Then suddenly he went right off the rails: mothers' stories of adolescent cannabis use. (original) (raw)
Talking about drug use: what are we (and our participants) doing in qualitative research?
International journal of drug policy, 2004
This paper considers the use of qualitative research in the drugs field. Proponents have traditionally claimed that by capturing participants' lived experience through language, qualitative approaches are either the 'antidote' or the necessary complement to quantitative methods. The present paper troubles this over-simplistic dichotomy between quantitative and qualitative: both approaches often share the same ontological assumptions, rely on the same representational logic and are, in the context of 'applied' research, subject to a 'will to truth' born of a specific relation to policy. Poststructuralist ideas about the production of knowledge and the relationship between discourse and power are presented. Drugs research as both praxis and knowledge base may be seen as part of the machinery of advanced liberal government, which seeks to govern at a distance through the inscription of subjectivity. The drug user is produced and re-produced as a subject within research, always already positioned in relation to certain 'truths'. We need to conceive of qualitative research and what our participants tell us differently, such that the constructive and constructed nature of knowledge and talk becomes the focus of inquiry. Discourse analysis -with its focus on construction and function within discourse -is presented as compatible with poststructuralist ideas. To illustrate the use of this approach, three interview accounts of how participants first came to use heroin are analysed. The discourses and subject positions underpinning the 'peer pressure', the 'response to distress' and the 'risk appraisal' account are described, and we consider how these accounts might function as 'harm warrants' for intervention. Criticisms of a poststructuralist approach and its implications for qualitative research within the broader field of drugs research and policy are addressed.
Illicit Drug Use by Mothers and their Daughters in Australia: A Comparison of Two Generations
Addictive Behaviors, 2020
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Good, bad, thwarted or addicted? Discourses of substance-using mothers
Critical Social Policy, 2008
In this paper we examined discourses of mothers who use substances. Focus groups were conducted at two different treatment programmes with diverse women who identified as mothers challenged by substance use. Real scenarios were presented to the participants and feedback was sought about how the women within the scenarios managed their situations and the actions taken by legal, media, and
2010
Alcohol and drug problems affect not only those using these substances but also family members of the individual substance user. There has been a historic neglect within the addiction sphere of both research and practice pertaining to the effect of drug use on the family. Each family member is uniquely affected with negative outcomes ranging from economic hardship to violence being perpetrated against them (Csiernik, 2002). Thus, treating only the individual with the substance problem is limiting and serves an overly narrow orientation for the enhancement of both family and community health. This study addressed an important gap in literature with regard to the experiences of families affected by drug use. The research involved qualitative in-depth interviews and focus group interviews undertaken with a broad range of participants. In total 51 individuals took part in the study. The sample comprised two subgroups: family members (47) and professionals (4). The family member’s subgro...
High lives/low lives: women's narratives of drug addiction
2007
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A Narrative Inquiry of Women's Substance Use in Pregnancy and Motherhood (Dissertation)
Substance use during pregnancy and motherhood is both a public health and criminal justice concern. Negative health consequences associated with substance use impact both the mother and the developing fetus, and there are ongoing attempts to criminalize substance use during pregnancy that put pregnant substance-using women at risk of detection, arrest, and punishment. Although there has been research on the consequences of maternal substance use, little is known about why some women are motivated to desist during pregnancy and why others persist. The purpose of this dissertation was to advance the understanding of (1) women’s decision-making regarding substance use and motherhood, (2) how women desist from substance use during and after pregnancy, and (3) how women navigate or overcome barriers to care. To accomplish the aims of this study, narrative identity theory was employed as a theoretical framework for understanding women’s sense-making of their experiences. Based on data from in-depth life history interviews with thirty recently-pregnant women who had used alcohol, tobacco or other drugs during their pregnancies, this study captured the experiences of substance-using mothers as they navigated health and criminal justice consequences and accessed needed resources in the community. The data reveal multiple patterns of substance use desistance behavior, from prompt desistance to persistence throughout the pregnancy. Women who desisted described themselves as exercising their agency in pursuing opportunities for desistance. Desisting women were less likely to be embedded in social networks that included other substance-using individuals. Women supported their desistance during and after pregnancy by reinterpreting their life stories as narratives of redemption. They achieved this reinterpretation by highlighting past experiences that demonstrated that they had good core selves and had simply been overwhelmed or distracted by substance use. By reinterpreting their past suffering as redemptive, desisting women were able to narrate prosocial and generative futures in which they would tell their stories to others to show that desistance is possible. Finally, women’s stories highlighted their strategies for managing their risk of detection by health or criminal justice authorities and revealed multiple barriers to treatment and healthcare, including a lack of suitable treatment options. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed, particularly the need for further development of narrative identity theory and the expansion of treatment programs and social services to meet the needs of substance-using women.
Pain, instability, and familial discord: a qualitative study into women who use drugs in Malaysia
Harm Reduction Journal, 2015
Background: Out of 20,887 persons who use drugs that came into contact with the National Anti-Drugs Agency (NADA) officials in the year 2013, 3.2 % were women. Because women who use drugs (WWUD) are often a hidden population, this may be an underestimate. International literature shows that women who use drugs face increased risk of HIV, intimate partner violence, and mental health issues. Similar literature in Malaysia is lacking, and thus, the objective of our study was exploratory in nature. Methods: Thirty-eight women who use drugs were interviewed using a semi-structured topic guide in Kelantan, Penang, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor. Locations were chosen purposively. Nineteen women were interviewed individually and the remaining 19 were in focus group discussions (FGDs). All interviews were transcribed verbatim, translated to English, and analyzed with NVivo. Results: Median age of respondents was 35.5 years old, 89.5 % ethnic Malays, majority having married below the age of 20, and were of low socioeconomic backgrounds. Youngest age of initiation into drug use was 9 years old. Most reported is inhalation of amphetamine-type substances. Seven reported ever injecting. Three themes emerged: (a) repeating patterns of fluid family structures and instability; (b) "pain" and "difficulty" as features of home life; and (c) seeking marriage as a source of stabilization and practices of power within those marriages. Respondents often came from very fluid family environments and married to find stability, only to be drawn into a similar cycle. None of the women who had been separated from their children either institutionally, by family members, or by third parties, had accessed legal recourse for the loss of their parental rights. Conclusion: Unstable familial relationships or environments contributed to earlier initiation of drug use which raised questions about support services for WWUD and children who use drugs. Respondents were drawn into unstable and/or abusive relationships, perpetuating social inequalities that marked their own familial environments during childhood. These findings support the need for additional services to support the unique needs of WWUD, including domestic violence services, financial and life skills, parental rights assistance, and empowerment programs.