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Exploring the Meanings and Contexts of Substance Use amongst Homeless Youth in Scotland. Jennifer Hoolachan, PhD Candidate. Three Dimensions…. Diverse Portrayals. Youth literature focuses on recreational substance use Homeless literature focuses on problematic substance use - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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EXPLORING THE MEANINGS AND CONTEXTS OF
SUBSTANCE USE AMONGST HOMELESS YOUTH IN
SCOTLAND
Jennifer Hoolachan, PhD Candidate
THREE DIMENSIONS…
DIVERSE PORTRAYALS Youth literature focuses on recreational
substance use
Homeless literature focuses on problematic substance use
What about substance users who are both young and homeless? Recreational or problematic?
SUBSTANCE USE SPECTRUM
Source: A Public Health Approach to Drug Control in Canada Health Officers Council of British Columbia, October 2005
RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are homeless people’s
perspectives as to why they consume drugs and/or alcohol?
What role does substance use have in their lives?
How does their homelessness interact with their substance use?
How does the physical and social contexts of their lives influence their substance use?
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Symbolic Interactionism
George Herbert Mead (1863 – 1931)Herbert George Blumer (1900 – 1987)
Blumer: SI rests on the following premises:1. Human beings act toward things on the basis of
the meanings that the things have for them2. The meaning of such things is derived from, or
arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one’s fellows
3. These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he encounters
ETHNOGRAPHY Immersion in a social context for an
extended period of time
Participant-observationField notesResearch diary
Ethnographic interviewingLife history interviewing
MY STUDY Eight months in a service that provides
temporary accommodation for young people aged 16 – 25 years
Aim is to recruit a group of 10 – 15 young people and 4 – 6 staff members
Snowball sampling
ETHICS
Disclosure of illegal activities“imminent and significant harm to the
participant or another individual”
Maintaining confidentiality
Handling requests from participants
Leaving the field
RISKS TO RESEARCHER Legal risks
Picked up by policeExpected to “snitch”
Health risksBlood borne virusesStress
Personal risksRisk of being attacked
NATIONAL DRUG RELATED DEATHS DATABASE Collects the following data in relation to
individuals who have died in Scotland in a given calendar year from a drug related death (i.e. overdose): Demographics (gender, age, race etc.) Living arrangements Previous incidents of non-fatal overdose Medical and psychiatric history Contact with treatment services Involvement in criminal justice system Toxicology Substitute prescribing (e.g. methadone)
WHAT DID I LEARN? A lot about drug related deaths! The availability of various sources of
literature How to write a Government/ISD report How teams within the Government and
NHS are structured and the corresponding politics
How to handle myself at meetings with stakeholders and present ‘need-to-know’ information
That people really do look to you as being the expert in a given area
WORKING AT THE SGPros
Fast-stream Work in all areas
of policy Up-to-date on
‘hot’ policy areas Lots of
networking
Cons
No guarantee you will work in a policy area related to your research interest
No primary research
Politics!
