Illicit Drug Use Initiation in the Nordic Countries

Authors

  • Kim Moeller School of Business and Social Science

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2013.02.8

Keywords:

Literature review, illicit drugs, initiation, Nordic social science, risk factors

Abstract

Abstract: The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the most important research into young people's initiation of illicit drug use in the Nordic countries. A systematic literature review was undertaken in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, combined with a qualified search in Finland and Iceland. The search was based on the PubMed and Sociological Abstracts databases in combination with Google Scholar. A total of 333 documents were reviewed, primarily English peer-reviewed articles, but also reports and books in the Nordic languages. 46 documents were chosen to represent the research into illicit drug initiation in the Nordic countries. The review has two parts. In the first part the typical drug initiation sequence and the different interpretations of this sequence in the Nordic countries is presented. In the second part four categories of risk factors are identified, and a review of the most significant Nordic research into these is presented. The categories are: parenting styles, emotional control, sensation-seeking behaviour, collective identity-creation processes, and risk perceptions.

 

Author Biography

Kim Moeller, School of Business and Social Science

Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research

References

Adalbjarnardottir, Sigrun and Leifur G. Hafsteinsonn. 2001. “Adolescents' perceived parenting styles and their substance use: Concurrent and longitudinal analyses.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 11: 401-423.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1532-7795.00018
Adalbjarnardottir, Sigrun and Fjolvar D. Rafnsson. 2002. “Adolescent antisocial behavior and substance use Longitudinal analyses”. Addictive Behaviors 27: 227-240.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4603(00)00179-9
Ahlström, Salme, Leena Metso, and Eeva Liisa Tuovinen. 2003. “Mikä lisää nuoren riskiä tupakoida, humaltua ja kokeilla marihuana? [Which Factors Increase the Risk of Youth Smoking, Drinking and Experimenting with Marijuana?].” Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 68: 597-602.
Arnett, Jeffrey and Lene Balle-Jensen. 1993. “Cultural Bases of Risk Behavior: Danish Adolescents.” Child Development 64: 1842-1855.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1131473
Bjarnason, Thoroddur, Andreea Steriu, and Anna Kokkevi. 2010. “Cannabis supply and demand reduction: Evidence from the ESPAD study of adolescents in 31 European countries.” Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy 17: 123-134.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/09687630802419155

Bretteville-Jensen, Anne Line. 2006. “Drug Demand - Initiation, Continuation and Quitting.” De Economist 154: 491-516.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10645-006-9027-9
Bretteville-Jensen, Anne Line, and Liana Jacobi. 2010. “Climbing the Drug Staircase: A Bayesian Analysis of the Initiation of Hard Drug Use.” Journal of Applied Economics 26: 1157-1186.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jae.1160
Bretteville-Jensen, Anne Line, Hans O. Melberg, and Andrew Jones. 2008. ”Sequential Patterns of Drug Use Initiation - Can We Believe In the Gateway Theory?” The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 8: 1-29.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2202/1935-1682.1846
Christie, Nils and Ragnar Hauge. 1962. “Alkoholvaner blant storbyungdom [Alcohol Use among City Youth].” Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Demant, Jakob and Margaretha Järvinen. 2006. “Constructing Maturity through Alcohol Experience. Focus Groups with Teenagers.” Addiction Research and Theory 14(6): 589-602.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16066350600691683
Demant, Jakob, Signe Ravn, and Sidsel Thorsen. 2010. “Club studies: methodological perspectives for researching drug use in a central youth social space.” Leisure Studies 29(3): 241-252.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02614360903071712
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta. 1990. “The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism.” London: Polity Press.
Fekjær, Silje and Hilde Pape. 2004. ”Når 'alle' doper seg - Feilaktige forestillinger om narkotikabruk blant ungdom [When ’Everybody’ is High – Misconceptions of Drug Use among Youth].” Tidsskrift for Ungdomsforskning 4: 21-32.
Hakkarainen, Pekka and Leena Metso. 2004. ”Finländarnas inställning till narkotika och narkotikapolitiken [Finn’s Attitudes to Drug and Alcohol Policies].” Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidsskrift 21: 41-54.
Hakkarainen, Pekka, Christoffer Tigerstedt, and Tuukka Tammi. 2007. ”Dual-track drug policy - Normalization of the drug problem in Finland.” Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy 14: 543-558.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687630701392008
Hakkarainen, Pekka, Timo Jetsu, and Lau Laursen. 1996. “The legal framework and the drug control system.” Pp. 21-32 in Discussing Drugs and Control Policy, edited by P.Hakkarainen, L. Laursen, and C. Tigerstedt. Helsinki: Nordic Council for Alcohol and Drug Research.
Hammer, Torild and Per Vaglum. 1991. “Users and Nonusers within a High Risk Milieu of Cannabis Use. A General Population Study.” Substance Use and Misuse 26: 595-604.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/10826089109058907
Hammer, Torild and Per Vaglum. 1990. “Initiation, continuation or discontinuation of cannabis use in the general population.” British Journal of Addiction 85: 899-909.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1990.tb03720.x
Hammer, Torild. 1992. “Unemployment and use of drug and alcohol among young people: a longitudinal study in the general population.” British Journal of Addiction 87: 1571-81.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1992.tb02665.x
Hesse, Morten, Sebastien Tutenges, and Sanna Schliewe. 2010. “The Use of Tobacco and Cannabis at an International Music Festival.” European Addiction Research 16: 208-212.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000317250
Järvinen, Margaretha and Peter Gundelach. 2007. “Teenage Drinking, Symbolic Capital and Distinction.” Journal of Youth Studies 10: 55-71.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676260701196137
Kandel, Denise B. 1975. “Stages in adolescent involvement in drug use.” Science 190: 912-914.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1188374

Korhonen, Tellervi, Andrea Prince Leeuwen, Sijmen A von Reijneveld, Johan Ormel, Frank C. Verhulst, and Anja C. Huizink. 2010. “Externalizing Behavior Problems and Cigarette Smoking as Predictors of Cannabis Use: The TRAILS Study.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 49: 61-69.
Kouvonen, Anne and Tomi Lintonen. 2002. ”Adolescent work and drug experiments.” Journal of Substance Use 7: 85-92.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14659890210132117
Melberg, Hans Ole, Andrew M. Jones, and Anne Line Bretteville-Jensen. 2010. “Is cannabis a gateway to hard drugs?” Empirical Economics 38: 583-603.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00181-009-0280-z
Palmqvist, Riia A., Liisa K. Martikainen, and Maijaliisa Rauste. 2003. “A Moving Target: Reasons Given by Adolescents for Alcohol and Narcotics Use, 1984 and 1999.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 32: 195-203.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022595403818
Partanen, Juha and Leena Metso. 1999. “Suomen toinen huumeaalto [The second drug wave in Finland].” Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 64: 143-149.
Pedersen, Willy. 1990. “Adolescents initiating cannabis use: cultural opposition or poor mental health?” Journal of Adolescence 13: 327-339.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0140-1971(90)90027-5
Pedersen, Willy. 1991a. “Drugs in adolescent worlds: A longitudinal study of adolescent drug use socialization.” Oslo: Institutt for Psykiatri, Oslo Universitet.
Pedersen, Willy. 1991b. “Mental health, sensation seeking and drug use patterns: a longitudinal study.” British Journal of Addiction 86: 195-204.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01769.x
Pedersen, Willy. 1993. “The Majority Fallacy Reconsidered.” Acta Sociologica 36: 343-355.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/000169939303600403
Pedersen, Willy. 1994. Ungdom er bare et ord [Youth is just a Word]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Pedersen, Willy. 1996. “Working class boys at the margins: prejudice, cultural capital and gender.” Acta Sociologica 39: 257-279.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/000169939603900301
Pedersen, Willy. 1998. Bittersøtt - Ungdom/sosialisering/rusmidler [Bittersweet – Youth/Socialisation/Drugs]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Pedersen, Willy and Torbjørn Skardhamar. 2009. “Cannabis and crime: findings from a longitudinal study.” Addiction 105: 109-118.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02719.x
Pedersen, Willy and Anders Skrondal. 1998. “Alcohol debut: predictors and consequences.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol 59: 32-42.
Pedersen, Willy and Anders Skrondal. 1999. “Ecstasy and new patterns of drug use: a normal population study.” Addiction 94: 1695-1706.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1999.941116957.x
Pedersen, Willy, Arne Mastekaasa, and Lars Wichstrøm. 2001. “Conduct Problems and Early Cannabis Initiation: A Longitudinal Study of Gender Differences.” Addiction 96: 415-431.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.9634156.x
Salasuo, Mikko and Pauliina Seeppälä. 2004. “Drug use within the Finnish club culture as marks of distinction.” Contemporary Drug Problems 31: 213-229.
Salasuo, Mikko. 2004. “Huumeet ajankuvana. Huumeiden viihdekäytön kulttuurinen ilmeneminen Suomessa [Drug use as zeitgeist. Recreational drug use in Finland].” Rapport Vol. 149. Helsinki: STAKES.

Sato, Hanako. 2004. ”Droger och identitetsskapande - kulturelle perspektiv på alkohol och narkotika i svenska ungdomsgrupper [Drugs and Identity Creation – Cultural Perspectives on Alcohol and Drugs in Swedisk Youth Groups].” Rapport Vol 23. Stockholm: SoRAD - Centrum för socialvetenskapelig alkohol- och drogforskning.
Sjö, Fabian. 2005. “Drugs in Swedish Club Culture - Creating Identity and Distance to Mainstream Society.” Pp. 31-46 in Drugs & Youth Cultures - Global and Local Expressions, Vol. 46, edited by P. Lalander and M. Salasuo. Helsinki: Nordic Council for Alcohol and Drug Research.
Stenbacka, Marlene, Peter Allebeck, and Anders Romelsjö. 1992. “Do cannabis drug abusers differ from intravenous drug abusers? The role of social and behavioural risk factors.” British Journal of Addiction 87: 259-266.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1992.tb02700.x
Stenbacka, Marlene, Peter Allebeck, and Anders Romelsjö. 1993. “Initiation into drug abuse: The pathway from being offered drugs to trying cannabis and progression to intravenous drug abuse.” Scandinavian journal of Public Health 21: 31-39.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/140349489302100106
Storgaard, Lau L. 2000. ”Konstruktionen af dansk narkotikakontrolpolitik [The Construction of Danish Drug Control Policy].” Copenhagen: Dansk Jurist- og Økonomforbunds forlag.
Zuckerman, Marvin. 1979. Sensation Seeking. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Downloads

Published

2013-04-23

How to Cite

Moeller, K. (2013). Illicit Drug Use Initiation in the Nordic Countries. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2, 79–86. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2013.02.8

Issue

Section

Articles