This article uses data from a study of 122 adult women drug users residing in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area to identify associations between economic stressors related to occupying disadvantaged statuses, institutional integration, and drug use. The data stem from targeted sampling and ethnographic mapping procedures. The findings suggest that experiencing stressors related to economic circumstance and daily subsistence increased the likelihood of drug use. Results also indicate religious involvement and kinship networks are independently and negatively associated with drug use, but fail to reduce the negative effects of economic stressors on drug use. The author suggests that institutional integration, however limited, may be a formidable deterrent to drug use. Continued identification of multi-level integration sources may inform drug treatment approaches in community programs.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AgnewR.1992Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30 (1), 47–87.
2.
AgnewR.2001Building on the foundation of general strain theory: Specifying the types of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38 (4), 319–361.
3.
AgnewR.BrezinaT.1997Relational problems with peers, gender, and delinquency, Youth and Society, 29 (1), 84–111.
4.
AgnewR.WhiteH.R.1992An empirical test of general strain theory. Criminology, 30 (4) 475–99.
5.
AndersonE.1990Streetwise: Race, class, and change in an urban community. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
6.
AneshenselC. S.1992Social stress: Theory and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 15–38.
7.
AnglinD. M.HserY.ChouC.1993Reliability and validity of retrospective behavioral self-report by narcotics addicts. Evaluation Review, 17, 91–108.
8.
AtkinsonJ.LeeD.Dayton-ShottsC.2001Self-perceived job skills and employment barriers among non-drug using and chronic drug using welfare-to-work participants. The Journal of Drug Issues, 31 (3), 747–56.
9.
AtkinsonJ.MontoyaI.D.TrevinoR. A.2000Labor force participation in a sample of substance users. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 26 (3), 355–67.
10.
BendaB.B.CorwynR.F.2000A theoretical model of religiosity and drug use with reciprocal relationships: A test using structural equations modeling. Journal of Social Service Research, 26 (4), 43–67.
11.
BlackwellJ.1991The Black community: Diversity and unity. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
12.
BoydS.1999Mothers and illicit drugs: Transcending the myths. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
13.
BrayJ.W.ZarkinG.A.DennisM.L.2000Symptoms of dependence, multiple substance use, and labor market outcomes. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 26 (1), 77–95.
14.
BrownV.L.RileyM.2005Social support, drug use, and employment among low-income women. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 31 (2), 203–223.
15.
CerboneF.G.LarisonC.L.2000A bibliographic essay: The relationship between stress and substance use. Substance Use and Misuse, 35 (5), 757–86.
16.
CochranJ.K.AkersR.L.1989Beyond hellfire: An examination of the variable effects of religiosity on adolescent marijuana and alcohol use. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 26 (3), 198–225.
17.
CochranJ.K.WoodP.B.AmeklevB.J.1994Is the religious-delinquency relationship spurious? A test of arousal and social control theories. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 31 (1), 92–123.
18.
ColemanJ.S.1988Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, Supplement, S95–S120.
19.
CornwallM.1989On determinants of religious behavior: A theoretical model and empirical test. Social Forces, 68 (2), 572–92.
20.
CorwynR.BendaB.2000Religiosity and church attendance: The effects on use of ‘hard drug's controlling for sociodemographic and theoretical factors. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 10 (4), 241–259.
21.
CostelloE.J.ErkanliA.FairbankJ.A.AngoldA.2002The prevalence of potentially traumatic events in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15 (2), 99–112.
22.
DohrenwendB.S.1973Social status and stressful life events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28 (2), 225–35.
23.
DurkheimE.1951Suicide. New York: Free Press.
24.
El-BasselN.SchillingR.F.1994Social support and sexual risk taking among women on methadone. AIDS Education and Prevention, 6, 506–513.
25.
ElifsonK.PetersonD.HadawayC.1983Religiosity and delinquency: A contextual analysis. Criminology, 21 (4), 505–27.
26.
EllisonC.G.GeorgeL.K.1994Religious involvement, social ties, and social support in a Southeastern community. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 33 (1), 46–61.
27.
FalkinG.P.StraussS.M.2003Social supporters and drug use enablers: A dilemma for women in recovery. Addictive Behaviors, 28 (1), 141–155.
28.
ForthunL.F.BellN.J.PeekC.SunS.1999Religiosity, sensation seeking, and alcohol/drug use in denominational and gender contexts. The Journal of Drug Issues, 29 (1), 75–90.
29.
FrancisL.J.WilcoxC.1996Religion and gender orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 20 (1), 119–121.
30.
FrenchM.T.RoebuckC.AlexandreP.K.2001Illicit drug use, employment, and labor force participation. Southern Economic Journal, 68 (2), 349–68.
31.
GilliganC.1993In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
32.
GravesK.N.FernandezM.E.SheltonT.L.FrabuttJ.M.WillifordA.P.2005Risk and protective factors associated with alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34 (4), 379–87.
33.
HoffmanJ.P.SuS.S.1997The conditional effects of stress on delinquency and drug use: A strain theory assessment of sex differences. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34 (1), 46–78.
34.
IversonR.R.FarberN.B.1996Transmission of family values, work, and welfare among poor urban Black women. Work and Occupations, 23 (4), 437–460.
35.
JangS. J.JohnsonB.R.2001Neighborhood disorder, individual religiosity, and adolescent use of illicit drugs: A test of multilevel hypotheses. Criminology, 39 (1), 109–43.
36.
KandelD. B.1980Drug and drinking behavior among youth. Annual Review of Sociology, 6, 235–85.
37.
KandelD. B.ChenK.GillA.1995The impact of drug use on earnings: A life-span perspective. Social Forces, 74 (1), 243–270.
38.
KendlerK.LiuX.GardnerC.2003Dimensions of religiosity and their relationship to lifetime psychiatric and substance use disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 160 (3), 496–503.
39.
KleinH.ElifsonK.W.SterkC.E.2003Perceived temptation to use drugs and actual drug use among women. The Journal of Drug Issues, 33 (1), 161–92.
40.
KoenigH.G.GeorgeL.K.SieglerI.C.1988The use of religion and other emotion-regulating coping strategies among older adults. The Gerontologist, 28 (3), 303–10.
41.
LazarusR.S.FolkmanS.1984Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
42.
LevinJ.S.TaylorR.J.1993Gender and age differences in religiosity among Black Americans. The Gerontologist, 33 (1), 16–23.
43.
LindenbergC.ReiskinH.GendropS.1994The social stress model of substance use among childbearing-age women: A review of the literature. Journal of Drug Education, 24 (3), 253–268.
44.
MacLeodJ.NonnemakerJ.1999Social stratification and inequality. In AneshenselC.PhelanJ. (Eds.), Handbook of sociology of mental health (pp. 321–344). New York: Kluwer Academics/Plenum Publishers.
45.
MaherL.1997Sexed work. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
46.
MarcosA.C.BahrS.J.1988Control theory and adolescent drug use. Youth & Society, 19 (4), 395–425.
47.
MarcosA.C.BahrS.J.JohnsonR.C.1986Test of a bonding/association theory of adolescent drug use. Social Forces, 65 (1), 135–161.
48.
McLanahanS.SandefurG.1994Growing up with a single parent: What hurts, what helps. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
49.
MillerW.1998Researching the spiritual dimensions of alcohol and other drug problems. Addiction, 93 (7), 979–91.
50.
MillerL.DaviesM.GreenwaldS.2000Religiosity and substance use among adolescents in the national comorbidity survey. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39 (9), 1190–1197.
51.
MinklerM.RoeK.Robertson-BeckleyR.1994Raising grandchildren from crack-cocaine households: Effects on family and friendship ties of African-American women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 64 (1), 20–29.
52.
MooreG.1990Structural determinants of men's and women's personal networks. American Sociological Review, 55 (5), 726–35.
53.
MuliaN.2002Ironies in the pursuit of well-being: The perspectives of low-income, substance-using women on service institutions. Contemporary Drug Problems, 29 (4), 711–48.
54.
NeighborsH.ElliottK.GantL.1990Self-help and Black Americans: A strategy for empowerment. In PowellThomas J. (Ed.), Working with self-help. Silver Spring, MD: National Association for Social Workers Press.
55.
NurcoD.N.1985A discussion of validity: Self-report methods of estimating drug use. In NIDA Research Monograph #57.Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
56.
NyamathiA.BayleyL.AndersonN.KeenanC.LeakeB.1999Perceived factors influencing the initiation of drug and alcohol use among homeless women and reported consequences of use. Women and Health, 29 (2), 99–114.
57.
OettingE.DonnermeyerJ.DeffenbacherJ.1998Primary socialization theory: The influence of the community on drug use and deviance. III. Substance Use and Misuse, 33 (8), 1629–1665.
58.
PearlinL. I.1999The stress concept revisited, In AneshenselC. S.PhelanJ. (Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 395–416). New YorkKluwer Academic/Plenum.
59.
PearlinL. I.1989The sociological study of stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30 (3), 241–56.
60.
PottiegermA. E.TressellP. A.2000Social relationships of crime-involved women cocaine users. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 32 (4), 445–60.
61.
RhodesJ. E.JasonL.A.1990A social stress model of substance abuse. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 58 (4), 395–401.
62.
RitzerG.1992Classical sociological theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
63.
RosenbaumM.1981Women on heroin. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
64.
SaleE.SambranoS.SpringerF.J.TurnerC.W.2003Risk, protection, and substance use in adolescents: A multi-site model. Journal of Drug Education, 33 (1), 91–105.
SmythN.KostK.1998Exploring the nature of the relationship between poverty and substance abuse: Knowns and unknowns. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment1 (1) 67–82.
67.
SterkC.1999Fast lives: Women who use crack cocaine. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
68.
StraussS.FalkinG. P.2001Social support systems of women offenders who use drugs: A focus on the mother-daughter relationship. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 27 (1), 65–89.
69.
SutherlandI.ShepherdJ.2001Social dimensions of adolescent substance use. Addiction, 6 (3), 445–58.
70.
TiggesL.BrowneI.GreenG.1998Social isolation of the urban poor: Race, class and neighborhood effects on social resources. Sociological Quarterly, 39 (1), 53–77.
71.
TurnerR.J.AvisonW.R.2003Status variations in stress exposure: Implications for the interpretation of research on race, socioeconomic status, and gender. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44 (4), 488–505.
72.
TurnerR. J.LloydD. A.2004Stress burden and the lifetime incidence of psychiatric disorder in young adults: Racial and ethnic contrasts. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61 (5), 481–488.
73.
TurnerR. J.WheatonB.LloydD.A.1995The epidemiology of stress. American Sociological Review, 60 (1), 104–25.
74.
VakalahiH.2001Adolescent substance abuse and family-based risk and protective factors: A literature review. Journal of Drug Education, 31 (1), 29–46.
75.
WattersJ.K.BiernackiP.1989Targeted sampling: Options for the study of hidden populations. Social Problems, 36 (4), 416–430.
76.
WheatonB.1990Life transitions, role histories, and mental health. American Sociological Review, 55 (2) 209–223.
77.
WilsonW.J.1987The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
78.
ZlotnickC.RobertsonM.J.TamT.2002Substance use and labor force participation among homeless adults. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 28 (1), 37–53.
