Knowledge, attitude, and practice of Iranian adolescent girls towards 3-4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine

ABSTRACT

To investigate knowledge, attitude, and practice [KAP] of Iranian adolescent girls towards 3-4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA [Ecstasy]]. A cross-sectional design study was conducted on female adolescents in Tehran high schools. The study took place in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran in October to December 2008. A randomized cluster sample of adolescent girls from 14-18 years old, and enrolled in 57 public high schools of Tehran were selected. A written informed consent was obtained from all study participants. In order to assess the participants' demographic characteristics, and KAP towards Ecstasy, a 61-item, researcher-made, valid, and reliable questionnaire was completed anonymously by all participants at schools. The questionnaire included 4 main domains assessing adolescents' 1. Demographic characteristics [14 items], 2. Knowledge [10 items] 3. Attitude [24 items], and 4. Practice [13 items] toward Ecstasy. Results were considered significant at p adolescents participated in the study. A high proportion of respondents had little knowledge [70%], positive attitude [80%], and moderate practice [60.4%] towards Ecstasy. In addition, findings revealed a significant relationship between knowledge-attitude and attitude-practice with respect to Ecstasy use [Spearman correlation coefficient, r[s]=0.760,p=0.003]. Considering adolescents' improper KAP toward Ecstasy, it is obvious that there is a need for appropriate educational interventions to inform adolescent girls regarding the harmful effects of Ecstasy