Drug Use among Inner-City African American Women

The Process of Managing Loss

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4634009
AutoresCarol A Roberts (Queen's University), Carol Roberts (Queen's University, autor de correspondencia)
Año1999
Volumen9
Número5
Páginas620-638
Fecha de publicación1999-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/104973299129122126
PMID10558371
OpenAlexW2138040737
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas18

The grounded theory study described in this article investigated illicit drug use in the lives of 32 drug-using women living in two inner-city neighborhoods of a large metropolitan U.S. city. The underlying purpose was to describe the process of how life situations and events influenced the onset of drug use and changes in drug-using behaviors. Analysis of in-depth interviews revealed several themes. The basic social process, managing loss, was identified. Painful feelings of loss resulted from the separation of someone or something from the lives of participants and included death or desertion of a significant other, loss of child custody, and rejection by a significant other. Emotional, physical, and sexual abuse resulted in a loss of ability to give and receive love and trust in oneself or others. Losses resulted in an escalation of drug use. Findings have implications for interventions to assist women in dealing with drug use, violence in their lives, self-care, and parenting

Developmental psychology · Feeling · Grounded theory · Metropolitan area · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Sociology · Substance abuse · Child Abuse and Trauma · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes