Undergraduate students' motivations for the consumption of legal drugs

• Published in: Revista latino-americana de enfermagem Vol. 16 Spec No; no. spe; pp. 572 - 576
• Main Authors: Hernández Rodríguez, Verónica Margarita, Scherer, Zeyne Alves Pires
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto / Universidade de São Paulo 01-07-2008
• Subjects: Drug Therapy; Education, Medical, Undergraduate; Humans; Motivation; NURSING; Students, Nursing - psychology; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; estudiante; motivação; student; motivation; estudantes de enfermagem; motivación; estudante; estudiantes de enfermería; students, nursing
• ISSN: 0104-1169; 1518-8345; 0104-1169
• DOI: 10.1590/S0104-11692008000700011

This qualitative research aimed at identifying conceptions held by undergraduate students regarding the term motivation, and motives leading them to the consumption of legal drugs. Data were collected through a questionnaire with four open questions, applied to 15 students of a public university in the central region of Mexico. In order to perform the data analysis, answers were classified in two categories: a) Undergraduate students' conceptions regarding the term motivation and b) Undergraduate students' conceptions regarding the motives for consumption. Such analysis indicated that students identify two types of motivations: external and internal. The external motivation includes family, mass media and friends; whereas internal motivation includes personal characteristics, need of belonging, curiosity, pleasure and idleness.