An Empirical Examination of the Anomie Theory of Drug Use

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between anomie theory, as measured by Srole's Anomie Scale, and the respondents self-admitted drug use (alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, amphetamines, and barbiturates). An analysis of self-reported drug use data was conducted of a general Texas adult population. This analysis included a series of bivariate cross comparison correlations between the independent variable (anomie) and the dependent drug variables. The relationship between the independent and dependent variables were further examined by calculating the correlation and level of significance within selected categories of several demographic (age, race, sex, education, income, and marital status) control variables. The results indicated that anomie was significantly correlated with several of the drug variables. However, these associations were extremely weak and of little explanatory value. It was concluded that, within the framework of this analysis, anomie theory fails to provide an adequate explanation for the use of drugs.