American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse最新文献

{"title":"Speed and accuracy of online searches by legislators and medical students using RefBin's opioid use disorder database.","authors":"Katelynn Giroux, David Krag, Richard Single, Shania Prytherch, Sydney White, Sarah Niknaum","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2025.2450431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2025.2450431","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Literature regarding opioid use disorder (OUD) is often difficult for nonscientific communities to access. The OUD database on RefBin categorizes scientific findings and may facilitate access to information regarding OUD.<i>Objectives:</i> To evaluate if the RefBin OUD database improves access to information about OUD for policymakers and medical students.<i>Methods:</i> 31 medical students and 13 individual policymakers completed this study. Using a cross-over method, participants answered questions about OUD. Speed, accuracy, confidence, and satisfaction metrics were collected and compared between searches that used RefBin vs other resources chosen by participants.<i>Results:</i> At baseline, medical students reported being comfortable with scientific literature and familiar with OUD. Policymakers reported low comfort levels with scientific literature and variable familiarity with OUD. Within the medical student sample, the odds of answering correctly were 2.43 times higher for RefBin searches than for searches using resources other than RefBin (non-RefBin searches) (<i>p</i> = .005; 95% CI: (1.31, 4.51)). For policymakers, the odds of answering correctly were 3.65 times higher for RefBin vs non-RefBin searches (<i>p</i> = .0496; 95% CI: [1.002, 13.279]). Medical students reported feeling confident in their results 50.7% of the time when using RefBin, compared to 28.3% with non-RefBin searches (<i>p</i> = .006).<i>Conclusion:</i> When compared with searching using non-RefBin sources, searches performed using RefBin resulted in improved accuracy and efficiency for both medical students and policymakers. This demonstrates the potential utility of the RefBin OUD database in improving access to reliable information about OUD.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143494384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Readiness to stop smoking and subsequent switching away to electronic nicotine delivery systems among adults who smoke cigarettes.","authors":"Saul Shiffman, Sooyong Kim, Nicholas I Goldenson, Mark A Sembower","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2024.2439363","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2024.2439363","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Adults who smoke cigarettes (AWS) who switch to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are likely to reduce their health risks.<i>Objectives:</i> To explore ENDS-users' readiness to stop smoking (RTSS) when adopting ENDS, the prospective association of RTSS and switching away from smoking (past-30-day abstinence), and the role of frequency of JUUL use in switching.<i>Methods:</i> Analyses used data from a naturalistic 2-year longitudinal study of 17,393 AWS (55.4% male) who had purchased a JUUL Starter Kit.<i>Results:</i> Only 20% were planning to stop smoking within 7 days at baseline but had the highest likelihood of switching, 70% at Month-24 (vs. in a year or more: OR = 2.33; 95%CI = 2.13-2.55). Those planning to stop smoking within 30 days (24%), 6 months (24%) or a year or more (27%) had switch rates of 53 ~ 59% at Month-24; those who planned never to quit (6%) had 51% switch rates. Daily ENDS use was prospectively associated with the highest likelihood of subsequent switching (vs. infrequent: OR = 1.68; 95%CI = 1.60-1.77); frequent users (≥20 days/month) also had higher switch rates (OR = 1.22; 95%CI = 1.15-1.28). Descriptively, participants higher on RTSS were more likely to be daily or frequent users, but frequency of use neither interacted with RTSS, nor mediated its association with switching.<i>Conclusions:</i> Most ENDS adopters were not ready to stop smoking, and would not be candidates for cessation treatment. However, a majority - even of those never planning to quit - were abstinent from cigarettes two years later. ENDS may facilitate smoking abstinence in populations not reached by traditional cessation interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143469744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adolescent binge drinking in male Wistar rats increases ethanol consumption and reduces intoxication sensitivity in early adulthood without affecting withdrawal.","authors":"Camila Ravasi, Agustín Salguero, Leonardo Marengo, Pedro Peñalver, Ricardo Marcos Pautassi","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2025.2464644","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2025.2464644","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Early adolescent ethanol exposure increases the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder. The mechanisms underlying this relationship may involve early ethanol exposure influencing anxiety or altering ethanol sensitivity.<i>Objectives:</i> To examine how adolescent binge drinking impacts sensitivity to ethanol intoxication, withdrawal symptoms, anxiety, compulsive behaviors, and ethanol intake in adulthood.<i>Methods:</i> Thirty-seven male Wistar rats self-administered ethanol during adolescence [postnatal days (PD) 27-45] or were housed under control conditions. In adulthood, the rats received intragastric intubations to simulate heavy alcohol (PDs 61-65, 3 daily doses of 0.0 or 1.5 g/kg) exposure. Intoxication and withdrawal symptoms were assessed (PDs 61-70), along with compulsive behaviors (marble burying test, PD68) and anxiety-related behaviors (light-dark box and elevated plus maze tests, PDs 69-70). Two-bottle choice tests provided measures of ethanol intake (PDs 75-87).<i>Results:</i> Adolescent binge exposure increased ethanol consumption in adulthood (<i>p</i> < .001; η2 = 0.51), with binge-exposed rats drinking 4.5-6.5 g/kg/day vs. 2 g/kg/day in controls. Binge-exposed rats exhibited reduced sensitivity to ethanol intoxication (<i>p</i> < .05; η2 = 0.17). Withdrawal symptoms were significantly greater (<i>p</i> < .005; η2 = 0.36) in rats exposed to alcohol during adulthood compared to controls, regardless of binge ethanol exposure. Anxiety or compulsive behaviors were unaffected by binge ethanol.<i>Conclusions:</i> Adolescent binge drinking led, in male rats, to significant increases in ethanol intake and reduced sensitivity to intoxication in adulthood. These findings suggest that early ethanol exposure results in decreased ethanol sensitivity, potentially increasing the likelihood of ethanol use. Adolescent binge drinking is a key vulnerability factor, and interventions should target this behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143450631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparing substance-involved suicide and unintentional deaths from 2011 to 2021 in Missouri, United States.","authors":"Khrystyna Stetsiv, Melissa Nance, Maria Paschke, Rachel Winograd, Ryan W Carpenter","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2024.2435275","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2024.2435275","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Substance-involved suicide and unintentional overdose deaths share risk factors, yet our understanding of how these deaths overlap and differ remains limited. Direct comparisons of substance-involved suicide and unintentional deaths are lacking.<i>Objective:</i> To guide effective prevention and intervention efforts regarding substance-involved suicide, we examined risk factors, demographic and substance-related, of substance-involved suicide and unintentional deaths.<i>Methods:</i> Using logistic and multinomial regression, we used medical examiner records obtained annually (<i>N</i> = 6,467, 72% male) to examine characteristics associated with suicide and unintentional substance-involved deaths in St. Louis, Missouri between 2011 and 2021.<i>Results:</i> Between 2011 and 2021, age-standardized suicide rates slightly decreased (3.55 to 3.33), while unintentional deaths nearly tripled (23.2 to 68.2). Many deaths involved both alcohol and traumatic injury, and almost a fifth of suicides involved prescription opioids. In the logistic model (combining data across 11 years), the following factors were associated with increased odds of suicide, relative to unintentional deaths: White race (OR = 5.42, 95%CI[3.95,7.56]), greater age (OR = 1.01, 95%CI[1.00,1.02]), traumatic injury (OR = 4.40, 95%CI[3.17,6.13]), and presence of not otherwise classified substances (including prescription medications; OR = 4.36, 95%CI[3.11,6.10]). The following were associated with decreased odds of suicide: presence of medical condition (OR = 0.32, 95%CI[0.23,0.45]), fentanyl (OR = 0.04, 95%CI[0.02,0.06]), ethanol (OR = 0.64, 95%CI[0.46,0.88]), cocaine (OR = 0.40, 95%CI[0.24,0.63]), heroin (OR = 0.05, 95%CI[0.03,0.09]), and other stimulants (OR = 0.32, 95%CI[0.20,0.50]).<i>Conclusions:</i> Results suggest a divergence over time in the rates of classified substance-involved suicide and unintentional deaths. A distinctive set of demographic and substance use characteristics differentiated the two manners of death, highlighting potential risk factors to inform further research and targeted interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143450647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Daily drinking intention-behavior discrepancies are associated with drinking-related consequences.","authors":"Emily Junkin, Karolina Kazlauskaite, Cathy Lau-Barraco","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2025.2454405","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2025.2454405","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Unplanned drinking episodes are empirically and conceptually linked with adverse outcomes, though recent research suggests planned drinking episodes may be riskier. Mixed findings may be due to unplanned drinking being operationalized as a dichotomous representation of the phenomenon (e.g. was drinking planned or unplanned) rather than continuous (e.g. the number of drinks beyond one's intended limit). Examining a continuous representation of the number of unplanned drinks consumed (i.e. consumed minus intended drinks) would permit a more nuanced evaluation of unplanned drinking and may be more predictive of consequences.<i>Objectives:</i> The present study aimed to describe the occurrence of unplanned drinking and disentangle the role of dichotomous vs. continuous operationalizations in predicting consequences.<i>Methods:</i> Participants were 104 (81.7% female; <i>M_age</i> = 20.75, <i>SD</i> = 1.99) undergraduate drinkers recruited through a psychology subject pool. Participants completed an online baseline survey followed by 14 brief, daily online surveys. Daily reports yielded an analytic sample of 325 drinking episodes.<i>Results:</i> Results indicated that most drinking episodes were planned but underestimated in quantity (i.e. consumption exceeded intentions). Only the continuous estimate of unplanned drinking was associated with negative consequences after controlling for dichotomous unplanned drinking (<i>b</i> = 0.25, IRR = 1.28).<i>Conclusions:</i> Results shed light on the need for a more nuanced operationalization of unplanned drinking behaviors, as current research utilizing a dichotomous lens may not be fully capturing the risky phenomenon. Results suggest that unplanned drinking, particularly related to consuming more drinks than intended, may be a useful indicator of problematic drinking.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143415873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A scoping review of interventions for engaging adolescents and young adults in opioid use disorder treatment across the care cascade.","authors":"Sarah J Miller, Sayward E Harrison, Steven B Harrod, Kimberly J Hills, Alain Litwin","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2024.2443938","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2024.2443938","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> A high number of adolescents and young adults engage in opioid misuse and/or meet criteria for opioid use disorder (OUD). Youth also experience worse treatment outcomes when compared to adult counterparts.<i>Objectives:</i> This scoping review aimed to identify and summarize existing interventions designed to increase engagement of youth across the OUD care cascade, as well as describe clinical and research implications.<i>Methods:</i> Peer-reviewed literature was searched using PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science. Studies were eligible if they presented outcomes of an intervention focused on engaging adolescents and young adults (ages 12-25 years) in the OUD care cascade and were published in English.<i>Results:</i> Nine articles met inclusion criteria that described interventions for adolescents and young adults across engagement, initiation, and retention in the OUD care cascade. Several strategies were used in interventions, including behavioral health and integrated health services, contingency management, meaningful family involvement, assertive outreach, and provider trainings/consultation. Only one intervention has been tested with a randomized control trial.<i>Conclusions:</i> Due to small sample sizes and lack of control groups, findings from existing intervention studies do not indicate which strategies are most effective. Further research is urgently needed to develop and evaluate effective interventions for youth with OUD. Providers working with youth should implement services to meet youth's individual needs. Providers should consider utilizing integrated services and referrals to behavioral health, involving family in treatment, and use of contingency management and assertive outreach. Continuing education for providers on OUD treatment and developmental concerns is also crucially needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-18"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143383589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Applied statistical methods for identifying features of heart rate that are associated with nicotine vaping.","authors":"Puyang Zhao, James J Yang, Anne Buu","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2024.2441868","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2024.2441868","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Wearable devices have been increasingly adopted to collect physiological data such as heart rate that may infer momentary risk of substance use. Yet, innovative methods capable for handling these complex time series data as presented in the statistics or data science literature may not be accessible to substance use researchers.<i>Objectives:</i> This study introduces a series of statistical methods to analyze heart rate data and identify features that are associated with nicotine vaping.<i>Methods:</i> Nontechnical description of the methods coupled with the information about open-source software packages that implemented these methods was provided. The analytical procedure included 5 steps: (1) de-noising by the singular spectrum analysis (SSA); (2) sleep region identification by the Sum of Single Effects (SuSiE) model; (3) repeated heart rate pattern identification by the matrix profile; (4) dimension reduction by the linear regression; and (5) comparing repeated heart rate patterns across non-vaping and vaping regions by the linear mixed model. Secondary analysis was conducted on heart rate and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data collected from 35 young adult e-cigarette users (66% female) for 7 days.<i>Results:</i> Effectiveness of the methods was demonstrated by graphical presentations showing that the extracted features characterize sleep patterns and heart rate changes before and after vaping events quite well. Secondary analysis found that heart rate was higher and changed faster before vaping.<i>Conclusion:</i> Statistical methods can effectively extract useful features from heart rate data that may inform momentary vaping risk and optimal timings for delivering messages in mobile-phone based interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143383613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Young sexual and gender minority men's perspectives on drug checking services in Metro Vancouver, Canada: a qualitative study.","authors":"Koharu Loulou Chayama, Pierre-Julien Coulaud, Cameron Schwartz, Olivier Ferlatte, Lianping Ti, Rod Knight","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2024.2443940","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2024.2443940","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Young sexual and gender minority (SGM) men experience disproportionate risk of drug-related harms. Improving access to drug checking services (DCS), where people can receive information about the contents of their illicit drugs, is critical to facilitate safer drug use among this population. However, no research to date has explored their perspectives on DCS.<i>Objectives:</i> To explore perspectives on DCS among young SGM men in Metro Vancouver, Canada.<i>Methods:</i> Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 young (ages 18-30) SGM men living in Metro Vancouver in 2018. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded. Themes were identified using inductive-deductive approaches and interpreted by drawing on the Risk Environment Framework.<i>Results:</i> Two key themes emerged. First, participants generally had limited awareness and experience with DCS. Nevertheless, given concerns over the increasingly toxic drug supply, they perceived benefits to getting their drugs tested, including reducing their risk of overdose. Second, participants identified social (e.g. anti-drug stigma), policy/legal (e.g. drug criminalization), and physical (e.g. lack of services outside of downtown Vancouver) barriers in the current context of DCS. To improve access, participants encouraged the expansion of DCS in community settings (e.g. bars) and through community-based approaches (e.g. integration within community sexual health programming) tailored for young SGM men.<i>Conclusion:</i> Despite low levels of awareness and experience with DCS, young SGM men demonstrated a strong interest in accessing these services. Efforts to adapt and scale up DCS need to account for the social, policy/legal, and physical contexts that shape the lives of young SGM men.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143383632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"At least four groups of kratom consumers in the United States: latent-class analysis of motivations for kratom use.","authors":"Katherine Hill, Jeffrey M Rogers, Oliver Grundmann, David H Epstein, Kirsten E Smith","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2024.2414319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2024.2414319","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Kratom is a plant with alkaloids acting at opioid, serotonergic, adrenergic, and other receptors. Consumers report numerous use motivations.<i>Objectives:</i> To distinguish subgroups of kratom consumers by kratom-use motivations using latent-class analysis.<i>Methods:</i> From July to November 2022, we utilized convenience sampling and surveyed regular kratom consumers (<i>n</i> = 395, 38.1 years (SD 11.2), 54.9% male, 81.3% White) regarding demographics, lifetime and past-year substance use and preferences, substance use disorder history, healthcare barriers, kratom-use motivations, and general health. We used latent-class analysis to identify subgroups by use motivation and calculated conditional probabilities (P_c) for variables in each class.<i>Results:</i> A four-class model best fit our data. The largest class (32.4%) was characterized by the use of kratom for self-treatment of chronic pain (P_c = .91). The smallest class (19.2%) also reported using kratom for self-treatment, but usually as a long-term replacement for other substances (P_c = .75). The other two classes (24.8% and 23.5%) reported using kratom for management of anxiety (P_c = .87-.95) and depressive symptoms (P_c = .61-.89) and for recreation (P_c = .56- .86). These were distinguished from one another by probability of at least moderate kratom use disorder (P_c = .17 vs. .53), with greater probability observed in the class with greater anxiety (P_c = .13 vs. .50) and depressive (P_c = .34 vs. .82) symptom severity and more likely recreational use motivation (P_c = .56 vs. .86).<i>Conclusion:</i> Kratom consumers can be classified by their use motivations. As with other psychoactive substances, the range of motivations is consistent with the range of likely effects. It is not yet clear whether some motivations might indicate the risk of problems.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143069060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding the perspectives of police officers regarding men who use drugs and drug rehabilitation in China: a qualitative study.","authors":"Yajing Ma, Bronya Hi Kwan Luk, Wen Zhang, Cody Yu Cheung Cham, Haixia Ma","doi":"10.1080/00952990.2024.2447294","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2024.2447294","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Background:</i> Drug use among men is a significant public health concern in China, with compulsory drug treatment centers being the primary approach. Police officers in these centers play a crucial role in shaping the interactions and experiences of men who use drugs (MWUD). However, little research exists on the attitudes of police officers toward MWUD in China.<i>Objectives:</i> This qualitative study aimed to explore the attitudes of police officers toward MWUD and drug rehabilitation approaches in China.<i>Methods:</i> Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted among 23 police officers recruited from two compulsory drug treatment centers in Jiangsu Province, China. Of the participants, two were females and 21 were males. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data.<i>Results:</i> Three key themes emerged: 1) Multifaceted perspectives on MWUD. Participants viewed MWUD as offenders, victims, and patients. 2) Dynamic interactions with MWUD. Relationships were characterized as either adversarial or supportive, influenced by participants' personalities, experiences, beliefs, workload, and psychological training. 3) Advocating for punitive measures in drug rehabilitation. While the participants generally favored strict penalties for MWUD, they acknowledged the value of community-based rehabilitation. Concerns about social stigma, privacy, motivation, and the costs of voluntary rehabilitation tempered their support.<i>Conclusions:</i> The study highlights the importance of raising awareness and challenging bias among police officers. It emphasizes the need for psychological training to enhance their capacity to provide humane care and foster positive interactions with MWUD. Additionally, ensuring access to affordable, accessible, and stigma-free voluntary rehabilitation is crucial for effective drug rehabilitation efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":48957,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143048431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}