Does perception of drug-related harm change with age? A cross-sectional online survey of young and older people.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To investigate how young and older people perceive the harms associated with legal and illegal drugs.

Design

Cross-sectional study: adults aged 18-24 years versus 45+ completed an online survey ranking the perceived harms associated with 11 drugs on 16 drug-related harm criteria.

Setting

Online survey.

Participants

184 participants aged 18-24 years (113 female: mean age 21: SD 1.3) and 91 participants aged 45+ (51 female: mean age 60: SD 8.5).

Main outcome measures

'Perception of drug-related harms': This was measured using a rating scale ranging from 1 (no risk of harm) to 4 (high risk of harm). Participants were also asked about sources which informed their perception on drug-related harms as well as their own personal self-reported drug exp

SUBMITTER: Cheeta S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6231571 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature