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Illegal Drug Use Among Older Adults

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Illegal Drug Use Among Older Adults Illegal Drug Use among Older Adults Jaime Waters School of Law U Diversity of Sheffield Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. July 2009 Summary of Thesis Illegal drug use IS a much discussed, publicised and researched area of criminology. However, there has been little interest in its mature users. It is this subsection of illegal drug users that is investigated in this research. As the first generation of widespread and popular drug users is reaching late-middle age, this is becoming a fast growing and fascinating area of study. As the size of this drug using subsection is set to grow in coming years, the lack of existing research in this area is becoming more and more apparent. Existing research related to the area of drug use among older adults tends to be out-of­ date, predominantly American based, and looks largely at alcohol use, prescription misuse, and over-the-counter abuse. Equally, there is a lack of community based research in this area, which relies heavily on samples taken from the criminal justice system and treatment centres. This research aims to address these deficiencies. To create therefore as complete a picture of this little investigated social phenomenon as possible both quantitative and qualitative research techniques are incorporated into the research. Quantitatively, secondary data analysis is used to explore the British Crime Survey. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate techniques are used to analyse the data set, including hypothesis testing and logistics regression. For the qualitative component, the research uses snowball sampling to conduct face­ to-face in-depth interviews with adults over the age of 40 involved in recent illegal drug use living in the community. Overall, this research shows that older recent illegal drug users exists, it produces a profile of older recent drug users, including demographic and criminological characteristics, and illustrates the drug using careers of older drug users, showing how they incorporate drug use into their lives. Ultimately, it provides evidence that contradicts the notion that illegal drug use is an activity reserved exclusively for the young and shows that drug use does not exclude having a long, happy and productive life. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my first and foremost my supervisor, Jason Ditton, for supporting me throughout this process, because without him, I never would have had the chance to do this research. I would also like to thank my family, without whose support (emotional, monetary and otherwise) it would have been impossible for me to undertake a project of this enormity. For my sanity and my social life (as well as stimulating and engaging academic conversation and debate), I would like to thank everyone from the dungeon (especially Hall, Saul, Banks, & Jane). Finally, I would like to thank anyone and everyone that has had to put up with me throughout the PhD process; this success would not have been possible without you. Most importantly, I would like to say a final heartfelt thank you to my luving husband and comrade, to whom lowe everything. 3 Contents Introduction ........................................................................ 06 1 Background Information .................................................... 10 1.1 Terminological Clarification 10 1.2 Reasons Behind Research 11 1.2.1 Hidden Population 11 1.2.2 Lack of Relevant Existing Research 11 1.2.3 Community Sampling 12 1.2.4 Increasing Numbers 12 1.2.5 Conclusion 13 1.3 Drug Use in Britain: Socio-Historical and Theoretical Context 13 1.3. 1 Soci 0-Historical and Cultural Context 14 1.3 .2 Theoretical Context 16 1.3.3 Conclusion 23 2 Literature Review ............................................................. 24 2.1 Researching Illegal Drug Users 24 2.1.1 Drug Terminology 25 2.1.2 Age Terminology 27 2.1.3 Searching for Relevant Literature 28 2.2 Age and Drugs 28 2.2.1 Problems with Studying Older Adults 29 2.2.2 Maturation Hypothesis 31 2.2.3 Review of Specific Research 33 2.3 Demographics and Drugs 42 2.3.1 Gender 42 2.3.2 Ethnicity 43 2.3.3 Marital Status 44 2.3.4 Children 45 2.3.5 Education 45 2.3.6 Employment Status and Occupation 46 2.3.7 Drugs of Choice 48 2.3.8 Context of Consumption 49 2.3.9 Class 50 2.4 Contemporary Concepts 51 2.4.1 Non-Problematic Drug Use 51 2.4.2. Normalisation 58 2.4.3 Attitudes Towards Drugs 63 2.5 Conclusion 64 3 Methodology .................................................................... 66 3.1 Quantitative Methodology 66 3.1.1 BCS and Data set 67 3.1.2 Variables 69 3.1.3 Statistical Tests 76 3.2 Qualitative Methodology 86 ·3.2.1 The Plan 86 3.2.2 The Reality 94 3.2.3 The Solution 97 3.3 Ethic Considerations 97 4 3.3.1 General Ethical Issues 97 3.3.2 Informed consent 98 3.3.3 Confidentiality and Anonymity 99 3.4 Summary 100 4 Results....................................................................... .... 102 4.1 Quantitative 103 4.1.1 Demographic characteristics 103 4.1.2 Hypothesis testing 105 4.1.3 Logistic Regression 115 4.1.4 Conclusion 119 4.2 Qualitative 119 4.2.1 Demographics 120 4.2.2. The Interviewees 121 4.2.3 Interview themes 134 4.2.4 Conclusion 150 5 Discussion ....................................................................... 153 5.1 Summary and Discussion of Findings 153 5.1.1 Summary and Discussion of Quantitative Findings 154 5.1.2 Summary and Discussion of Qualitative Findings 156 5.1.3 Comparison between Qualitative & Quantitative Findings 159 5.1.4 Discussion in Reference to the Literature 160 5.2 Theory 175 5.2.1 Subcultural Theory, Late Modernity and the Illegal Drug Use of Older Adults 176 5.2.2 Anomie Theory, Late Modernity and the Illegal Drug Use of Older Adults 185 5.2.3 Summary 189 5.3 The Way Forward - Future Research and Policy 189 5.3.1 Future Research 190 5.3.2 Policy 193 5.4 Conclusion 200 6 Conclusion ...................................................................... 202 References ........................................................................... 208 Appendix 1: British Crime Survey .......................................................... 228 Appendix 2: Interview Schedule .................................................. 228 Appendix 3: Results: Demographic Characteristics ••••••••.•..••••••...•.••.. 237 Appendix 4: Results: Hypothesis Testing •.••.••.•••••.••.•••.•••••••••••••..••. 241 Appendix 5: Results: Logistic Regression ...................................... 247 5 Introduction Illegal drug use, whether it seen as a good or an evil, captivates the minds of both academics and the general population. There is a high level of general interest and a wealth of research on the subject. However, the focus of attention is, to an extremely large extent, on the drug of use of the young. This research aims to contradict the widely held notion that illegal drug use is an activity reserved entirely for the young by identifying older illegal drug users. Following this, the aim is to begin to create a fuller picture of this little researched group and to develop a nascent understanding of them. The drug users that will be studied are older adults using illegal drugs who are not in contact with the criminal justice system or the many charities and groups that deal with illegal drug users. Instead, the people that form the focus of this study are 'ordinary' members of the community who happen to use illegal drugs as a routine part of their lives. This focus has been chosen for a number of reasons. Most importantly, the research aims to contradict the commonly held notion that drug use is inherently problematic; older people have enjoyed lengthy drug careers whilst simultaneously living conventional lives and holding down jobs and relationships. This is a fact commonly neglected by much popular discourse and academic research on drugs. More practically, by studying older users whose drug use has not been criminalised, a picture of the changing consumption patterns and attitudes of drug users over the life course can begin to emerge. In sum, this research is important for a number of reasons: It identifies a little acknowledged and little understood group in society; it begins to outline some of the key characteristics of this group of 'others'; it demonstrates how, in some instances, drug use may not be problematic or an obstacle to living a largely conventional life; and it sketches the changes in consumption patterns and attitudes that can occur over a drug user's lifetime. Ultimately, by creating a 6 more comprehensive picture of drug use and users, it IS hoped that the development of more informed public policy will be aided. There are five chapters in the study. 1 Chapter one provides the background to the study, and is divided into three sections. The first section clarifies the terminology used, explains what is meant by the terminology used in the research, including what is meant by 'illegal' drugs and 'older' adult. The second section goes into more detail about the need for this type of research, suggesting a fourfold rationale for the research. Section three outlines the socio-historical and theoretical context of the research. The suggestion is that this is an ideal time, in terms of social, cultural, historical, and theoretical context, to be conducting research of this nature. Chapter two reviews the existing research in this area. As suggested above, there is a dearth of research addressing the illegal drug use of older adults. What there is tends to be bolted onto research focussing on alcohol, smoking or prescription misuse, and as such, it lacks in rigour and detail. The first section of chapter two outlines these concerns, whilst the second section assesses those few pieces of research that do specifically take older illegal drug users as their focus of study. The third section of chapter two offers an overview of what other, more general literature tells us about adult drug use in terms of commonly used demographic variables.
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