TY - JOUR
T1 - Substance Use and Attendance Motives of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Event Attendees
T2 - A Survey Study
AU - Van Dyck, Edith
AU - Ponnet, Koen
AU - Van Havere, Tina
AU - Hauspie, Bert
AU - Dirkx, Nicky
AU - Schrooten, Jochen
AU - Waldron, Jon
AU - Grabski, Meryem
AU - Freeman, Tom P.
AU - Curran, Helen Valerie
AU - De Neve, Jan
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by ALAMA-nightlife, a collaborative project supported by the European Research Area Network on Illicit Drugs (ERANID), and POPHARS (DR/85), a collaborative project supported by BELSPO. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding agencies.
Data Availability Statement
The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to their sensitive nature.
PY - 2023/2/1
Y1 - 2023/2/1
N2 - EDM event attendees are a high-risk population for substance use and associated adverse effects. The aim of this study was to examine substance use at EDM events, focusing on associations between attendance motives and substance use. Sociodemographic characteristics, event specifics, past-year use, and attendance motives were assessed through an online survey. Participants were 1345 Belgian EDM event attendees (69.44% male, Mage = 22.63, SDage = 4.03). Ecstasy/MDMA/Molly (52.28%), other synthetic hallucinogens (53.68%), ketamine (42.13%), amphetamines (40.45%), and alkyl nitrites (poppers) (32.76%) were most frequently used at festivals/outdoor parties/raves. In nightclubs, cocaine (32.29%) was shown to be prevalent as well, while other synthetic hallucinogens (15.79%) were less often consumed. At events with a more private character, cannabis (68.88%) and magic mushrooms (66.44%) were most frequently used. Aside from alcohol (47.76%), substance use in pubs/bars was negligible. Overall enjoyment was demonstrated to be the key attendance motive, which was succeeded by those relating to music and socialization. A wide range of motives proved to be more important to users (e.g., dance, exploration, escapism, excitement, alcohol, drugs) than non-users, while some were associated with the use of particular substances. The prevalence of substance use was shown to be dependent on the specifics of the setting. Moreover, the idea of a three-dimensional classification of the most principal motives for music event attendance was supported. Finally, correlations were estimated between attendance motives and substance use as well as specific substances. Results could enable more tailored approaches in prevention and harm reduction efforts as well as event management strategies.
AB - EDM event attendees are a high-risk population for substance use and associated adverse effects. The aim of this study was to examine substance use at EDM events, focusing on associations between attendance motives and substance use. Sociodemographic characteristics, event specifics, past-year use, and attendance motives were assessed through an online survey. Participants were 1345 Belgian EDM event attendees (69.44% male, Mage = 22.63, SDage = 4.03). Ecstasy/MDMA/Molly (52.28%), other synthetic hallucinogens (53.68%), ketamine (42.13%), amphetamines (40.45%), and alkyl nitrites (poppers) (32.76%) were most frequently used at festivals/outdoor parties/raves. In nightclubs, cocaine (32.29%) was shown to be prevalent as well, while other synthetic hallucinogens (15.79%) were less often consumed. At events with a more private character, cannabis (68.88%) and magic mushrooms (66.44%) were most frequently used. Aside from alcohol (47.76%), substance use in pubs/bars was negligible. Overall enjoyment was demonstrated to be the key attendance motive, which was succeeded by those relating to music and socialization. A wide range of motives proved to be more important to users (e.g., dance, exploration, escapism, excitement, alcohol, drugs) than non-users, while some were associated with the use of particular substances. The prevalence of substance use was shown to be dependent on the specifics of the setting. Moreover, the idea of a three-dimensional classification of the most principal motives for music event attendance was supported. Finally, correlations were estimated between attendance motives and substance use as well as specific substances. Results could enable more tailored approaches in prevention and harm reduction efforts as well as event management strategies.
KW - attendance motives
KW - drugs
KW - EDM
KW - electronic dance music
KW - motivation
KW - nightlife
KW - substance use
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147863105&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph20031821
DO - 10.3390/ijerph20031821
M3 - Article
C2 - 36767188
AN - SCOPUS:85147863105
VL - 20
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1660-4601
IS - 3
M1 - 1821
ER -
