Chemical sex (chemsex) in a population of French university students.

Introduction: Chemsex is defined by the use of psychoactive substances to facilitate or improve sexual relations. Our objectives were to assess the prevalence of the practice of 'chemsex' in a population of French university students and to identify socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with this practice. Material and methods: We have used an anonymous online questionnaire comprising 15 questions on socio-demographic characteristics, chemsex use, sexual satisfaction, the type of substances used in this sexual context and their route of administration. Results: A total of 680 people were included in our study. Among them, 22.5% reported chemsex behaviour in the past year. Using a multivariate analysis, factors associated with chemsex were dating application use (p = 0.049) and pornography use [viewing more than once per month (p = 0.002)]. Having a sexual partner involved in chemsex (p < 0.0001), celibacy (p = 0.007), sexual orientations other than heterosexual (p = 0.0013) and especially bisexuality (p = 0.0002) were also significantly associated with chemsex. Conclusion: This is the first study reporting a high prevalence of chemsex in a university student population. Further larger studies should be conducted to confirm these results showing a high prevalence of this at-risk behaviour.

The effects of education in psychiatry on attitudes towards antidepressants in nursing students: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Stigma associated with depression and antidepressants is strong among the general population but also among patients and health professionals. OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional study is aimed at: 1) evaluating the knowledge and attitude towards antidepressant by nursing student; 2) exploring the association between instruction in psychiatry and representation of depression and antidepressants. PARTICIPANTS: 2037 undergraduate students from 10 French nursing schools were invited to participate in 2017, 1475 (73%) completed the questionnaire. METHODS: The self-report questionnaire included the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI) and questions about representation on depression and antidepressant. Four groups of students were built: 1) pre-teaching group (PT) as a reference group, 2) clinical training in psychiatry (CT), 3) receiving mental health theoretical education (TE), 4) receiving both (CT + TE). RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) DAI score was negative: -1.9 (±4.4) with only 40% of the nursing students conveying a positive attitude towards antidepressant. A combination of CT and TE was associated with a more positive attitude towards antidepressant in comparison with the PT condition. The CT + TE group was more prone to view antidepressants as effective and safe. CONCLUSION: There is strong stigma against depression/antidepressants among nursing student. Education combined with clinical experiences in psychiatry improved these representations.