Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of and differences between people who used heroin (PWUH) and people who used methamphetamine (PWUM).
| Characteristic | PWUH (n = 40) | PWUM (n = 35) | Significance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (M ±SD) | 32.60 ± 7.33 | 32.86 ± 7.96 | t(73) = −0.15, p = 0.89 | |
| Education levela (number/percentage) | Primary school | 13/32.5% | 3/8.6% | χ2(3) = 7.43, p = 0.059 |
| Junior high school | 23/57.5% | 25/71.4% | ||
| Senior high school | 4/10% | 6/17.1% | ||
| College | 0 | 1/2.9% | ||
| Abstinence duration (M ±SD, month) | 12.89 ± 6.58 | 11.58 ± 6.11 | t(73) = 0.89, p = 0.38 | |
| Route of administration (number/percentage) | Inhalation | 30/75% | 35/100% | χ2(2) = 10.10, p = 0.006 |
| Injection | 7/17.5% | 0 | ||
| Both | 3/7.5% | 0 | ||
| Months of drug use (M ±SD) | 101.33 ± 72.49 | 76.09 ± 46.04 | t(66.93) = 1.82, p = 0.073 | |
| Times of use per month (M ±SD) | 69.50 ± 45.12 | 21.83 ± 15.77 | t(49.54) = 6.26, p < 0.001 | |
| Quantity of use per month (M ±SD, gram) | 21.03 ± 19.59 | 9.61 ± 8.23 | - | |
| Lifetime incidences of relapseb (M ±SD) | 4.23 ± 4.85 | 5.14 ± 6.93 | t(73) = −0.67, p = 0.51 | |
| Past other drug dependence (number) | 0 | 0 | - |
Participants who were coded as primary school referred to those who had completed the 6 years of elementary education, those coded as junior high school referred to those who had completed the first 3 years of secondary education, those coded as senior high school indicated that they had completed the full 6 years of secondary education, and those coded as college referred to those that had completed the full 4 years of higher education.
A relapse was defined as ≥1 day of heroin or methamphetamine use preceded by an abstinence period of 30 days or longer during which the participants did not use heroin or methamphetamine (c.f. Mckay et al., 1996).