Female drug users and the welfare system: a qualitative exploration

Abstract

In the United States, much of the public views welfare recipients negatively, as unmotivated, as lazy, as chronic drug users, and as exploiters of the system. Yet, despite a large body of sociological literature regarding welfare recipients and their stigmatized social position, there exists a dearth of information from the individuals themselves, most notably from those engaged in drug use. That is, the voices of welfare recipients are largely absent from published sociological research. The link between drug use and public assistance is seen frequently as absolute, though the reasons for this relationship are chiefly unknown. In this paper we present a qualitative analysis that allows for new understandings of the welfare system and of the lives of the female drug users who are publicly seen as unworthy of assistance. Our in-depth interviews demonstrate that welfare dependency and drug use are symptoms of the women's societal position, largely resulting from barriers including a lack of education, few job skills, the absence of employment and affordable child care, and restricted geographic mobility. Furthermore, the respondents identify no correlation between their status as welfare recipients and their drug use. By focusing on poverty and drug use as social problems, we negate prevailing narratives while providing concrete suggestions for improving the lives of individuals in need, including those we interviewed.