introduction : according to drug gateway theory, smoking cigarette, especially, low onset age of smoking, is one of the risk factors for future use. objective the present study deals with comparison of nicotine addicts and opiate addicts in order to identify that what differences in personality traits and onset age of smoking exist in these two groups that cause some individuals to appeal to ot...

BACKGROUND The Gateway Drug Theory suggests that licit drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol, serve as a "gateway" toward the use of other, illicit drugs. However, there remains some discrepancy regarding which drug-alcohol, tobacco, or even marijuana-serves as the initial "gateway" drug subsequently leading to the use of illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin. The purpose of this investigation ...

To evaluate the consistency of the relationship between early drug use in adolescence and illegal drug use in adulthood as proposed in the "gateway theory" and to determine whether pre-existing depressive symptoms modifies this relationship. We used contractual data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult health data spanning a 14 year period. We assessed the relationship be...

Objectives: According to the gateway drug theory, tobacco use is a predisposing factor for future substance abuse. This study was conducted to compare nicotine and opiate dependents to identify the differences between their personality traits and psychopathology that makes them turn to other substances after cigarette smoking. Methods: A causal-comparative study was conducted. Three groups w...

Various surveys have identified a rapid increase in marijuana use during the 1990s, especially among youths. This raises a variety of questions about the future of the Nation’s drug problems. On one hand, the gateway theory posits that youthful use of alcohol and/or tobacco and marijuana tends to precede use of other illicit drugs like crack and heroin (see “The Gateway Theory”). The recent inc...

objectives: according to the gateway drug theory, tobacco use is a predisposing factor for future substance abuse. this study was conducted to compare nicotine and opiate dependents to identify the differences between their personality traits and psychopathology that makes them turn to other substances after cigarette smoking. methods: a causal-comparative study was conducted. three groups were...

OBJECTIVE The authors investigated whether the transition from licit drug use to marijuana use is determined by particular risk factors, as specified by the gateway hypothesis. They also evaluated the accuracy of the "gateway sequence" (illicit drug use following licit drugs) for predicting a diagnosis of substance use disorder. METHOD Boys who consumed licit drugs only (N=99), boys who consu...

The primary aims of the present study were to assess ADHD history as a risk factor for earlier initiation and current use of licit and illicit substances among a sample of drug using adults. It was hypothesized that ADHD history would accelerate the Gateway Theory of drug use. Participants included 941 drug-using African American and Caucasian individuals in Baltimore, Maryland. The sample cons...