| Thirty-two African-American women from two inner city neighborhoods of greater Miami, Fla. were interviewed. All of these women were known users of street drugs, recruited from an ongoing study population from the Drug Assessment Center, School of Medicine, University of Miami. This qualitative study investigated the function of drug use in the lives of these women. The underlying purpose of this question was to gain an emic viewpoint of the life situation of these women and events which influenced changes in drug using behaviors. Eleven women were users of intravenous heroin and/or cocaine primarily. The remainder primarily smoked crack cocaine. In many cases informants were multiple substance users. Grounded theory methodology revealed several themes and the core category, "Managing Loss," was identified.;Loss encompassed the separation of someone or something from the lives of participants and many suffered more than one loss. Types of loss included death of a child, death of a parent, sibling or significant other, the loss of a parent or significant other through desertion or the process of having a child seized by the authorities. Rejection by a parent, child, peers, or other loved ones is also categorized as loss in that participants perceived rejection as a loss. Rejection was very frequently accompanied by emotion, physical and/or sexual abuse. A loss of hope, decreased self-esteem, and a sense of powerlessness preceded onset of heavy drug use. These expressed feelings, as well as guilt, were reported as a consequence of heavy drug use. These women reported few sources of emotional support outside the drug using culture, which they described as exciting, as a relief from boredom, and an escape from reality. Many participants described themselves as angry, rebellious and having a need to be in control, to be on their own; yet they experienced a need to belong, to be cared for, to be accepted. |
