This study (n = 100) used a number of personality variables to predict intention and implementation of harm reduction strategies in MDMA use. The authors found that different variables predicted different strategies.
This prospective study was designed to test whether the variables proposed by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) were associated with baseline intention to implement and subsequent use of 2 MDMA/ecstasy-specific harm reduction interventions: preloading/postloading and pill testing/pill checking. Using targeted Facebook advertisements, an international sample of 391 recreational ecstasy users were recruited to complete questionnaires assessing their ecstasy consumption history, and their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, habit strength (past strategy use), and intention to use these two strategies. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were significantly associated with baseline intention to preload/postload and pill test/pill check. Out of the 391 baseline participants, 100 completed the two-month follow-up assessment. Baseline habit strength and frequency of ecstasy consumption during the three months prior to baseline were the only significant predictors of how often participants used the preloading/postloading strategy during the follow-up. Baseline intention to pill test/pill check was the only significant predictor of how often participants used this strategy during the follow-up. These findings provide partial support for TPB variables as both correlates of baseline intention to implement and predictors of subsequent use of these two strategies. Future investigations could assess whether factors related to ecstasy consumption (e.g., subjective level of intoxication, craving, negative consequences following consumption), and environmental factors (e.g., accessibility and availability of harm reduction resources) improve the prediction of how often ecstasy users employ these and other harm reduction strategies.
Papers in Blossom that reference this study
Edwards, D., Csontos, J., Pascoe, M. J. et al. · Research Square (2022)
Lancelotta, R., Davis, A. K. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2020)
Davis, A. K., Barsuglia, J. P., Lancelotta, R. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2018)
Globally, ecstasy (MDMA) use is relatively common, with the United Nations estimating an average prevalence of 0.4% (about 18.8 million people) and higher past‑year rates in regions such as Oceania, North America, and parts of Europe. National surveys cited in the extracted text report 3.5% past‑year use among US 18–25 year olds and 3.2% among UK 15–34 year olds. Users report desirable acute effects such as elevated mood, increased energy and sociability, and reduced stress, but consumption also carries well‑documented acute risks (for example dehydration, hyperthermia, tachycardia, nausea, bruxism, dizziness, sleeplessness, fatigue, confusion, and anxiety) and, for some heavy or persistent users, longer‑term problems including memory impairments, anxiety, and depressed mood. Against this backdrop of both widespread recreational use and potentially serious adverse effects, the paper focuses on harm reduction. Davis and Rosenberg investigate determinants of whether ecstasy users intend to, and actually do, adopt specific harm‑reduction practices. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as the organising framework — which proposes that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control predict intentions and that intentions (and perceived control) predict behaviour — the study concentrates on two MDMA‑specific strategies: preloading/postloading (use of supplements or other behaviours before/after ingestion intended to reduce harm) and pill testing/pill checking. Understanding predictors of uptake of these strategies is presented as relevant because a non‑trivial minority of users experience acute medical harms and therefore identifying factors associated with protective behaviours could inform prevention efforts.