Why do people use new psychoactive substances? Development of a new measurement tool in six European countries.
Annemieke Benschop, Róbert Urbán, Máté Kapitány-fövény, Marie Claire Van Hout, Katarzyna Dąbrowska, Katalin Felvinczi, Evelyn Hearne, Susana Henriques, Zsuzsa Kaló, Gerrit Kamphausen, Joana Paula Silva, Łukasz Wieczorek, Bernd Werse, Michal Bujalski, Dirk Korf, Zsolt Demetrovics
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) June 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1177/0269881120904951 via PubMed
Summary
A new questionnaire, the New Psychoactive Substance Use Motives Measure (NPSMM), was developed and validated across six EU countries with 3,023 users from three subgroups: socially marginalized individuals, nightlife attendees, and online community members. Factor analysis revealed five consistent motives for using new psychoactive substances: coping, enhancement, social, conformity, and expansion. Motives varied by user group: marginalized users scored higher on coping and conformity, nightlife groups on social motives, and online community users on expansion motives. Different types of NPS were linked to different motives—expansion with psychedelics and enhancement with stimulants—while coping, social, and conformity motives were more tied to user groups. The NPSMM is a valid tool for measuring these motives.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 3,023 |
| Population | New psychoactive substance users from six EU member countries, including socially marginalized users, nightlife attendees, and online community members |
| Keywords | New psychoactive substances Cross-national validation Measurement |
| Citations | 35 |
| Key finding | Five distinct motives for NPS use (coping, enhancement, social, conformity, expansion) were identified and varied across user groups and substance types. |
Abstract
New psychoactive substances (NPS) pose a public health threat. Many studies have tried to identify the reasons of NPS use; however, none of them have so far used any standardised measures. The aim of this study was (i) to develop and cross-culturally validate the New Psychoactive Substance Use Motives Measure (NPSMM) and (ii) to compare motives of NPS use across countries and user types. Three subgroups (socially marginalised users, nightlife attendees and members of online communities) of NPS users (N = 3023) were recruited from six EU member countries. Demographics, motives and types of NPS used were assessed. NPS use motives were measured by adapting the extended six-factor version of the Marijuana Motives Measure. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a similar five-factor solution across most of the countries: coping, enhancement, social, conformity and expansion motives. Marginalised users scored higher on coping and conformity motives, nightlife groups showed higher endorsement of social motive, whereas online community users showed higher scores on expansion motives. Various types of NPS were also associated with different motives. NPS use motives might be associated with both the groups of users and the specific types of NPS being consumed. Expansion (psychedelics) and enhancement (stimulants) motives seemed to be linked to the chosen NPS product type, while coping, social and conformity motives were rather associated with user groups. NPSMM was found to be a valid instrument to measure NPS motives.