The project team has submitted a further study for review: since 29 June 2026, a manuscript has been under consideration at the journal Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy that explores why some people develop a dependence after their first experiences with drugs while others do not.
The starting question
Mere contact with a substance does not explain who later develops an addiction. Susceptibility to it is multifaceted — and many of the known risk factors are difficult to capture in everyday prevention work. The study proposes a more accessible indicator: the perceived positivity of first use. If the first experience is felt to be exceptionally pleasant, relieving, or worth repeating, this could point to a particularly strong rewarding and motivating effect of the substance.
How it was investigated
For this cross-sectional study, two groups were compared: people in inpatient rehabilitation for a dependence on illegal drugs, and a non-clinical comparison group who had also already used illegal drugs but reported no addiction. Perceived positivity was assessed with a newly developed eight-item scale.
Why it matters
The aim of the work is to test whether the perceived positivity of first use is suitable as a substance-specific marker of susceptibility that can be used in prevention. Such a marker would be attractive for prevention work because it could be assessed comparatively easily in conversation. As a cross-sectional study, it cannot establish a cause-and-effect chain; future prospective studies are intended to show whether it can actually predict in whom use later escalates.
The manuscript is now undergoing scientific peer review. We will publish the findings once the work has passed peer review and appeared.