“Partying” Hard: Party Style, Motives for and Effects of MDMA Use at Rave Parties
Substance Use & Misuse January 1, 2005 DOI: 10.1081/ja-200066822
Summary
MDMA users at dance parties in the Netherlands reported strong motivations for its euphoric effects, with 76.5% of the 490 participants consuming the substance. Those attending hardcore and trance/mainstream events experienced higher quantities of use linked to desires for sociability and self-insight. Women, accounting for 34% of participants, faced more acute negative effects, including confusion and depression, particularly when using MDMA to cope with personal issues. Conversely, men's polydrug use and peer influence contributed to adverse outcomes as well.
Abstract
This study examines motives for and consequences of MDMA use at different types of dance parties in the Netherlands (2001 and 2002). Participants were 490 visitors of three different types of rave parties, "club/mellow," "trance/mainstream," and "hardcore" (34% female, mean age 22.3 years, 76.5% MDMA users). Partygoers are motivated primarily by the energetic and euphoric effects they expect from MDMA. Quantity of MDMA use is associated with hardcore and trance/mainstream party style, with the motives of euphoria, sexiness, self-insight, and sociability/flirtatiousness (negative), and with gender, educational level (negative), and MDMA use by friends. Women report more (acute) negative effects--depression, confusion, loss of control, suspiciousness, edginess, nausea, dizziness--than men; and in particular, women who are motivated to cope with their problems by using MDMA are at risk. Men's polydrug use and notably their motivation to conform to friends by using MDMA are associated with negative effects.