This paper is based on life history research with six young African-American males in Chicago who violently acquired a disability: all the men were shot and as a result became disabled with a spinal-cord injury. The paper examines substance abuse in these men and responds to the question as to whether the acquisition of disability resulted in changed substance use behavior. In particular, the paper examines how substance abuse figures in the narratives that individuals develop about the transformative or confirmatory role of acquired disability in their lives. The results of the analysis show that disability as a metaphor does not work in a unilinear way but that instead a disability narrative can be molded to reject earlier life-styles or to confirm these life-styles, including substance behavior.
Learning Objectives: The learning objectives of my presentation are twofold. Members of theaudience will: 1) recognize that the impact of violently acquired disability on substance abuse is not unilinear but can be understood in the context of a disability narrative 2) recognize that the metaphoric use of disability in a narrative plays a significant confirmatory or transformative role on life style, including substance abuse
Keywords: Disability, Substance Abuse
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: I may use some fragments from a video program entitled "The Disabling Bullet" which was produced at the University of Illinois at Chicago
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.