Drugs in American Society Erich Goode

1. Drugs in American SocietyErich Goode How Do We Know It’s True? Methods of Research Prepared by James Roberts University of Scranton

2. Chapter Outline • Social research on Drug Use: An Introduction • “Rates” of Drug Use: An Introduction • Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program • Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)

3. Chapter Outline (cont.) • Monitoring the Future (MTF) • National Survey on Drug Use and Health • Pulse Check

4. Social Research on Drug Use • There are lots of data sources on drug use; each has its own strengths and limitations • Triangulation = examining a phenomenon by using two or more independent data sources • Multiple Confirmation = verifying that a given proposition is true through the use of two or more data sources

5. Lying • Researchers hoping to learn about illicit drug use rely heavily on self report surveys • Research tells us that most respondents tell the approximate truth (to the best of their ability) if they believe they will remain anonymous • In short, picture we get from surveys is roughly accurate – good enough to give us fairly good idea of what’s going on and provide us with enough information to make generalizations and predictions

6. Sampling • Sampling = systematically selecting a subset of a population that looks like or represents that population with respect to important characteristics • The way a sample is drawn is extremely important • Biased sample = a subset of a population that was selected by researchers in such a way that each member of the population did not have an equal chance of appearing in the sample

7. Statistics • Descriptive statistics = numbers or figures that depict the basic characteristics of phenomenon – totals, %s, rates • Inferential statistics = numbers or figures that help uncover the cause-and-effect relationships between two or more variables • Inferential statistics attempt to weed out, control, or hold constant all the other factors that are related to the ones in which we are interested

8. “Rates” of Drug Use • Social scientists want to know who use drugs, why, with what frequency, and with what consequences • 4 main sources of information on drug use/abuse: • ADAM • DAWN • MTF • National Survey on Drug Use and Health • 5th source of information on drug use/abuse is Pulse Check

9. 1. ADAM • Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program (ADAM) = a federally sponsored, ongoing data-collection program that drug tests (urine sample) and interviews a sample of persons arrested in jails located in metropolitan areas; high response rate – no legal consequences of testing positive or admitting use • Established in 1987 by NIJ - originally called Drug Use Forecasting (DUF); name changed to ADAM in 1997

10. 1. ADAM (cont.) • ADAM gets at populations that are inaccessible by means of more conventional research methods, such as surveys; may not live in conventional households • What does ADAM data tell us? • Compared with cross-section of population at large – most of whom are not criminal – arrestees (criminal offenders) are more likely to use psychoactive drugs • Limitations of ADAM?

11. 2. DAWN • Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) = an ongoing, federally sponsored data collection program that tabulates the number of drug-related admissions to emergency departments (ED reports), as reported by metropolitan hospitals and clinics, and the number of drug-related deaths, as reported by metropolitan medical examiners (ME reports) • ED episode = a specific incident reported to the DAWN of an untoward, drug-related experience that results in the user presenting him/herself to metropolitan clinics and hospitals for medical or psychiatric treatment

12. 2. DAWN • ED mention = the mention of a specific drug in a specific incident reported to the DAWN program • ED report = reports issued by DAWN emergency departments on drug episodes • ME episode = a specific incident reported to DAWN of a drug-related death • ME mention = the mention of a specific drug in a specific incident reported to DAWN of a drug-related death

13. 2. DAWN • ME reports = reports issued by medical examiners on the number of drug-related deaths that took place in a given metropolitan area • DAWN reports not standardized; becoming more so in recent years • DAWN tabulates only acute drug reactions; does not tally chronic effects of drugs • 3 drugs appear consistently in both ED and ME figures; DAWN’s Big Three = cocaine, heroin, and alcohol-in-combination

14. 3. MTF • Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey = an ongoing, federally sponsored data collection program that entails administering questionnaires on drug use to high school seniors (since 1975), young adults not in college (since 1977), college students (since 1980), and eighth and tenth graders (since 1980); measures use of and attitudes toward legal/illegal drugs • Conducted by University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research

15. 3. MTF (cont.) • Surveys conducted in classrooms; self-administered questionnaires • For each drug, 4 levels of use surveyed: lifetime prevalence (ever used), annual prevalence (past year), 30-day prevalence (past month), daily use (20 or more days in past month) • MTF data doesn’t include absentees from school and dropouts • MTF samples are huge and reasonably representative of target population

16. 4. NSDUH • National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) = an ongoing, federally sponsored door-to-door or telephone interview and questionnaire study on drug use of a representative sample of the American population ages 12 and older • Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) • Provides national estimates of the rates of use, number of users, and other measures related to the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and other tobacco products

17. 4. NSDUH (cont.) • Like MTF, NSDUH asks about lifetime prevalence, annual prevalence, 30-day prevalence, daily use; divides sample into 3 groups: youths ages 12 to 17, young adults ages 18 to 25, older adults ages 26 and older • Sample large enough to provide reliable estimates of drug use in each state • NSDUH is less useful for subsamples in the population of drug users that are statistically rare

18. Pulse Check • Pulse Check = an ongoing, federally sponsored data collection program that entails informal, impressionistic interviews with urban ethnographers, treatment specialists, epidemiologists, and law enforcement agents to determine matters such as year-to-year changes in drug use, drug potency and purity, distribution patterns, methods of use, and characteristics of users • Telephone interviews conducted twice a year by Office of National Drug Control Policy – cities, their suburbs, and outlying areas

19. Pulse Check (cont.) • Twice a year the Executive Office of the President issues a report entitled Pulse Check: Trends in Drug Abuse • Most of the information in report not in statistical or quantitative form • Pulse Check findings: • Heroin – younger cohort in some cities; switch from injecting to snorting in some cities

20. Pulse Check (cont.) • Pulse Check findings: • Crack – most crack processed locally; most users are young adults (ages 18-30) • Powder cocaine – snorting remains most common route of administration in almost every city • Marijuana – more than for any other drug, marijuana sellers use their own drug

21. Pulse Check (cont.) • Pulse Check findings: • Methamphetamine – sellers more likely to engage in domestic violence than sellers of any other illicit drug • OxyContin – most abusers living in central cities; availability increasing in many cities • Club Drugs – ecstasy use by sellers common; increased availability of ecstasy