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“I Always Stay at My Friends’ Place”: How Peer Association Explains the Link Between Social Deprivation and Methamphetamine Use Intensity

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This study incorporates peer salience and peer pressure in explaining why people experiencing social deprivation tend to use drugs in greater intensity. A total of 303 current methamphetamine users were recruited through respondent-driven sampling in Changsha, China. We constructed a deprivation indicator by socioeconomic levels and marginal statuses. We employed structural equation modeling to test the mediating roles of peer salience and peer pressure on the deprivation-drug association. We also conducted a qualitative discourse analysis ( n = 40) to triangulate and support the findings from quantitative analyses. We found social deprivation is indirectly associated with greater methamphetamine use through the full mediation of peer salience and peer pressure. Qualitative results indicate socially disadvantaged respondents often referred to peer groups as a paramount source of support in their lives. Policies may provide formal platforms of social support and economic mobility to interrupt the mechanisms that contribute to methamphetamine use.

Source: Journal of Drug Issues

DOI: 10.1177/00220426241287125

Authors: Xiaozhao Y. Yang, Brian C. Kelly

Institutions: Sun Yat-sen University, Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University

Language: English

Topic: Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: China Medical Board, Guangdong Office of Philosophy and Social Science