Injection drug use: street’s youth point of view
During the development of a media campaign, aimed at preventing initiation into injection drug use among street youth, we conducted seven focus groups with 37 youth aged between 15 and 23 years. The analysis process, at the same time deductive and inductive, permitted us to identify dimensions reflecting the viewpoint of street youth concerning injection drug use and the factors that favour initiation in their milieu. The results show that injection is generally disapproved of among street youth. Many have reservations because of the negative consequences linked to this behaviour. What youth fear most is becoming “an addict”, a risk that they associate especially with injection compared with other forms of drug use. Despite widespread disapproval, with continuing contact with injection drug user (IDUs), a kind of desensitization occurs which affects the most vulnerable youth, mainly the youngest, mostly those who satisfy their need for strong sensations through drugs and seek social valorisation in the street scene. Different factors, both on an individual level as well as a social level, influence these youth to start injecting. Some of these factors may be modifiable through preventive interventions.