Crofts et al. examined a number of factors surrounding initiation to injecting among a group of young, recently initiated IDUs [20]. They found that the majority of their sample had instigated the first injecting episode, but were assisted or injected by friends; only a very small proportion were injected by a family member. The research also found that more females than males reported being injected by their partner, a pattern consistent with the literature in that females are more likely than males to have an IDU sex partner and are less likely to be able to inject themselves [21-23]. A recent Canadian study of street youth also found that females were more likely than males to be injected by their partner or lover [24]. However, research from the United States found only 13% of IDU interviewed were initiated by their sex partner, with no difference between males and females; indeed females were more likely to be initiated by another female [25].
