Neighbourhood characteristics and use of benzodiazepines in The Netherlands

This paper analyses the relationship between individual and neighbourhood c haracteristics and the use of benzodiazepines within a Dutch city. It is hy pothesized that the proportion of users is lower in more socially integrate d and less deprived neighbourhoods. Hypotheses have been tested by using mu lti-level analysis to distinguish between composition and context effects. Age and gender have a clear relation to the use of benzodiazepines and neig hbourhood differences in the proportion of users are partly the effect of p opulation composition by age and gender. The proportion of users is higher in neighbourhoods with a higher percentage of one-parent families, with a l ower percentage of social rented housing and with a larger number of rooms per person. The strength of the relation between age and use is influenced by neighbourhood characteristics. Neighbourhood variation in the amount use d only depends on population composition. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. Al l rights reserved.