Ungdomars attityd till droger - ett sätt att göra intryck. En kvalitativ fokusgruppstudie om några ungdomars attityder till droger i en skånsk kommun

The main purpose of our study is to examine the attitude towards drugs found amongst a selected group of adolescents. We have utilized qualitative interviews in order to gather empirical material. The material thus acquired was then interpreted by means of symbolic interaction. The study shows that adolescents are generally averse to drugs, and that there is a substantial discrepancy between their views on drugs and their views on alcohol. During the interviews it became apparent that alcohol was found to be acceptable, while the tolerance towards drugs depended on what kind of drug it was. The tolerance towards hash, for example, was higher. Furthermore it emerged that although the general view of drugs was negative, using drugs once in order to ‘try it out’ was considered acceptable behaviour. Our study indicates that an individual often will behave in a manner consistent with the ruling views of his or her closest friends. The adolescents themselves claim that using drugs is something that is done out of pure curiosity. Our study, however, indicates that curiosity does not constitute the deciding factor. Rather, the individual’s attitude towards drugs is largely affected by the individual’s surroundings and the context that he or she finds himself or herself in. Thus, a person’s attitude towards drugs is largely dependent upon the views held by his or her friends and parents