Negotiating Ecstasy Risk, Reward, and Control: A Qualitative Analysis of Drug Management Patterns Among Ecstasy-Using Urban Young Adults

Abstract

This paper is based on qualitative in-depth interviews conducted from 2008 to 2009 with 118 ethnically diverse Ecstasy users from the greater Hartford area, CT, USA. Participants were urban, primarily Black and Hispanic, aged 18 to 36, and had limited higher education compared with samples in previous Ecstasy research. Interviews focused on personal background, history of Ecstasy and other drug use, and recent sexual events. In this paper, we examine: participants’ negotiation of perceived risks and benefits of Ecstasy use, behavioral strategies employed to minimize risks, and the relationship of risk–benefit analysis, motivation for use, frequency of use, and polydrug use to participants’ sense of control over their Ecstasy use. We conclude with recommendations for intervention approaches and suggestions for future research.

RESUME

Le négociation des risques, des récompenses et du contrôle parmi les utilisateurs de l'Ecstasy: une analyse qualitative des méthodes de gestion drogue parmi les jeunes adultes urbains qui utilisent l'Ecstasy.

Cet article est base sure des entrevues qualitatives menées depuis 2008–2009 avec 118 utilisateurs d'Ecstasy diversifies de la grande région de Hartford, CT. Participants étaient urbaines, principalement noir et Hispaniques âgé de 18 a 36 ans, et avait limite enseignement supérieur par rapport a des échantillons dans d'autres signale recherche d'Ecstasy. Entrevues axées sure les antécédents personnels, histoire de la consommation de drogue Ecstasy et les autres événements récente sexuelles impliquant l'Ecstasy. Le document examine: négociation des participants des risques perçus et les avantages d'Ecstasy utilisation, stratégies comportementales employées pour minimiser les risques et les rapports d'analyse de risque/bénéfices, et d'autres facteurs au sens de participants de contrôle sur leur Ecstasy. L'article conclut avec les recommandations pour les approches d'intervention adaptes qui tient compte des perceptions du contrôle et des suggestions pour les recherches futures.

RESUMEN

Negociando el riesgo, la recompensa y el control de Éctasis: un análisis cualitativo de patrones de manejo de drogas en adultos jovenes urbanos usuarios de Éctasis.

Este artículo está basado en entrevistas cualitativas detalladas hechas en 2008 y 2009 con 118 utilizadores de Éctasis de etnicidad diversa del área de Hartford, CT. Los participantes eran residentes de áreas urbanas, principalmente afroamericanos e hispanos, entre las edades de 18 a 38 años y con educación superior limitada comparada con muestras de estudios de Éctasis anteriores. Las entrevistas se enfocaron en trasfondo personal, historia de uso de Éctasis y otras drogas y eventos sexuales recientes. En este artículo examinamos: la negociación de los participantes sobre los riesgos y beneficios percibidos ante el uso de Éctasis, estrategias de comportamiento utilizadas para minimizar riesgos, y la relación del análisis de riesgo/beneficio, motivación de uso, frecuencia de uso y el uso de múltiples drogas utilizadas para la sensación de control del participante sobre el uso de Éctasis. Concluimos con recomendaciones para técnicas de intervención y sugerencias para investigaciones futuras.

Keywords :

• Ecstasy
• young adult
• risk
• benefit
• use management
• perceived control
• addiction
• intervention
• urban
• polydrug use

THE AUTHORS

Elyse Ona Singer, pursuing Ph.D., is a Graduate Student (pursuing Ph.D.) in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research interests include health disparities and health equity, especially in the areas of reproductive, and maternal and child health. She has conducted research on the experience of pregnancy within the political climate of anti-abortion sentiment through Bard College. Also, she has worked as a research assistant at the ICR, Hartford, CT, where she conducted research on Ecstasy use among inner-city young adults and worked on a participatory action research project on teen binge drinking. Currently, she is the field director of an evaluation of a collaborative initiative among community-based organizations in Hartford. Further, she is conducting community interviews on health behaviors and calorie awareness among fast-food consumers in Hartford through a project of the Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, Boston, MA.

Jean J. Schensul, Ph.D., an Anthropologist, is the Founding Director (1987–2004) and full-time senior scientist at the ICR, Hartford, CT, USA. She has received a number of NIH (National Institutes of Health) and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) grants for epidemiologic, qualitative, and intervention research focused on substance use and adolescence. Her basic research explores pathways to substance use and sexual risk among urban and periurban youth and young adults, with a special focus on club drugs. Her prevention research has utilized participatory action research and edutainment as approaches to prevent or reduce drug use in adolescents using multilevel intervention models and interactive mixed-methods evaluation designs. Dr. Schensul is currently conducting alcohol and tobacco research in India and research on oral health in Hartford. She is the lead editor of the Ethnographer's Toolkit, a seven-volume publication on ethnographic methods, now in its second edition. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and 10 books. In addition to her full-time appointment at ICR, she holds a clinical appointment at the University of Connecticut and is a Yale University-affiliated scholar.

Notes

2 In a study of risk perception among different ethnic groups in America by Finucane, Slovic, Mertz, Flynn, and Satterfield (2000), it was found that whites were less concerned about a series of selected risks (having to do with technology) than nonwhites. In the present study, white men were the least concerned with all of the risks and nonwhite women showed the highest level of concern.

3 An emic analysis focuses on behaviors as they are understood by the actor, also known as an insider perspective.

4 An etic description or analysis is one imposed by an outside observer or analyst rather than one that comes from an insider perspective.

5 One participant out of 118 was an outlier and was not assigned a type because she took Ecstasy one time in a suicide attempt, thinking, based on what she had heard about the drug, that it was lethal. Two additional participants were not typed because there was not sufficient information in their in-depth interviews to determine how in control they felt over their Ecstasy use.