Among Cobbled streets and Magnolia trees: Exploring perceptions of drugs and drug use within the student community of Lund
(2024) WPMM42 20241Sociology
School of Social Work
Department of Sociology
- Abstract
- Due to recent law changes, many municipalities are reviewing their crime prevention strategies. In Lund, narcotics is an area that requires further investigation. Contact with and information from the population is vital to plan effective preventative measures. This study contributes to filling a knowledge gap by bringing forward the perspectives of university students, who constitute a large part of the population. This explorative study aims to highlight students ́ experiences of the narcotics situation in their surroundings and how they relate to it. The student perspective is explored through semi-structured qualitative interviews with ten present students at Lund University. The study has mainly been data-driven and the theoretical... (More)
- Due to recent law changes, many municipalities are reviewing their crime prevention strategies. In Lund, narcotics is an area that requires further investigation. Contact with and information from the population is vital to plan effective preventative measures. This study contributes to filling a knowledge gap by bringing forward the perspectives of university students, who constitute a large part of the population. This explorative study aims to highlight students ́ experiences of the narcotics situation in their surroundings and how they relate to it. The student perspective is explored through semi-structured qualitative interviews with ten present students at Lund University. The study has mainly been data-driven and the theoretical framework was chosen based on the collected data. The study identifies themes that can be investigated further in future research. For example, the study finds that the students view addiction and certain drugs as impure, while other substances are normalized, and drugs are connected primarily to party contexts. Further, the study highlights several factors that the students believe form people's perception of and behavior concerning drugs. It also concludes that the student context is diverse and that multiple approaches should be used for preventative efforts targeted at students. The study exemplifies the importance of local knowledge for drug prevention. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- The drug market has a broad societal impact and affects both drug users and non-users. Besides individual social consequences and health effects, health budgets and social costs get strained, societies feel unsafe, and young people get recruited into criminality. Recent law changes increased the Swedish local authorities' responsibilities in dealing with this problem. Currently, many municipalities are gathering information and reviewing their preventative work. This study brings forward university students' perspectives on drugs, which can guide the future development of preventative measures in Lund. Students make up a large portion of the population in Lund, and their lifestyle commonly differs from other groups. Knowledge of the local... (More)
- The drug market has a broad societal impact and affects both drug users and non-users. Besides individual social consequences and health effects, health budgets and social costs get strained, societies feel unsafe, and young people get recruited into criminality. Recent law changes increased the Swedish local authorities' responsibilities in dealing with this problem. Currently, many municipalities are gathering information and reviewing their preventative work. This study brings forward university students' perspectives on drugs, which can guide the future development of preventative measures in Lund. Students make up a large portion of the population in Lund, and their lifestyle commonly differs from other groups. Knowledge of the local context can help local bureaucrats and political leaders understand if there is a problem and what should be considered when confronting it.
Ten current students at Lund University were interviewed for this study. They bring forward a variety of thoughts and perspectives on drugs, which indicates when and where drugs are perceived to be used, by whom, what substances, how drugs and drug users are viewed, how the students themselves want to be perceived, what they see influence drug perceptions and usage in this specific context, and how drug usage possibly could be prevented. One finding is how different drugs are viewed as accepted or unaccepted. Cannabis is seen as common by most of the interviewees, and also more acceptable than other substances. Interestingly, some also view cocaine as more okay than other drugs. Another interesting finding is the combination of factors thought to shape people's perceptions of drugs, where social factors are highlighted as very important. Furthermore, information from personal experiences and friends' experiences are valued much higher than public information.
The study takes a broad approach and brings forward many perspectives and topics. This broadness shows that students live very different lives and meet people who think and act differently. The student context is diverse. Preventative measures must be designed with this in mind and adapted to varying behaviors and perceptions. Further research is needed to discover which groups would respond to different methods. This study does not point out specific groups of interest but raises relevant topics within the student context in Lund that can and should be further studied. Similar studies should also be conducted in other towns to increase the likelihood of effective local preventative measures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9158642
- author
- Magnusson, Elin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- WPMM42 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Narcotics, University students, Student life, Lund, Purity, Social norms
- language
- English
- id
- 9158642
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-05 11:43:47
- date last changed
- 2024-06-05 11:43:47
@misc{9158642,
abstract = {{Due to recent law changes, many municipalities are reviewing their crime prevention strategies. In Lund, narcotics is an area that requires further investigation. Contact with and information from the population is vital to plan effective preventative measures. This study contributes to filling a knowledge gap by bringing forward the perspectives of university students, who constitute a large part of the population. This explorative study aims to highlight students ́ experiences of the narcotics situation in their surroundings and how they relate to it. The student perspective is explored through semi-structured qualitative interviews with ten present students at Lund University. The study has mainly been data-driven and the theoretical framework was chosen based on the collected data. The study identifies themes that can be investigated further in future research. For example, the study finds that the students view addiction and certain drugs as impure, while other substances are normalized, and drugs are connected primarily to party contexts. Further, the study highlights several factors that the students believe form people's perception of and behavior concerning drugs. It also concludes that the student context is diverse and that multiple approaches should be used for preventative efforts targeted at students. The study exemplifies the importance of local knowledge for drug prevention.}},
author = {{Magnusson, Elin}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Among Cobbled streets and Magnolia trees: Exploring perceptions of drugs and drug use within the student community of Lund}},
year = {{2024}},
}