Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs最新文献

Introduction: The per capita intake of alcohol in Greenland has risen rapidly since it became commercially available, leading to a corresponding increase in addiction problems and demands for treatment services. Despite efforts to establish addiction treatment services, none were deemed adequate. In response, the Greenlandic parliament initiated a new treatment service strategy in 2015. The aim of this study was to explore the pre-implementation process of this national service by examining literature on addiction problems and treatment services. Methods: Using a scoping review and document analysis methodology, we focused on documents related to alcohol, cannabis, gambling, addiction and treatment within the context of Greenland. Data were sourced from parliamentary records, governmental publications and academic literature in the period 2010-2016, leading up to the decision on the new treatment service. A total of 54 documents were identified and organised into three main themes: the national discourse on addiction problems; strategies and action plans addressing addiction; and demographic mapping of addiction issues within the population. Notably, addiction problems emerged as a significant public concern across all themes. Results: Three key documents emerged as pivotal in the implementation of the new treatment service: a government report from 2012; a parliamentary inquiry in spring 2013; and an agenda item in fall 2013. These documents played a crucial role in shaping discussions and decisions. Conclusion: The findings underscore the widespread recognition of addiction problems as a pressing issue in Greenland, as evidenced by the prominence of relevant documents in shaping policy discussions and the implementation of new treatment initiatives.

Background: The use of drugs is an escalating concern, with significant implications for the health and daily functionality for individuals. It has proven challenging to provide accessible health and social services. In the context of addressing substance use issues in urban areas, public gathering places for individuals who use drugs play a multifaceted role, serving as sites of belonging, support and potential illicit activity. This qualitative study explores the experiences of healthcare and social workers regarding a public gathering place, referred to as "the Bench", in a medium-sized Norwegian city. Methods: A qualitative research design consisting of semi-structured focus group interviews and individual interviews with 13 participants representing various support agencies. Results: The analysis resulted in four thematic areas: (1) belonging and a gateway to support and services; (2) balancing user autonomy at the Bench and systems support; (3) the role of a centralised location; and (4) the preventive role of support workers at the Bench. Conclusion: While the Bench fosters a sense of community and provides access to vital services, concerns about illicit activities persist due to its visibility. Nevertheless, its central location facilitates outreach efforts and ensures easy access to support services. The study underscores the preventive role of healthcare and social workers in stabilising the environment and mitigating conflicts. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of central locations for public gathering places, emphasising the proximity to low-threshold services. The Bench represents a crucial venue for establishing relationships and providing assistance to individuals who use drugs, contributing to harm reduction efforts in the community.

Aims: Concerned significant others (CSOs) to individuals that have gambling problems experience several negative consequences. Even though CSOs experience negative somatic and mental health consequences, there is an overall lack of research and available preventive or treatment strategies to help this vulnerable group. In Sweden, there is a helpline available to help individuals that gamble, but also helps concerned significant others. The aim of the present study was to investigate and describe facets of help seeking among CSOs who have called the Swedish national gambling helpline. Methods: The data was collected by personnel at the Swedish helpline. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared were used to analyze data. The sample consisted of a total of 4111 callers during a three-year period. Results: The results showed that CSOs constitute a diverse population with various needs for support. These needs can be linked to one's relationship with the individual who gambles (e.g. partners have different needs than parents). Moreover, CSOs have learned about the gambling problems in different ways and have known about the gambling problems for varying periods of time, which in turn affects what type of help they look for. Conclusions: The main implication of the study is that the CSO-group is diverse and has different needs when calling help services and different needs on an overall level. Prevention and treatment strategies need to adhere to this fact when creating different interventions to help this group.

Aims: To compare the attitudes towards gambling in Finland by age among women and men from 2011 to 2023. Methods: Four cross-sectional random sample data sets of 15-74-year-olds were collected in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. The data were weighted based on gender, age and residential area. The eight-item Attitude Towards Gambling Scale (ATGS-8) was used. Results: Overall, public attitudes towards gambling were generally unfavourable each year, apart from 2015, when attitudes were favourable. Among women, attitudes became more unfavourable for those aged 15-29 years, whereas they became more favourable for those aged 45 to 74. Among men, attitudes became more unfavourable for those aged 15-44 years, whereas they became more favourable for those aged 60-74 years. Men aged 45-59 years were the only age group with favourable attitudes in 2023. Conclusions: Attitudes towards gambling were mainly unfavourable, with no notable shift observed between 2011 and 2023. The Finnish gambling monopoly system is set to be replaced by a licensing system, opening the online gambling market to competition. Because of this change, it is increasingly important to monitor attitudes towards gambling and possible changes in them in the coming years.

Aims: This study examined the association between educational attainment and the risk of deaths of despair among individuals assessed for substance use severity at municipal social services in Sweden. It aimed to determine whether the protective association between education and despair-related mortality risk, commonly observed in broader population studies, also applies to this high-risk, treatment-seeking population. Methods: We linked data from municipal Addiction Severity Index (ASI) assessments to various population registers. The study population included adults aged 25 years or older who were assessed for substance use severity between 1999 and 2019. Fine-Gray competing risk regression models were employed to examine the association between educational attainment and despair-related mortality, both overall and by subtype (alcohol-related, drug use-related, suicide). Results: Tertiary education was unexpectedly associated with increased risks of overall despair-related mortality, alcohol-related and drug use-related mortality, after controlling for demographic characteristics, ASI composite scores and substance use onset age. No significant associations were found between education and suicide. Conclusions: The counterintuitive finding that tertiary education is linked to a greater risk of despair-related mortality among social service users may be attributed to differences between the treatment-seeking population and the general population. Highly educated individuals who seek treatment from municipal social services might have severe substance use and complex psychosocial problems and/or contact social services after exhausting other treatment options. Further research is necessary to understand how educational and socioeconomic factors influence treatment pathways for individuals with severe substance use problems in Sweden and how these different pathways impact health-related outcomes.

Aims: This research explores patterns of views on substance use among Norwegian adolescent girls aged 16-19 years. By examining the participants' experiences, attitudes and needs, the study seeks to uncover how teenage girls experience the use of substances, how the use impacts their daily lives, and their relationships with peers, family and welfare professionals. Methods: To achieve this understanding, we utilised Q methodology to capture the perspectives of 42 Norwegian adolescent girls. Q methodology provides a comprehensive understanding of participants' shared viewpoints and offers insight into their perspectives on substance use. We use the concept of "mattering" to interpret the perspectives on substance use revealed through the Q methodological analysis. Results: We identified three distinct perspectives among the participants: (1) Confident - against illegal substances; (2) Ambivalent - substance use normalised, yet with negative consequences; and (3) Outgoing - positive and curious about illegal substances. The key differences lie in the adolescents' attitudes to illegal substances, parental relationships, and openness about their own substance use. Substance use serves different functions and has varying consequences for each perspective. Conclusions: Secure interpersonal relationships within families, peers and broader social contexts are crucial in shaping adolescent girls' attitudes to substance use. Feeling valued and experiencing mattering within these contexts can protect against problematic behaviours and encourage healthier choices. To support adolescent girls' well-being, healthcare and social work professionals should consider the family's emotional climate and the girls' sense of connectedness to family, peers and society.

Aim: Peer support is a recommended approach within mental health and substance use policy and practice. The aim of this study is to explore how the peer-led, manual-based course, "Recovery is up to you," developed in the Netherlands, is experienced in a Norwegian context. Method: Qualitative semi-structured individual and group interviews involving eight-course attendees and 12 course leaders, recruited from two community services where the course was implemented. The interviews were analyzed using Tjora's stepwise deductive induction. Prilleltensky's mattering theory was used in the analysis of the results. Results: Both course attendees and leaders described the course as helpful, emphasizing the potential in sharing with equals through fellowship with like-minded people and in this the ability to process shame and access hope. Furthermore, study participants expressed that the course functions as a step in the process to recovery by rebuilding that framework and preparing for life beyond the course, and where the role of course leaders for some of the study participants represented one such step. Using Prilleltensky's concept of mattering, we interpret the participants' experiences of the course as promoting recovery through the processes of feeling valued and adding value, facilitating a "we-culture" that initiates processes regarding the self, relationships, work, and community. Conclusions: "Recovery is up to you" appears to be a relevant and accessible intervention to facilitate recovery processes, and a good method for utilizing peer competence. More research is needed on the utilization of the course in other settings.

Norwegian drug policy has been disputed for more than 50 years and rose to the top of the political agenda when the government proposed a reform in 2021. To make a sound evaluation of the current policy regime, it is a requirement that the upsides can be balanced with the downsides. The term "control damage" captures some of the downsides, which have received political attention in recent years. This debate piece expands the concept of control damages, and it presents an outline of knowledge about unhealth and living conditions in drug scenes, and supplements it with the voices of "users". The recurring theme is nevertheless the absence of knowledge. There is a lack of knowledge about both health and general conditions in drug scenes. There is also a lack of understanding the illicit drug culture. What is the meaning of the brutality that takes place in them? These cultures are simultaneously over-controlled and unpoliced societies. Would the drug policy debate play out differently if health and life conditions were the starting point?

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1177/14550725241291330.].