NCJ Number
180051
Journal
Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 34 Issue: 14 Dated: 1999 Pages: 2095-2114
Date Published
1999
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Ethnographic research conducted with injection drug users (IDU) in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area formed the basis of an analysis of the young white heroin users' network dynamics in terms of who the users are, how their networks form, how they change over time, how they dissolve, and how they compare with those of older black IDUs.
Abstract
The research used snowball sampling to recruit 6 male and 6 female white intravenous drug users ages 19-31 years. The research involved 50 hours of participant observation every week for approximately 104 weeks. Information also came from life histories gathered in interviews lasting 2-3 hours each. The analysis used network plots depicting network connections and relations for each participant. Results revealed that participants formed network relationships around long-term friendships or around drug acquisition and use. The core of the networks changed little over time; changes occurred as a result of a member's rehabilitation, changes within relationships, meeting other people useful to them or the network, or moving to other cities. Total dissolution occurred when all or most of the network members stopped using drugs or when core members changed and the network reorganized. These IDUs differed markedly from older black IDUs in needle procurement, needle hygiene, HIV risk, economic resources, and efforts to stop using drugs. Findings suggested that understanding risk relations, socioeconomic variables, and cultural factors will assist efforts related to harm reduction and HIV prevention. Notes and 29 references (Author abstract modified)