Abstract
Background:
To develop targeted interventions for (young) adults who use drugs, developers need a better understanding of how different subgroups engage with substances. Personas - archetypes
describing distinct patterns of goals, attitudes and behaviours of subgroups - may contribute to this understanding. No substance use-related personas have yet been developed. The purpose of this project was to develop evidence-based personas of young adults, based on their involvement with alcohol and drugs.
Methods:
Data was collected among young adults (18-25 yrs) through in-depth interviews (N = 43) and a questionnaire (N = 4182). The questionnaire was based on the insights from the interviews. Participants answered questions about their experiences and intentions with substance use, expectations, descriptive norm and intention to quit. For developing personas from the quantitative and qualitative dataset, we combined Goodwin’s methods for persona development with latent class analyses.
Preliminary Results:
Ten personas are distinguished: a non-user, moderate alcohol user (no drugs), social bingedrinker without druguse intentions, social bingedrinker with druguse intentions, drugstarter, drug-stopper, stimulant-user, hallucinogens-user, coping user and actual quitter. Each persona has a detailed profile that describes their distinct pattern, supported with illustrative quotes from the interviews.
Conclusions:
The personas lead to a better understanding of different perceptions and experiences of young adults regarding substances. Currently, the personas are presented among professionals working with the target group in order to validate the personas and to determine suitable health promoting strategies for each persona. Eventually, the personas will be used to improve the development and implementation of interventions that aim to reduce (risks associated with)
substance use.
Key messages:
- The developed personas provide a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of young adults and their involvement with substances.
- In the current phase of the project, health care professionals are involved, matching health promoting interventions and communication strategies to each persona.
To develop targeted interventions for (young) adults who use drugs, developers need a better understanding of how different subgroups engage with substances. Personas - archetypes
describing distinct patterns of goals, attitudes and behaviours of subgroups - may contribute to this understanding. No substance use-related personas have yet been developed. The purpose of this project was to develop evidence-based personas of young adults, based on their involvement with alcohol and drugs.
Methods:
Data was collected among young adults (18-25 yrs) through in-depth interviews (N = 43) and a questionnaire (N = 4182). The questionnaire was based on the insights from the interviews. Participants answered questions about their experiences and intentions with substance use, expectations, descriptive norm and intention to quit. For developing personas from the quantitative and qualitative dataset, we combined Goodwin’s methods for persona development with latent class analyses.
Preliminary Results:
Ten personas are distinguished: a non-user, moderate alcohol user (no drugs), social bingedrinker without druguse intentions, social bingedrinker with druguse intentions, drugstarter, drug-stopper, stimulant-user, hallucinogens-user, coping user and actual quitter. Each persona has a detailed profile that describes their distinct pattern, supported with illustrative quotes from the interviews.
Conclusions:
The personas lead to a better understanding of different perceptions and experiences of young adults regarding substances. Currently, the personas are presented among professionals working with the target group in order to validate the personas and to determine suitable health promoting strategies for each persona. Eventually, the personas will be used to improve the development and implementation of interventions that aim to reduce (risks associated with)
substance use.
Key messages:
- The developed personas provide a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of young adults and their involvement with substances.
- In the current phase of the project, health care professionals are involved, matching health promoting interventions and communication strategies to each persona.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | V984-V984 |
| Journal | European Journal of Public Health |
| Volume | 30 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |