%0 Journal Article
%T Causes and consequences of drug abuse: a comparison between synthetic drug and heroin users in urban China
%J AIDS education and prevention
%D 2019
%A Yang, Xiushi
%A Xia, Guomei
%V 31
%N 1
%P 1-16
%X This article examined the differences in causes and health consequences between synthetic drug and heroin abuse in urban China. Two-group comparisons were conducted to quantify differences in individual characteristics, causes of drug use, and HIV/STI risky sexual behavior between synthetic drug and heroin users; logistic regressions were employed to assess the net effect of synthetic drug use on risky sexual behavior. <br><br>RESULTS revealed that causes of synthetic drug use differed from those of heroin use; a combination of the knowledge gap concerning the harmful impact of synthetic drugs and the lesser punishment for their use appeared a main reason behind the shift from heroin to synthetic drugs; and synthetic drug use was a significant and powerful risk factor for HIV/STI risky sexual behavior. Educational and behavioral interventions are urgently needed to prevent the initiation of synthetic drug use among users to reduce their HIV/STI risky sexual behavior.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Guilford Publications
%@ 0899-9546
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/aeap.2019.31.1.1