Abstract
This paper reports a segment of findings from a statewide study of the incidence and characteristics of prescription and non-prescription drug use among middle-aged, middle-class females in Florida. The report focuses on perceptions of this littlestudied target population concerning the use and abuse of prescription mood-altering drugs as well as their perceptions of their community's drug abuse treatment and prevention programs. In depth interviews were conducted in homes with a purposive sample of 68 women in Tallahassee. Reliability and validity data on instrumentation are described. Sample demographics are reported, and abusers, users, and drug non-users are compared on responses given to perception questions. Implications of the findings for media campaigns are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.