Spring Break
Public health: social norms influence injection drug use
Issue date: 9/13/07
Injection drug abuse is a large and growing problem in American inner cities. In some sense, injection drug users comprise a unique subculture within urban society, one with its own practices and beliefs. A study published over the summer by researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health attempted to quantify some of these beliefs in the hopes of improving peer education and prevention programs.
The authors, Melissa Davey-Rothwell and Carl Latkin of the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, examined the relationship between social norms perceived by injection drug users and their needle sharing practices. By conducting face-to-face interviews with 684 users in Baltimore City, the researchers discovered striking differences in the way male and female injection drug users were influenced by their social group. The results appear in the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Urban Health.
The study looked at two types of social standards. Descriptive norms refer to the perceived prevalence of a behavior within a group. A descriptive norm in this context might be established if all of the members of a peer group routinely use only new needles when injecting. This is then the most common practice and is therefore the descriptive norm for the group.
Injunctive norms, on the other hand, refer to the perceived approval of a behavior by other members of one's peer group. An injunctive norm would be established if, for instance, few of an individual's peers would care if he shared needles without cleaning in between. Injunctive norms reflect an individual's perception of acceptable behavior.
Davey-Rothwell and Latkin found that descriptive norms strongly influenced the behavior of both male and female injection drug users. Surprisingly, however, they also found that injunctive norms were strongly influential over male drug users, but barely at all for female drug users.
The study emphasizes the importance of needle sharing to the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), most notably HIV. The discovery of a gender difference in the social influences on drug use practices could account for differences in the rates of STIs in male and female drug users.
The authors, Melissa Davey-Rothwell and Carl Latkin of the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, examined the relationship between social norms perceived by injection drug users and their needle sharing practices. By conducting face-to-face interviews with 684 users in Baltimore City, the researchers discovered striking differences in the way male and female injection drug users were influenced by their social group. The results appear in the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Urban Health.
The study looked at two types of social standards. Descriptive norms refer to the perceived prevalence of a behavior within a group. A descriptive norm in this context might be established if all of the members of a peer group routinely use only new needles when injecting. This is then the most common practice and is therefore the descriptive norm for the group.
Injunctive norms, on the other hand, refer to the perceived approval of a behavior by other members of one's peer group. An injunctive norm would be established if, for instance, few of an individual's peers would care if he shared needles without cleaning in between. Injunctive norms reflect an individual's perception of acceptable behavior.
Davey-Rothwell and Latkin found that descriptive norms strongly influenced the behavior of both male and female injection drug users. Surprisingly, however, they also found that injunctive norms were strongly influential over male drug users, but barely at all for female drug users.
The study emphasizes the importance of needle sharing to the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), most notably HIV. The discovery of a gender difference in the social influences on drug use practices could account for differences in the rates of STIs in male and female drug users.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Drug rehabilitation
posted 4/01/08 @ 7:05 AM EST
Very interesting and informative article. Although I know that sharing needles is a common practice among drug users, every time I read about this I find it shocking, that makes me realize how irresponsible drug users actually are. (Continued…)
Post a Comment