Normalization of polydrug use amongst traveling youth


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

4172.0: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - Board 7

Abstract #117302

Susan Hathazi, BS¹, Stephen E. Lankenau, PhD², Bill Sanders, PhD¹, and Jennifer Jackson Bloom, MPH¹. (1) Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, 6430 Sunset Blvd., Suite 1500, Los Angeles, CA 90028, 323-660-2450, dhathazi@chla.usc.edu, (2) Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC), 6430 Sunset Blvd., Suite 1500, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Many homeless, traveling youth frequently report polydrug use. Traveling youth are characterized by a lack of a permanent housing, a history of ‘squatting' or ‘crashing' temporarily with friends, and a tendency to change geographical location with more frequency than other homeless populations. Polydrug use, defined as using multiple drugs in a single day, is an important health concern related to a variety of negative health outcomes including overdose and transmission of bloodbourne pathogens. Using ethnographic data from a study of young injection drug users (IDUs) (16-28 years old) recruited in Los Angeles (n=50), this presentation will examine repertoires of polydrug use amongst traveling youth. In particular, this presentation argues that polydrug use was normalized amongst this population. Characteristics that suggest the normalization of polydrug use amongst these youth include: the high number of polydrug users within the sample; the reported availability of a variety of drugs daily; the acceptability of polydrug use within this society; and the supportive cultural references to polydrug use. The normalized character of polydrug use amongst traveling youth suggests an increased risk of negative health outcomes within this population.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

1)describe a range of polydrug repertoires characteristic of traveling youth; 2)comprehend the concept of normalized drug use; 3)understand how this normalization theory applies to traveling youth regarding their polydrug use

Keywords: Drug Abuse, Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Trends, Patterns, and Correlates of Adolescent Substance Use Poster Session

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA