About leisure youth practices and drugs consumptions in rural areas with a gender perspective

The use of alcohol and other drugs in young people is a problem that brings considerable
concerns for Public Health. His analysis within rural areas from a gender perspective has gone
unnoticed by scientific literature in Spain. This article studies the articulation of rural youth
leisure through the meanings attributed to these practices by their own protagonists around
the uses and abuses of recreational substances, using qualitative methodology from in-depth
interviews (N= 40) carried out to young people (22 women and 18 men) between 18 and 24
years residents in villages in northern Extremadura. The results describe the rural scenarios par
excellence of recreational leisure of young people emphasizing their particularities and rural determinants.
Differences and inequalities in drug use have been identified following an intersectional
perspective and taking into account variables such as gender and age. The findings found
are discussed and include future lines of research and recommendations for social intervention.