Drug Abuse and Identity: Linking Micro and Macro Factors

Abstract

The quest to link micro and macro phenomena in symbolic interactionism has gained considerable attention over the years. The present study builds on this endeavor by linking micro and macro phenomena in the transformation of identities accompanying the movement into drug addiction. A qualitative approach is employed, featuring in depth interviewing with a purposive sample (N= 30) of currently abstinent drug addicts from the 12‐Step programs of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.) in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. Findings indicate that identity change is a product of both micro (”ego identity discomfort,”“status passages,”“and a loss of control in defining one's identity”) and macro phenomena (“social appraisal sources” and a “social climate conducive to drug use”) and, thus, offers empirical support to symbolic interactionsm's ability to deal with the macro as well as the micro. Findings also uncover insights into the etiology of drug addiction and pinpoint new directions for combatting substance abuse.

the stigmatized image of the ''crack head'': a sociocultural exploration of a barrier to cocaine smoking among a cohort of youth in New York City

“…Nevertheless, sensat ional account s of crack abuse in the mass media helped implant a stigmatized image of crack cocaine in the psyche of countless people, including youth in New York City. Although 5 The transformat ion of one's identity into a drug addict has been taken up by Anderson (1994). She posited macro and micro factors in an e ort to describe the movement of individuals into drug addiction.…”

Toward a preliminary macro theory of drug addiction

“…The macro-level factors mentioned above (i.e., economic decline of the working class, family disruption, societal violence, and decreased educational opportunity) most affected the lower class racial and ethnic minority youth during the 1980s. Their attempts to resolve such cultural contradictions and improve their social and material class position may have influenced the creation of various subcultures, including drug subcultures, or alternative, deviant identifications (Waldorf et al 1983;Biernacki 1986;Anderson 1993Anderson ,1994. Thus, the micro-level factors that researchers have found to explain lower class drug problems may be logical outcomes of an individual's attempt to resolve the class contradictions facing him or her in society.…”

A Symbolic Interaction Approach to Cigarette Smoking: Smoking Frequency and the Desire to Quit Smoking

“…Symbolic interaction theory as a comprehensive sociological theory recognizes that both social structural and personal factors influence behavior (Anderson 1994). Individuals are influenced in their thoughts and actions by social forces and processes, shared meanings and symbols, and by individual agency and self motives (Mead 1934).…”