. Young, BS¹, and Jeffery C. Peterson, PhD². (1) Department of Pediatrics, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, 2703 Frontier NE, MSC11 6145, Albuquerque, NM 87131, 505-272-5466, byoung@salud.unm.edu, (2) Department of Communication, Washington State University, PO Box 642520, Pullman, WA 99164

Background: The abuse of designer drugs, synthetic intoxicants specially engineered for recreational purposes, is a significant public health concern. Collegiate drug surveys attempt to provide accurate surveillance data to describe trends in the use of designer drugs. This paper examines the semantics of this drug category as revealed by in-depth interviews with college students and underscores the implications these meanings may have for drug survey design, the interpretation of survey results, and the informed development of prevention efforts. Methods: This paper is based on 50 ethnographic interviews conducted with college students at a public university, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R21 DA16329). Interviews consisted of structured and semi-structured items, including a constrained pile sort activity. Analysis included the use of descriptive statistics and qualitative pattern coding. Results: Students conceptualize designer drugs in a variety of ways that do not coincide with the definition of these substances that commonly underlies their use in surveys. The term includes any drug that is intentionally designed for a specific purpose, substances extensively advertised in the media, recreational drugs used for non-therapeutic purposes, and substances created by pharmaceutical companies to earn a profit. These results suggest that drug surveillance systems may be capturing the use of a much wider range of substances than is typically assumed. Survey designers may wish to focus on the use of one or two specific designer drugs, rather than rely on questions concerning this broader category. Likewise, prevention efforts should be directed at specific substances.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session participants will be able to

• List several meanings commonly applied to the term “designer drugs.”
• Evaluate the challenges these meanings present to the development of accurate drug use surveys.
• Assess the implications these meanings may have on the interpretation of survey results.
• Identify the issues these findings suggest for the development of drug abuse prevention efforts.

Keywords: Drug Abuse, College Students

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered