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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Substance Use Disorders and Behavioral Addictions
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1431854

A Study on the Mediating-Moderate Effect of the Types of Illicit Drugs on Mental Health in China

Provisionally accepted
Bo Zhou Bo Zhou 1Jintao Tan Jintao Tan 1Wenli Li Wenli Li 2*Cheng Yu Cheng Yu 3,4
  • 1 Public Adminstration School, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
  • 2 Research Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 3 School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
  • 4 Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: In China, over 5 million people have been identified and registered by the public security institutions for using illicit drugs. The aim of this study is to compare the influence of different types of illicit drugs on the self-reported mental health of Chinese people. In particular, we want to assess the damage of Heroin, Methamphetamine and Ketamine to mental health in a social environment where drug use is strictly regulated. Methods: The study is based on survey with 6,906 people who use drugs in Guangdong province, China. Risk of mental health issue is measured using the Brief Symptoms Inventory 18 (BSI-18) Scale, and a higher BSI-18 score indicates more severe mental health problems. The data was analyzed through multilevel regression analysis, propensity score matching analysis and mediation analysis.The three major types of illicit drugs have both moderating and mediating effects on the length of drug-use history, that Heroin use leads to longer drug-use duration, while Ketamine use causes more damage on mental health per unit time of drug-use duration. Average duration of Methamphetamine use is 0.7 year shorter than average duration of Heroin use, and average duration of Ketamine use is 1.7 year shorter than average duration of Heroin use. For each year of increase of drug-use duration, Ketamine use leads to 1.2 times more of BSI score increase than Heroin use, and 2.3 times more of BSI score increase than Methamphetamine use. Conclusions: These three drugs are associated with severe mental health issue in a society with strict drug regulation. Attention should be paid to the mental health of people regardless of the type of drugs they use.

    Keywords: Drug type, Mental Health, length of drug-use history, drug regulation, mediating moderate effect

    Received: 14 May 2024; Accepted: 29 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhou, Tan, Li and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wenli Li, Research Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, 610074, Sichuan Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.