RESUMEN
The aim of this study was to explore the social representations used by the parents of adolescent drug users to explain the onset of drug use. Differences in explanations between the parents of male and female adolescents were also explored. Sixty parents who accompanied their children to four rehabilitation centers in 2004 completed two semi-structured questionnaires. In addition, indepth interviews were applied to a subsample. The explanation of the drug use was carried out through two social representations: the neglectful family and the son or daughter as an inexperienced teen. The parents-son model was well structured; however, the parents-daughter was unstructured, which suggests a higher resonance in the familial group.
Asunto(s)
Actitud , Cultura , Padres/psicología , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias/etnología , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias/rehabilitación , Adolescente , Carácter , Conducta Exploratoria , Femenino , Amigos/psicología , Humanos , Control Interno-Externo , Soledad/psicología , Masculino , México , Narración , Relaciones Padres-Hijo , Responsabilidad Parental/psicología , Centros de Rehabilitación , Características de la Residencia , Factores Sexuales , Facilitación Social , Problemas Sociales/psicología , Socialización , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias/psicología , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
Analysis was made of the common sense explanations of 60 Mexican teenage illicit drug users in rehabilitation to determine their drug use debut. The explanatory model was separated into three blocks, two of which contained common sense aspects: interaction between subject's plane and the collectivity; and relationship between subject's interior (subject-family) and exterior (environment or group-pressure). Based on these data, we propose that drug use debut may be linked to subjects' emotional vulnerability which originates in the family image and renders them more susceptible to the influence of others. This kind of reasoning points to a more passive than active, and more social than personal dynamic in drug use debut, important factors for developing preventative measures.