Psychoactives

Stigma toward people with substance use problems is characterized by negative beliefs and attitudes that may devalue and dehumanize individuals experiencing addiction, potentially overlooking the complexity of substance use disorders and creating barriers to treatment. The present study aimed to examine stigma-related attitudes toward people with substance use problems among university students and identify sociodemographic, educational, experiential, and psychological factors associated with these attitudes. A total of 101 university students from different academic disciplines completed an online questionnaire including sociodemographic information, an adapted Attribution Questionnaire-27 (AQ-27), the CRAFFT instrument to characterize participants’ own substance use, and the Compassion of Others’ Lives Scale (COOL). Age, gender, and participants’ own substance use were not significantly associated with stigma-related attitudes. In contrast, Health Sciences students showed lower Irritability, Dangerousness, and Fear than students in Arts and Humanities. Compassion was positively associated with Help and negatively associated with Avoidance. Exposure to substance use problems in the close environment was associated with lower Dangerousness and Segregation. These findings highlight the multidimensional nature of stigma-related attitudes and suggest the potential benefit of incorporating strategies into awareness-raising campaigns aimed at increasing the visibility of substance use problems and promoting compassionate, non-judgmental approaches to addiction.

Substance use among children and adolescents is a significant public health concern, with early initiation linked to adverse mental health, developmental, and longer-term health outcomes. In the South Pacific, substance use is shaped by distinct socio-cultural, economic, geographic, and structural conditions, including traditional practices such as betel nut use and the challenges of delivering services across island communities. Although research has examined substance use among young people in the region, the literature remains heterogeneous and fragmented. No comprehensive synthesis has yet focused specifically on children and adolescents across South Pacific nations. This systematic review will synthesise evidence on the prevalence, patterns, and determinants of substance use and SUDs among children and adolescents in South Pacific countries. Searches will be conducted across MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library for publications from 2000 to 2026. Grey literature in region-focused repositories will also be searched. Observational studies reporting quantitative data on substance use among people aged 10–18 years will be included. Two reviewers will independently screen studies, extract data, and assess methodological quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Prevalence Studies. If sufficiently comparable data are available, meta-analysis will be conducted using random-effects models; otherwise, findings will be synthesised narratively.

Psychoactive medications have been widely used to treat depression, anxiety, insomnia, pain, and other conditions that may negatively affect individuals’ health and quality of life. However, psychological distress may also be influenced by social and economic conditions, including economic insecurity, unemployment, social isolation, unstable housing, and bereavement. One proposed, untested pathway is that social difficulties may contribute to symptoms for which individuals later seek care and receive psychoactive medications. Although pharmacological treatment may be appropriate and effective for reducing such symptoms, medications may not address the social conditions associated with the development of distress. Therefore, it is important to consider both individual treatment and the social conditions surrounding psychoactive medication use. This opinion paper discusses how social adversity may be associated with psychological distress and psychoactive treatment and highlights the importance of considering social interventions along with pharmacological treatment. This paper asks how psychoactive treatment can relieve symptoms while social difficulties continue and whether patients can access other forms of support.