Table 4 Overview of the reason categories in which one or several reasons were reported for each behaviour
From: A structured review of reasons for ecstasy use and related behaviours: pointers for future research
| Reason categories | Starting ecstasy use | Using ecstasy | Using more ecstasy | Not ceasing ecstasy use | Not starting ecstasy | Using less ecstasy | Ceasing ecstasy use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addiction, fear of becoming dependent | ✘ | ± | ± | ||||
| Availability/price/quality of ecstasy | N | ± | ± | - | + | ± | |
| Changing life circumstances (moving in or out of a certain lifestyle) | ± | ± | ± | ||||
| Curiosity (or lack of curiosity) | N | ± | |||||
| Decreased drug effects or decreased appreciation of drug effects | ± | ± | |||||
| Denying or forgetting negative effects | N | ||||||
| Desire to be on the same level as friends (i.e. to be similarly intoxicated) | N | + | |||||
| Ecstasy is overrated | N | ± | |||||
| Ease of administration | N | N | |||||
| Enhance energy and dancing | + | ||||||
| Enhance mood (to feel good) | N | + | |||||
| Enhance other substances' effects | ± | ||||||
| Enhance sex | + | ||||||
| Enhance social interaction | + | - | |||||
| Enhance/change sensory perception | + | ||||||
| Experienced no or unpleasant ecstasy effects | ± | N | ± | ± | |||
| Experienced very pleasant effects | + | N | |||||
| Fear of ecstasy's effects | ± | ||||||
| Feeling safe about ecstasy contents and ecstasy use setting | N | + | |||||
| Help lose weight | - | ||||||
| Help you to concentrate, work, or study | - | ||||||
| Intoxication, losing inhibitions | N | + | |||||
| Legal consequences | ± | ||||||
| Minimising ecstasy comedown | + | ||||||
| Minimising health risks or fear of health risks | ± | + | + | ||||
| Noticed mood/affective/cognitive changes in oneself | ± | + | |||||
| Observation of others using ecstasy | ± | N | |||||
| Other's bad experience/mood/affective/cognitive changes/death | ± | ± | |||||
| Own bad experience | ± | + | |||||
| Positive effects outweigh negative effects | N | N | |||||
| Presence or lack of opportunity | + | ± | |||||
| Recreation/relaxation/stop worrying | N | + | |||||
| Responsibilities or relationship problems | ± | + | |||||
| Self-medication | ± | ||||||
| Social influence (friends use ecstasy or quit using ecstasy) | ± | - | N | - | - | ± | |
| Social influence from relatives | - | ||||||
| Spirituality | + |