Characteristics and social representation of ecstasy in Europe - Irefrea

In the C diagram we see distribution in two single blocks once again and where thesame views of ecstasy are defined, one from the perspective of the effects and the otherfrom that of the problematic. In the C diagram, the nucleus of two items appears, “theproblem with ecstasy is that you don’t know what you’re taking”, “it’s dangerouswithout preventive measures”, very closely connected (Tau-b=0,33) whereas they donot appear in the NC diagram.These variables do not appear in the Palma de Mallorca NC either as theirassociations do not have sufficient significance. The interpretation of this aspect, ofpossible preventive repercussions, is not easy. We believe that it should be interpreted,on the one hand, with the same orientation of the items with which it is associated. Inthis sense, we think that it indicates that the C group take into account this aspect, butthey do not endorse it. There are two types of data in support of this view. The NC groupwhich is showing a closer agreement with these aspects than the C group and, secondly,when asked in the questionnaire of the importance of knowing the contents of thetablets, more than 70% of users did not appear to give much importance to this aspect.We believe that the non-appearance of these items among the NC group may indicatethat it is not important to them, as knowing the composition of the tablets or takingpreventive measures never authorises taking these drugs or provides any security thatthey can be taken without any risk.As for the differences in respect of the block which refers to the effects, we see thatin the C diagram there are items which do not appear in the NC diagram such as “escapereality” and “understand House music”. It could be that evading reality andunderstanding House music are considered in the C group social representations asdesirable effects of ecstasy, whereas in the NC these items do not appear in anysignificance in any block.The item “removes sexual inhibitions” again attracts attention by its absence ineither of the two representations, a fact that also occurs in the samples of other cities,with the exception of Italian consumers.Comparing the C and NC diagrams, we see that in Nice there are also no interchangesor crossings of items from one block to another in the typical way in the comparisonestablished between cities. The differences are only in the presence or absence of certainitems, depending on whether we are speaking of the C or the NC diagram.8.3.6. Social representation in Palma de Mallorca (Spain)Analysis of the Palma de Mallorca diagrams for both consumers (C) and nonconsumers(NC) shows the usual picture of two variables with no interconnection. Oneof the blocks comprises those items which would be in the problematic of the drug,where its danger is expressed in respect of the effects on physical and mental health.The other block is formed by the variables which recognise the “effects” of ecstasy onthe how one feels, social relationships, parties and music, etc.122