Epidemiologie des Konsums, Mißbrauchs und der Abhängigkeit von legalen und illegalen Drogen bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen: Die prospektiv-longitudinale Verlaufsstudie EDSP Epidemiology of Substance Use, Abuse and Dependence Among Adolescents and Young Adults: The Prospective-Longitudinal EDSP-Study

This paper gives an overview (objectives, design, methods) of the Early Developmental Stages of Substance Problems study (EDSP). In the EDSP a representative sample of 3021 14- to 24-year-olds from the rural and urban areas of Munich, Germany, was examined prospectively from 1995 to 1999 in three waves of investigation (including an additional parent investigation) assessing use, abuse, and dependence of legal and illegal psychotropic substances. Findings from the baseline survey indicate that: (a) use of legal (more than 90%) and illegal (35%) psychotropic substances is far more prevalent in this age group than previously expected, (b) use of these substances is increasing in the younger age groups, and (c) a remarkable number of young respondents had already developed syndromes of abuse and dependence.