Nowadays, various addictions at the social level, especially drug abuse, is a growing problem among young people. What is the reason for this? Can this be prevented? The first drug use happens in high school. In my thesis I search for answers for the following questions: how does drug use appear in young adulthood, what are the characteristics of drug users and the ones who belong to user group in whole or in a part? My assumption is that drug use is more common in the peer group’s cohesion and greatly influenced by family background. The dysfunctional operation of micro-communities encourages young people to find new values and if these are found in a drug user group then to become users themselves. My thesis aims to point out the fact that it is the task of parents and educational institutions to show correct values and that close, personal ties can overcome deviance and anomie. To discover the drug abuse is very difficult, because each case is different. To understand this could last forever. One part of my empirical studies includes a focus group study among students of the University of Szeged with the aim to get to know the students’ attitudes towards the substance use. According to the respondents the strong value system of the family determines the attitude of young people towards drug use which means that it is not always influenced by the peer group. I also interviewed Laci who is receiving treatments in rehab in Dr. Farakasinszky Terézia Ifjúsági Drogcentrum (Youth Drug Centre in Szeged). He is currently twenty-eight years old and was a drug user since he was fourteen. Laci’s childhood was largely determined by his parent’s addictive behavior. Due to the devaluation of family values the circle of drug users remains a stable community. In the last chapter of my thesis I introduce some prevention activities that can positively influence young people who need support to find way back to the society
