Economic Stressors, Social Integration, and Drug Use among Women in an Inner City Community

Abstract

This article uses data from a study of 122 adult women drug users residing in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area to identify associations between economic stressors related to occupying disadvantaged statuses, institutional integration, and drug use. The data stem from targeted sampling and ethnographic mapping procedures. The findings suggest that experiencing stressors related to economic circumstance and daily subsistence increased the likelihood of drug use. Results also indicate religious involvement and kinship networks are independently and negatively associated with drug use, but fail to reduce the negative effects of economic stressors on drug use. The author suggests that institutional integration, however limited, may be a formidable deterrent to drug use. Continued identification of multi-level integration sources may inform drug treatment approaches in community programs.