A study by Dean, Bradshaw & Lavelle (1983) focused on the evidence of heroin abuse in an area in north central Dublin during 1982/83. From this, the characteristics of a heroin user were delineated. The present study, carried out in 1984,used a control group of persons who had never taken heroin, to investigate the relevance of this profile. The people in the control group were resident in the same area, and were matched for age and sex, to those in the 1982/83 study. Both groups were from deprived areas, with high rates of unemployment, and social settings in which drug taking, crime and alcohol abuse were common. In spite of the fact that both groups were the product of similar circumstances, a series of differences emerged. The existence of a group of 'special risk children' was noted: these were children who had experienced parental loss and/or separation and/or whose families had a problem with alcoholism.

The authors recommended that, to help prevent drug misuse, attention be given to encouraging social life, hobbies, sports and educational achievement, the provision of jobs, and discouraging cigarette smoking and frequent drinking. The local Catholic church was put forward as one agency through which such action could be channelled.