Sources of information about MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine): perceived accuracy, importance, and implications for prevention among young adult users

The goal of this cross-sectional study was to assess the perceived accuracy and the importance of various sources of information about MDMA/ecstasy among young adult users. A respondent driven sampling plan was used to recruit a community sample of recent ecstasy users (n = 304), aged 18-30, in Ohio, who responded to structured interviews. Friends, drug abuse treatment programs, and physicians were perceived to be the most accurate sources of information about ecstasy by 45.7, 37.2, and 30.3% of the sample, respectively. Friends were considered the most important source of information about ecstasy (40.2%), followed by web sites like DanceSafe (16.2%), and MTV/VH1 televison specials (6.9%). About half the sample used the Internet to obtain information about ecstasy, with younger and more educated participants significantly more likely to do so. Educated users were also significantly more likely to consider the Internet to be an important source of information. Web sites like DanceSafe were visited by four times as many users as government-sponsored web sites. Findings support the development of peer-oriented, network strategies to reach ecstasy users with prevention messages. Efforts to make prevention web sites more attractive should be considered. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.