Drug Use and Conflict in Inner-City African-Anterican Relationships in the 2000s

Abstract

Inner-city relationships face numerous challenges including illegal drug use and its consequences. The nature of this challenge, however, has changed dramatically with a shift from the crack subculture of the 1980s and early 1990s to the subsequent marijuana/blunts subculture. This study presents data concerning 95 inner-city relationships where illegal drug use was present from people who were interviewed in 2004–2006 and reinterviewed in 2008. Hard drug use was still problematic in the 2000s even with the passing of the crack epidemic and its associated behavioral norms. Hard drug (primarily crack) users reported drug use was a problem, reported conflict over drugs, reported higher levels of conflict than others and were the most likely to have broken up with their partner. On the other hand, the experiences and subcultural norms associated with marijuana use appeared to be much less detrimental to relationship harmony. Subjects who used marijuana but not hard drugs reported much less relationship conflict. Indeed, many reported that they enjoyed using marijuana with their partner. These subcultural insights further the understanding that young adults have constructed a much more socially productive subculture regarding marijuana use than their predecessors had constructed around use of crack.     

Dimensions of Marijuana Use in a Midwest Catholic University: Subcultural Considerations

Theorists and researchers for over two decades have indicated repeatedly that marijuana use by college students has a subculture base. Crucial here is the impact that the subculture has on its members identities, values, attitudes, and belief patterns. While it may be true that not all members of a subculture evidence the same commitment to a subculture's attitudinal and normative patterns, nonetheless they share common patterns and the more an individual becomes involved, the more he manifests these subcultural patterns. Explorations of this subculture rationale are conducted utilizing a trichotomy of marijuana type users. The findings lend support more to the theoretical notion of subculture intervention as a threshold variable than a continuum variable.     

Peer norms regarding drug use and drug selling among household youth in a low-income 'drug supermarket' urban neighborhood

Aims : To describe, illustrate, and assess the reliability and construct validity of a method for assessing peer norms regarding drug use and selling. Design and participants : Face-to-face interviews of young adults (age 18-24) selected through multi-stage probability sampling in a low-income, high drug use, urban environment. Measurements : Subjects reported what proportion of their close friends actually encouraged them to use specific drugs, or would have objected to such use, currently and at age 15. Findings : Self-reports of peer norms are highly reliable, and have considerable construct validity in predicting drug behaviors. There is little encouragement of drug use, and substantial objection to use of drugs other than marijuana. While few subjects had many friends who encouraged them to sell drugs, about a third of the subjects said few if any of their friends would object to their selling drugs. Objection to drug use is more common, and encouragement of drug use less common, among women's peers than among men's peers. Conclusions : These items can be used to reliably and validly assess young adults' peer norms regarding drug use. Men and women report different peer norms.     

Women's substance use and experiences of intimate partner violence: a longitudinal investigation among a community sample

Although cross-sectional studies reveal an association between women's substance use and experiencing physical violence from one's intimate partner, the temporal ordering of these variables is not clearly established. The current study involved longitudinal examination of the association of women's substance use with subsequent experiences of intimate partner violence as well as the association between women's experiences of intimate partner violence and their subsequent substance use. Women ages 18-30 who were in heterosexual relationships (n=724) were recruited through random digit dialing in the Buffalo, NY, area. Within ongoing relationships, women's use of hard drugs was associated with increased odds of experiencing intimate partner violence over the next 12 months. Both marijuana and hard drug use were associated with increased likelihood of experiencing violence in new relationships. Women's heavy episodic drinking did not predict subsequent experiences of partner violence in ongoing or new relationships. Experiences of intimate partner violence had a significant effect on subsequent relationship satisfaction, which was modestly associated with subsequent heavy episodic drinking but not with subsequent drug use.     

Are lower penalties a green light for drug users?

It is probable that DAWN reporters have become more thorough over the years and that the police have become more active in the drug arena during the first half of the 1980's. If this is in fact the case, both sets of statistics would suggest that marijuana use has declined while the use of other illegal drugs, for which possession is penalized as heavily as ever, has risen substantially--although not quite so much as the statistics imply. In sum, the two best statistical indicators of drug use in California show that lowering penalties for marijuana possession did not cause a rise in the use of that drug. On the contrary, these indicators point to a stable situation regarding marijuana use in the decade after the implementation of the Moscone Act, while the use of other illegal drugs soared.     

A prospective study of risk and protective factors for substance use among impoverished women living in temporary shelter settings in Los Angeles County

Alcohol and drug use are significant public health problems facing homeless women, but few prospective studies have examined risk and protective factors for substance use in this population. This 6-month prospective study identified psychosocial, behavioral, and economic predictors of drinking to intoxication, crack use, and marijuana use in a probability sample of 402 women living in temporary shelter settings in Los Angeles County with a simple majority of homeless residents (92% of these women had a history of homelessness). Engaging in sexual risk behavior and having depressive symptoms were risk factors for more frequent intoxication, marijuana use, and crack use. Drinking to intoxication was additionally predicted by perceived HIV susceptibility, lower social support, more avoidant and less active coping, and lower self-esteem. Additional predictors of marijuana use included partner alcohol misuse and less social support, whereas more frequent crack use was additionally predicted by partner alcohol misuse, lack of economic resources, and more avoidant and less active coping. These findings suggest that effective substance use programs may need an integrative approach that addresses other types of risk behaviors, assists women in strengthening their support networks and learning effective coping skills, and provides access to basic services (e.g., housing, health care). For women in relationships, there may be a further need to address issues of partner substance use.     

Is marijuana identity associated with marijuana use and consequences? An examination of direct and interactive associations

Background: There is relatively little research examining the relationship between identity and marijuana-related outcomes (e.g., marijuana use and consequences). Identity may both directly help shape marijuana use behaviors and moderate the influence of other risk factors on marijuana outcomes. Objectives: The current study examines the relationship between marijuana identity and marijuana-related outcomes among emerging adults and explores whether identity moderates the relationships between nonidentity correlates (e.g., perceived norms and negative affect) of marijuana-related outcomes. Methods: College students who reported marijuana use in the past 12?months completed measures of marijuana identity, perceived norms, negative affect, frequency of marijuana use, and marijuana consequences. Conclusions/Importance: The results indicated that marijuana identity is associated with marijuana use frequency and moderates the relationship between perceived norms and marijuana consequences. The findings have implications for both identity-based and social norms-based interventions targeting problematic marijuana use among emerging adults.     

Peer norms regarding drug use and drug selling among household youth in a low-income 'drug supermarket' urban neighborhood

Aims : To describe, illustrate, and assess the reliability and construct validity of a method for assessing peer norms regarding drug use and selling.

Design and participants : Face-to-face interviews of young adults (age 18-24) selected through multi-stage probability sampling in a low-income, high drug use, urban environment.

Measurements : Subjects reported what proportion of their close friends actually encouraged them to use specific drugs, or would have objected to such use, currently and at age 15.

Findings : Self-reports of peer norms are highly reliable, and have considerable construct validity in predicting drug behaviors. There is little encouragement of drug use, and substantial objection to use of drugs other than marijuana. While few subjects had many friends who encouraged them to sell drugs, about a third of the subjects said few if any of their friends would object to their selling drugs. Objection to drug use is more common, and encouragement of drug use less common, among women's peers than among men's peers.

Conclusions : These items can be used to reliably and validly assess young adults' peer norms regarding drug use. Men and women report different peer norms.     

Concurrent and simultaneous drug and alcohol use: results of the 2000 National Alcohol Survey

This study estimates the prevalence, assesses predictors and evaluates factors associated with concurrent and simultaneous use of drugs and alcohol in the United States population. Using data from the 2000 National Alcohol Survey (n=7612), respondents were asked if they used specific drugs in the last 12 months. Current drinkers who reported using each type of drug were asked if they used alcohol and the drug at the same time. Approximately 10% reported using marijuana in the last 12 months (concurrent use); 7% reported drinking alcohol and using marijuana at the same time (simultaneous use). Approximately 5% of current drinkers reported using drugs other than marijuana in the last 12 months; 1.7% reported drinking alcohol and using drugs other than marijuana at the same time. Being younger, having less than a high school education, not having a regular partner and having heavier drinking patterns were associated with using alcohol and marijuana simultaneously. Simultaneous use of marijuana and alcohol as well as other drugs and alcohol were significantly related to social consequences, alcohol dependence, and depression. These results mirror clinical populations in which increasingly younger clients report use of alcohol and drugs and need treatment for both.     

Misperceptions of college student marijuana use: implications for prevention

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the relationship between marijuana use, perceived norms of use by friends and students in general, and negative experiences or problems from alcohol and drug use. It was hypothesized that students would overestimate the marijuana use of students in general and that perceptions about the prevalence of marijuana use would be related to drug-related consequences. METHOD: In this study, 5,990 participants provided information on the perceptions and consequences of drug use via an online survey or via a paper-based survey. RESULTS: Although two thirds of participants reported no marijuana use, 98% of respondents incorrectly predicted that students in general use marijuana at least once per year. Perceptions of use by friends and students in general accounted for variance in drug use and related problems or experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Given the relationship between norm misperception and behavior with marijuana use, future research could explore the impact of targeting misperceived norms through prevention and intervention efforts.     

Influences of family and friends on client progress during drug abuse treatment

Relationships with family and friends by 439 heroin addicts during the first 3 months of drug abuse treatment were examined in relation to behavioral improvements of clients. Family conflict and peer deviance were significant predictors of injection frequency and illegal activity during treatment, and reductions in family conflict were associated with lower drug use, injection frequency, and illegal activity during treatment. These results provide support for treatment emphasis on helping clients reduce conflict among family members, improve dysfunctional relationships with peers, and replace deviant friendships with others that encourage treatment participation and conformance to social norms.     

Pre-Teen Drug Users in Scotland

Aim. To compare and contrast those SI pupils in Scotland (typically age 11 to 12) who have initiated illegal drug use with their non-illegal drug using peers. Design. Self-completion school surveys totaling 930 SI pupils. Setting. Dundee, Perth and Kinross, and Lanarkshire, Scotland. Findings. This research has identified that approximately one in ten SI pupils have already initiated illegal drug use in Scotland. Young people who reported using illegal drugs at this early age tended to have started smoking and drinking alcohol at an earlier age than their non-illegal drug using peers and to be both smoking and drinking alcohol at a higher level than those peers. The illegal drug using pupils were much more likely than their peers to have been exposed to illegal drugs, to have been involved in a range of problem behaviours and to have friends who were also involved in a range of problem behaviours. The illegal drug using young people were also much more likely to have someone in their family who was also using illegal drugs. Conclusions. There is a need to target interventions upon those young people who have initiated illegal drug use at this early age, however doing so is unlikely to be straightforward. It is suggested that there may be some merit in using an “at-risk” type register to focus upon those young people at particularly high risk of initiating illegal drug use.     

Illegal Drugs,Anti-Drug Policy Failure,and the Need for Institutional Reforms in Colombia

This paper is inspired by two anomalies encountered in the study of the illegal drugs industry. First, despite the very high profits of coca/cocaine and poppy/opium/heroin production, most countries that can produce do not. Why, for example, does Colombia face much greater competition in the international coffee, banana, and other legal product markets than in cocaine? And second, though illegal drugs are clearly associated with violence, why is it that illegal drug trafficking organizations have been so much more violent in Colombia and Mexico than in the rest of the world? The answers to these questions cannot be found in factors external to Colombia (and Mexico). They require identifying the societal weaknesses of each country. To do so, the history of the illegal drugs industry is surveyed, a simple model of human behavior that stresses the conflict between formal (legal) and informal (socially accepted) norms as a source of the weaknesses that make societies vulnerable is formulated. The reasons why there is a wide gap between formal and informal norms in Colombia are explored and the effectiveness of anti-drug policies is considered to explain why they fail to achieve their posited goals. The essay ends with reflections and conclusion on the need for institutional change.     

Illegal drugs, anti-drug policy failure, and the need for institutional reforms in Colombia

This paper is inspired by two anomalies encountered in the study of the illegal drugs industry. First, despite the very high profits of coca/cocaine and poppy/opium/heroin production, most countries that can produce do not. Why, for example, does Colombia face much greater competition in the international coffee, banana, and other legal product markets than in cocaine? And second, though illegal drugs are clearly associated with violence, why is it that illegal drug trafficking organizations have been so much more violent in Colombia and Mexico than in the rest of the world? The answers to these questions cannot be found in factors external to Colombia (and Mexico). They require identifying the societal weaknesses of each country. To do so, the history of the illegal drugs industry is surveyed, a simple model of human behavior that stresses the conflict between formal (legal) and informal (socially accepted) norms as a source of the weaknesses that make societies vulnerable is formulated. The reasons why there is a wide gap between formal and informal norms in Colombia are explored and the effectiveness of anti-drug policies is considered to explain why they fail to achieve their posited goals. The essay ends with reflections and conclusion on the need for institutional change.     

Patterns of drug use among young adults

The present study assessed patterns of multiple drug use among a sample of university employees and students who had been identified as having moderately high drug use habits. Use of eleven categories of legal and illegal drugs was tested and subjects reported how much of each drug they currently and habitually used. Factor analysis yielded three factors of drug use. Four of the items in the first factor (hallucinogens, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol) exhibited moderately strong and positive intercorrelations, suggesting that this particular pattern of drug use was the most common and/or reliable among young adult drug users. Sedatives and opiates were the highest loading items on the second factor, suggesting a pattern of drug use motivated by the desire for relaxation and stress avoidance. The third factor identified a pattern of legal stimulant use involving two of the three food-like categories of items employed in the present study (i.e., caffeinated cola beverages and chocolate, but not coffee). The results provided only mixed support for the hypothesis that categories of drugs with similar pharmacological properties define patterns of multiple drug use.     

Teenagers do not always lie: characteristics and correspondence of telephone and in-person reports of adolescent drug use

Because of the widespread use of drugs by adolescents, there is demand for scientific rigor in sampling and accuracy in methods for ascertaining drug use patterns. The present study: (1) characterized adolescents who responded to advertisements for marijuana users; (2) compared rates of drug use reported on the telephone versus an on-site interview; and (3) examined drug use patterns as a function of parental awareness of drug use. Adolescents, identifying themselves as marijuana users during telephone interviews, reported more use of other drugs than those denying marijuana use. There was a high degree of correspondence between telephone and on-site interviews for all drugs except alcohol, which was reported at a higher rate on-site. Of those reporting marijuana use in the past week, 69% tested positive for marijuana in their urine-drug screens. Finally, marijuana and alcohol use patterns were higher among adolescents whose parents were aware of drug use than those whose parents indicated that their adolescent did not use marijuana. These results indicate that adolescents are willing to self-identify as marijuana users and report drug and alcohol use during telephone interviews. Additionally, parents appear to become more aware of their adolescent's drug use with increased frequency of use.     

Sex related HIV risk behaviors: differential risks among injection drug users, crack smokers, and injection drug users who smoke crack

This study was designed to assess differences in sex-related risk behaviors between drug injectors who did not smoke crack cocaine, crack smokers who did not inject drugs, and drug users who both injected drugs and smoked crack. Current drug users (i.e. used within the past 30 days) from 22 cities were recruited and assessed. The sample (n = 26,982) included 28% who injected only, 42% who smoked crack only, and 30% who both injected and smoked crack. Results showed that active drug users were at risk of HIV infection through sexual transmission: in the 30 day period prior to their interview, 28% reported sex with two or more individuals, 23% had an IDU sex partner, and 24% had exchanged sex for drugs or money. In addition, more than 80% did not use a condom during sex. Crack only smokers and crack smoking injectors were more likely than injectors only to report multiple sex partners and exchanging sex. Because of these high risk behaviors, condom use was of particular importance. The number of days of alcohol use and having an IDU sex partner were independently associated with not using a condom. Crack smoking injectors reported the highest average number of days of alcohol consumption and were the most likely to have had an IDU sex partner.     

Violence and Illegal Drug Use among Adolescents: Evidence from the U.S. National Adolescent Student Health Survey

The relationships between violence, drug use, and victimization were examined in a representative sample of American adolescents. The commonly used illegal drugs (marijuana, amyl/butyl nitrites, psychedelics, amphetamines, and cocaine) and alcohol were considered. Drug users, compared to nonusers, fought more, took more risks which predisposed them to assault, and were assaulted more both at school and outside school supervision. Adolescents who were victims at school were also more likely to be victimized outside of school supervision. This study clearly demonstrates that the aggressor may also be the victim, and that illegal drug/alcohol use is related to victimization.     

Commentary on “Stakeholders’ Role in Contemporary ‘Substitute Drug’ Prescribing Policies in Italy” by Franca Beccaria and Sara Rolando

This study of the effect of family and peer group variables on drug use among male adolescents shows that both the drug consumption behavior of parents and peers, and their relationships with the adolescent have an important influence on the latter's own use patterns. With respect to adolescents who do not consume drugs, users of both legal and illegal drugs reported less affectionate family relationships, greater drug consumption by both parents, greater contact with drug-consuming peers, and greater identification with and participation in unconventional groups and activities. These findings coincide to a large extent with the assumptions of some of the main theories of deviant behavior (social control theory, differential association theory, and social learning theory), which suggests the desirability of integrating these theoretical models in an attempt to provide an exhaustive explanation of the genesis and maintenance of drug use by adolescents.     

Patterns of illegal drug use among an adult alcohol dependent population: Results from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health

The use of illegal drugs is common in alcohol dependence and significant psychological and social consequences are associated with the concurrent use of alcohol and illegal drugs. However, little literature has examined the patterns of concurrent-drug use in alcohol dependent individuals. A latent class analysis (LCA) was used to determine whether patterns of past year illegal drug use existed in a national sample of 6059 alcohol dependent respondents of the combined 2005, 2006 and 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Multinomial logistic regression was then used to determine whether demographic variables, mental health disturbance and social consequences were predictive of drug use classes. Results of the LCA demonstrated a 5-class solution with optimal fit deduced by Bayesian Information Criterion minima. The five classes included: a close to zero probability of illegal drug use (class 1: 65%), medium marijuana, medium sedatives/tranquilizers and high analgesics (class 2: 7%), high marijuana, medium cocaine use (class 3: 21%), high probabilities of marijuana, cocaine, sedatives and analgesic use (class 4: 6%) and a high concurrent-drug use except other hallucinogens (class 5: 1%). Regression results suggest that younger age, comorbidity, engaging in deviant behaviors, sexually transmitted infection and incarceration are associated with concurrent illegal drug use in alcohol dependent individuals. Findings advocate that more intense psychiatric and drug dependence treatment resources may be needed for concurrent-drug using alcohol dependent populations and provide evidence for targeted prevention and treatment interventions.