Drug use and eating disorders: Young women's instrumental use of drugs for weight management

This dissertation reports a qualitative study of young college women who used controlled substances, both legal and illegal, in order to manage their body weight. To date, no such studies, which examine the use of drugs as an instrument for weight control, exist. The research is guided by deviance and feminist theories, and was specifically designed to address women's personal understandings, explanations, and experiences concerning substance use and management of the body. The qualitative methods used for data collection provided prolific narratives for the analysis of women's relationships with their culture, bodies, and conventional or non-normative means of self-representation.;The use of various forms of controlled substances appeared salient and meaningful for many women in their pursuits to achieve (and even exceed) social expectations for appearance, beauty, and the body. The majority of women in this research preferred pharmaceutical stimulants, while a minority used illicit substances. Overall, the data suggests that drug use was a powerful tool for the management of body weight and in turn, representing the self. In addition, although women potentially faced deviant labels, stigma, or clinical diagnoses, the nature of their lines of action was insulating against potentially negative social consequences. Generally speaking, women hailed drugs for their instrumental utility, and shunned popular conceptions of their behaviors as pathological.