Differences in vulnerability Flashcards
What do Krawczyk et al’s (2015) argue in their study on stigma, criminalisation and marginalisation associated with crack use in poor neighbourhoods in
Brazil?
Experiences of adversity AND disadvantage combined with dependent drug use increase the chances of risk behaviours
Which risk factors in childhood have been found to be associated with substance use, homelessness and offending in the UK?
- Difficulties within families
- Time in local authority care
- Poor experience of education
- School exclusions
How do environmental and contextual factors shape substance use risk behaviours at an individual level?
> Homeless people may gravitate towards substance use to dull the psychological AND physical pain associated with street homelessness
> Pregnant and non-pregnant women who drink frequently and in high quantities are often attempting to cope with difficult life circumstances
> Informants describe using crack to block-out the pain of unhappy childhood experiences, interpersonal and state violence
How is homelessness associated to substance use?
> People who have problems with drugs and alcohol are at greater risk of becoming homeless
> Homeless people may gravitate towards substance use to dull the psychological AND physical pain associated with street homelessness
What is the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)?
Range of developmental effects arising from prenatal exposure to alcohol
What is the issue with measure of substance use in communities?
> Substance use is notoriously difficult to measure
> High rates of diagnosis may be related to high levels of public health surveillance on communities
- e.g. high prevalence of FASD in aboriginal communities in Canada
What is the link between the historic racism in the U.S. and current drug policy that disproportionately sanctions African Americans for crack cocaine related offences?
Popular images of African American ‘crack addicts’ misrepresent the characteristics of drug users
- majority being white
- disproportionate sanctions may include incarceration
How may imprisonment make things worse for some people with addiction problems?
Due to the ubiquity of illicit drugs in prisons coupled with a desire to pass sentences as painlessly as possible
What is the link between prisoners and homelessness?
Finding suitable housing for prisoners on their release from prison is often difficult, particularly in large cities
What can make public health campaigns stigmatise women, making them less likely to seek help?
Campaigns that simply tell pregnant women not to drink when pregnant without providing them with support that addresses the reasons they might be drinking
-> providing public health information aimed at changing individual behaviour is necessary BUT insufficient
What is the issue with public health policies in the UK and in Canada?
They tend to focus on the responsibility of the individual for health problems, which might be better considered effects of inequality
What is arguably needed for substance users?
Support is for the family members and networks surrounding substance users with complex needs
Why must treatment for drug and alcohol problems address more than an individual’s physical symptoms of dependence?
Because substance use seems to play a role in coping with disadvantage, social isolation and discrimination
