Factors associated with Ecstasy use in Turkish students

Aims The purpose of this study was to establish the factors associated with Ecstasy use in secondary school students in Turkey. Design, setting and participants This is a survey of a representative sample drawn from cities in different geographical regions in Turkey in 1998 and 2001. The questionnaire was administered to a total of 18 556 and 11911 10th-grade students in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Measurements The questionnaire administered in the study was adapted from the questionnaires used in 'Monitoring the Future' study in the United States and ESPAD (the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs). It included questions about demographic characteristics, family characteristics, school life, social contacts and use of substances. Findings While the percentage of those who used Ecstasy at least once in their life-times was 2.65% in 199 8, the figure reached 3.31% in 2001. Male gender, older age, use of alcohol, cannabis, heroin and cocaine, non-medical use of psychotherapeutic drugs and participation in a meeting concerning the adverse effects of substance use were found to be significant variables predicting 'ever use' of Ecstasy in both years by logistic regression analysis. Conclusions Ecstasy use, while low in Turkey, appears to be on the increase and follows a pattern in terms of correlates that is similar to other illicit drugs. Whatever the causes behind the rise in Ecstasy use, creative, personalized and informative educational programmes should be conducted in all educational institutions to curb Ecstasy use.