The Other Side of the Story: Knowledge Transfer and Advice-Giving in a Drug Subculture

ABSTRACT

Widely used as a framework for understanding drug use initiation, social learning theory has lacked considerations of peer effects from the standpoint of the experienced user and applications to hard drugs. This study aims to extend social learning theory by examining the advice an experienced drug user would give a younger friend or relative expressing desire to experiment with club drugs. Forty qualitative interviews with club drugs users were analyzed. The experienced user’s own initiation, previous experiences, and risk perceptions are important in how advice is constructed. We discovered variations in advice-giving for friends and family members that may be based on considerations of age appropriateness.

Acknowledgments

The authors recognize the contributions of research staff for the Club Drug and Health Project, notably Michael Adams, Anthony Bamonte, David Bimbi, Lorelei Bonet, Justin Brown, Christian Grov, Juline Koken, Jose E. Nanin, Julia Tomassilli, and Brooke Wells.

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse [R01DA014925, Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Parsons]. The views expressed in this article do not expressly reflect the views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or any U.S. governmental agency.

Notes

¹ Ranging from 1 to 6, the average number of club drugs consumed by members of the sample was 3.57.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse [R01DA014925, Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Parsons]. The views expressed in this article do not expressly reflect the views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or any U.S. governmental agency.

Notes on contributors

Alexandra C. Marin

ALEXANDRA C. MARIN, M.S., is a Ph.D. Student in Sociology at Purdue University. Her research interests lie in the areas of criminology and health, with a focus on substance use and mental health among young people and the role of social relationships. Her current research focuses on the impact of early childhood maltreatment on adolescent substance use.

Brian C. Kelly

BRIAN C. KELLY, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Purdue University. His research has focused on the influence of social contexts on health, including the roles of subcultural participation, social networks, neighborhoods, and policy contexts. He has primarily applied this focus on contexts to the study of substance use, sexual health, and HIV/AIDS risk.

Jeffrey T. Parsons

JEFFREY T. PARSONS, Ph.D., is CUNY Distinguished Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST) at Hunter College/City University of New York. Dr. Parsons’ research focuses on HIV prevention, HIV medication adherence, sexual behavior, substance use/abuse, and GLBTQ issues. Much of this work focuses on formative research studies and then intervention development and testing, in order to assess the efficacy of new programs designed to promote behavior change.