Identifying drug risk perceptions in Danish youths: Ranking exercises in focus groups (2010)

Aim: This article develops an analytical approach for understanding the perceptions of drug-related risks among youths in general. These perceptions are central for comprehending how certain drugs become popular while others do not. The method is not only suited for understanding trends but would be able to provide relevant data for targeting and developing prevention strategies as well.
Methods: We develop a specific methodology that combines a ranking exercise in focus groups with discourse theory as an analytical approach. This produces detailed information and provides a relatively efficient way of investigating risk perceptions. The methodology is developed in relation to a Danish case with 12 focus group interviews with youths aged from 17 to 22 years.
Findings: The analysis identifies five discourses in the discussions on risk. These discourses position specific drugs as more or less harmful. Focusing on cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine, it appears that light cannabis use is seen as both harmless and accepted, whereas ecstasy is considered very dangerous. Cocaine has an ambiguous position, being perceived as neither harmless nor very dangerous.
Conclusion: It is argued that due to its unclear position, resulting from the interplay between the discourses, cocaine might be undergoing a process of partial normalization. An emphasis on risk perceptions is important for prevention purposes and the applied methodology is useful in tracking changes in the popularity of various drugs. [Author's abstract]