Characteristics of Australian adolescent females in residential treatment who report using methamphetamines

Dixson, Georgina; Woolfenden, Susan; Jayasinha, Ranmalie; Rawstorne, Patrick; Palmer, Kieran; Nathan, Sally

doi:10.1111/dar.12641

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our analyses also showed that media reporting largely focused on drug-related crime and the legal consequences for people who use methamphetamine, who were positioned predominantly as criminals, deviants or addicts. Narrow framings of methamphetamine use, which exclude disadvantage and trauma 24,48 and ignore harm reduction and prevention approaches, represent missed opportunities to provide the public with a more detailed and nuanced understanding of the issues and circumstances of people who use methamphetamine. The omission of possible contextual and social factors may limit the possible approaches considered for intervention and may contribute to governments adopting more punitive measures than harm minimisation approaches.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study, there was a paucity of articles that explicitly positioned people using methamphetamine as having agency or that took into consideration any background circumstances that may have helped explain their methamphetamine use. Recent Australian research suggests trauma is strongly associated with methamphetamine use among adolescent females presenting for treatment, 48 yet these types of positionings were mostly absent in media portrayals of people who use methamphetamine. In many of the analysed articles, there was inferred agency on the methamphetamine user, as media coverage depicted individuals as being primarily responsible for their methamphetamine use and any harms consequent to such use.…”

Section: Discussion and Implications For Public Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Australian news media reporting of methamphetamine: an analysis of print media 2014–2016

Rawstorne

O'Connor

Cohn

et al. 2020

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: To examine the representation and framing in Australian print media of methamphetamine and methamphetamine users from 2014 to 2016 when media attention was heightened around the National Ice Taskforce, including the implications of the coverage and framing in limiting public health responses to the problem. Methods: A quantitative media content analysis examined media portrayals of methamphetamine, including crystalline methamphetamine (also referred to by other names including 'crystal' or 'ice'), in 1,364 Australian print media articles published 2014-2016. Results: The largest number of articles about methamphetamine were published in 2015 with a higher proportion of these articles framed as a crisis than in other years. A crisis framing predominated media reporting across all years, with crime and legal consequences a key focus. Users were positioned predominantly as criminals, deviants or addicts. Conclusions: The coverage of methamphetamine in the Australian print media mostly serves to construct methamphetamine use as an urgent social problem, often framed from a legal perspective and associated with violent, dangerous, deviant and aggressive users. Implications for public health: Such reporting and stigmatisation of methamphetamine use can undermine public health policy responses and strategies, including early intervention and treatment and focused efforts directed at those most at risk of harm.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion and Implications For Public Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian news media reporting of methamphetamine: an analysis of print media 2014–2016

Rawstorne

O'Connor

Cohn

et al. 2020

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other items included engagement in study or work, arrests in the previous 3 months, self-harm and suicide attempts in the last 3 months and time spent with family and with friends who do not use drugs. These measures have been described in further detail in a previous publication (Dixson et al, 2018). Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as the deliberate, selfinflicted destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent which is also commonly referred to as self-harm (Zetterqvist, 2015).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Young people are referred to the program from the juvenile justice system, and community (including self, family or case worker) with high levels of trauma, poor mental health, history or arrests and unstable housing (Dixson et al 2018, Nathan, Bethmont, Rawstorne, Ferry & Hayen, 2016. Those admitted meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM IV) criteria for substance abuse or dependence (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).…”

Section: Program Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…International research shows higher levels of trauma, mental illness and suicide among Indigenous peoples removed from family and has been associated with poorer health among those in Canada, New Zealand and Australia (Elias et al, 2012;King, Smith, & Gracey, 2009;Waldram, Herring, & Young, 2006). The loss of connection to cultural life, trauma, racism and social exclusion contribute to poorer health including harmful alcohol and drug consumption (Dixson et al, 2018;Waldram, Herring & Young, 2006). The health status of Indigenous populations worldwide are poorer than non-Indigenous populations with similar alcohol and drug use patterns (Pulver et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Koori voices: self-harm, suicide attempts, arrests and substance use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents following residential treatment

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Complex interacting social, economic and historical factors influence the availability and uptake of alcohol and drugs, including among Indigenous communities. Self-harm and suicide as well as homelessness and incarceration, can both precede and result from drug and alcohol use. Rates of self-harm, suicide and incarceration among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia are among the highest in the world and drug and alcohol treatment programs need to address these underlying complexities. This study examines whether an 'holistic' residential drug and alcohol treatment program for adolescents, with over 30% of clients identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, can improve outcomes post-discharge, including reducing self-harm, suicide attempts, arrests and alcohol and drug use. The program addresses substance use, mental health, employment, accommodation, social/community and family life. Program admission and 3 months' post-discharge data from 2007 to 2016 were analysed. Results: From 2007 to 2016, 619 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people were admitted to the program; 247 stayed in the program for 30 days or more; 89 were successfully followed up three months post-discharge to determine whether there was a significant improvement from baseline using the McNemar's Test and the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. On admission, 18 people (20%) of the study population reported attempting suicide in the last 3 months and 23 people (30%) reported self-harm. Most had been engaged in the criminal justice system, with 67 people (75%) having been to court and 62 people (70%) arrested one or more times in the past 3 months, with 35 people (41%) in unstable housing, reporting having lived in three or more places in the previous 6 months. At 3 months post-treatment, all (n = 18) who reported suicide attempts in the 3 months prior to admission reported no attempts in the prior 3 months at follow-up. There was also a significant reduction in self-harm with 23 young people out of the 27 who reported self-harm at baseline not reporting self-harm at follow up (85%) and in the proportion of adolescents who reported using cannabis, amphetamines and alcohol, as well as a reduction in the proportion who reported being arrested. Conclusions: The findings provide support for an 'holistic' residential treatment program as an approach to improve health and related outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. In addition to a focus on multiple aspects of a young person's life in treatment, culturally relevant modes of treatment and support should be a future focus to further strengthen programs when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are over-represented in the client group.

show abstract

Association between rumination and drug craving in Chinese male methamphetamine use disorder patients with childhood trauma

Wang

Ren

et al. 2023

Child Abuse & Neglect

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Characteristics of Australian adolescent females in residential treatment who report using methamphetamines

Cited by 12 publications

References 36 publications

Australian news media reporting of methamphetamine: an analysis of print media 2014–2016

Australian news media reporting of methamphetamine: an analysis of print media 2014–2016

Koori voices: self-harm, suicide attempts, arrests and substance use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents following residential treatment

Association between rumination and drug craving in Chinese male methamphetamine use disorder patients with childhood trauma

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About