Substance Use and Drug Distribution at the Individual Level: A Grounded Theory Approach

<p>Substance use regularly occurs among individuals that distribute drugs and there is a limited amount of research that has examined both use and distribution. A grounded theory approach was used to develop a framework for analyzing relationships between use and distribution behaviors. 15 participants (five female, 10 male) that had experience selling drugs and using drugs were recruited from a residential substance abuse treatment center. Each participant was interviewed for one hour with an interview protocol aligning with the stage of analysis. A model was developed to explain Involvement and Integration in a Drug World with the codes Substance Use, Lifestyle, Distribution, Decision-Making, and Social Relations. Themes identified include Multifaceted Integration, Failure by Use, Separation from Convention, Strategic Use, Degraded Character, and Accumulation of Non-support. Results inform the treatment of addiction, criminal and delinquent drug-related behaviors, and demonstrate potential for researching the co-occurrence of distribution and use in the field of psychology.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Stanforth, Evan Thomas

Contributors dc:contributor

• Patton O. Garriott, Ph.D.
• Nicholas Cutforth
• Cynthia McRae
• Kimberly Bender

• Addiction
• Distribution
• Drug dealing
• Drug world
• Substance use
• Counseling
• Substance Abuse and Addiction

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/625

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1624