NCJ Number
193634
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 359-374
Date Published
November 2001
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article reviews literature on the vulnerability of ethnic minority groups to drug abuse and uses information from research in Victoria, Australia, to assess whether similar concepts apply to minorities in Victoria and illicit drugs.
Abstract
The analysis focused on socioeconomic and cultural factors that heighten vulnerability to involvement with illicit drugs and disproportionately affect minorities. The literature review mainly examined literature from the United States and other English-speaking countries. Results revealed that factors that increased vulnerability to drug abuse included high unemployment, poor proficiency in English, poor access to education and low educational attainment, intergenerational conflict, acculturation issues, and peer pressure. The research revealed that the same factors were at work in ethnic minorities in Victoria. Findings suggest that these factors could be combined into a more general underlying problem, which is that ethnic minority communities are socially and economically disadvantaged. The analysis concluded that cultural and socioeconomic factors increased the vulnerability of ethnic communities to involvement with the illicit drug market and the use of illicit drugs and that poor knowledge of drug treatment services and difficulties in gaining access to them compounded this vulnerability. Figures, note, and 78 references