"Experimenting" with drugs: a critical evaluation.

Abstract

A group of adolescent drug "experimenters" as defined by the frequency of use (N = 496) were compared to non-users (N = 2417) and to "regular" users (N = 125) on a number of variables. These covered the patterns of use, attitudes to drug use, exposure to drugs and to drug use, and other behavioural correlates. Experimenting with drugs seems to indicate an unfavourable shift in adolescent behaviour. Experimenters were more likely to resemble regular users especially with respect to the behavioural correlates. In the light of the results observed, the various contexts in which the term "experimenting" is currently being used are examined with the conclusion that usage of the term remains to be ambiguous, over-inclusive, unjustified, and should be abandoned.