Deaths related to drug overdose have been on the rise in the United States. This has led many states to institute harm reduction (HR) interventions to decrease drug-related harms including overdose. Public opinion regarding harm reduction strategies is crucial, as it can influence who is elected and what policies are established. Young adults make up around a quarter of the voting population yet their opinions of harm reduction inventions have been underexplored. This study examines support for different HR policies and analyzes relationships between demographic characteristics and support for HR policies among college students.
The study’s sample consisted of 1,263 college students from two large public universities, one in the Midwest and one in the Southeast. Participants completed on online survey that asked them to rate their support of various HR policies on an ordinal scale. The students were also asked to report age, academic class status, gender, race/ethnicity, religiosity, political party affiliation, and field of study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficients to examine the strength of the correlations.
Results of the data analysis showed that Good Samaritan laws were the most supported policy, with 66% of students strongly or somewhat supporting the policy. Heroin maintenance and heroin decriminalization had the least support. In addition, more students supported naloxone distribution than syringe service programs (SSPs). Females were less likely than males to support several policies including SSPs, safe consumption sites (SCSs), heroin maintenance, and heroin decriminalization. Black, Asian, and American Indian respondents were more likely to support heroin decriminalization but less likely to support Good Samaritan laws. Democrat/liberal and less religious/spiritual respondents were more likely to support all HR policies compared to Republican/conservative and religious/spiritual respondents. Students at the Midwestern university supported SSPs more than those at the Southeastern university.
Takeaway: Demographic characteristics may provide predictive value when assessing support for harm reduction policies among college students.