The purpose of this study is
to extend the research on contextual factors that influence the initiation and
continued use of methamphetamine (meth) by women on the U.S.-Mexico border.
At
present, a minimal body of literature exists that explores meth use on the
Mexico-U.S. border. A purposeful sample of 20 women who were active meth users
aged ≥18 years was recruited by trained outreach workers from a variety of
meth-user networks in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, the city bordering El Paso, Texas.
Respondents participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews including
questions on users’ perceived familial, social, and environmental influences of
meth use.
Gender-based themes emerged from the analysis:
- patterns of meth use;
- places where drugs were used;
- effects of relationship networks on meth use;
- differential access to drugs;
- trading sex for drugs;
- perceived class differences; and
- long-term drug use and its consequences.
They described how the drug changed their
lifestyle and their behavior towards family members and friends, including
instances of physical and psychological violence. Interventions for women on
the Mexico-U.S. border should be developed based on users’ social networks to
target social processes to prevent initiation and to bring active meth users
into treatment.
Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/3HQjNt
By: Oralia Lozaa*, Rebeca Ramosb, João Ferreira-Pintoa, Maria Teresa Hernandezc & Susana A. Villalobosd
- a College of Health Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX
- b Alliance of Border Collaboratives (ABC), El Paso, TX
- c School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA
- d Department of Emergency Medicine, Texas Tech Health Sciences of El Paso, Paul Foster School of Medicine, El Paso, TX
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