TY - JOUR
T1 - Substance abuse and dependence among low income african americans
T2 - Using data from the national survey on drug use health to demystify assumptions
AU - Windsor, Liliane Cambraia
AU - Negi, Nalini
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2009/7
Y1 - 2009/7
N2 - The media has portrayed African Americans as drug users and criminals. The purpose of this study is to test the assumption that low-income African Americans use more alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, and illicit drugs than other racial groups using data from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to compare drug abuse and dependence across low income racial groups (N = 20,172). Most respondents were white, female, and older than 26 years of age. The majority completed high school and reported annual family incomes between $10,000 and $19,000. Few participants reported receiving public assistance. Drug abuse and dependence rates varied across drug type and across race. Drug dependence and abuse were measured using the Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale and criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Hierarchical regression was conducted to examine the level of association between racial background and drug abuse and dependence after controlling for age and gender. Results reveal that the assumption of high drug and alcohol use and abuse rates among low-income African Americans should be, at best, reexamined. This study has significant implications for both policy and social work practice because it breaks down normalized and biased assumptions of low-income African American drug use.
AB - The media has portrayed African Americans as drug users and criminals. The purpose of this study is to test the assumption that low-income African Americans use more alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, and illicit drugs than other racial groups using data from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to compare drug abuse and dependence across low income racial groups (N = 20,172). Most respondents were white, female, and older than 26 years of age. The majority completed high school and reported annual family incomes between $10,000 and $19,000. Few participants reported receiving public assistance. Drug abuse and dependence rates varied across drug type and across race. Drug dependence and abuse were measured using the Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale and criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Hierarchical regression was conducted to examine the level of association between racial background and drug abuse and dependence after controlling for age and gender. Results reveal that the assumption of high drug and alcohol use and abuse rates among low-income African Americans should be, at best, reexamined. This study has significant implications for both policy and social work practice because it breaks down normalized and biased assumptions of low-income African American drug use.
KW - African American
KW - Drug dependence and abuse
KW - Drug use
KW - NSDUH
KW - Racism
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U2 - 10.1080/10550880903028510
DO - 10.1080/10550880903028510
M3 - Article
C2 - 20155595
AN - SCOPUS:70449686278
SN - 1055-0887
VL - 28
SP - 258
EP - 268
JO - Journal of Addictive Diseases
JF - Journal of Addictive Diseases
IS - 3
ER -