Lecture 4: : Sociological theories: Durkheim, Merton, anomie and alcohol/drug use Core themes: Social facts Anomie Social network

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1 DRUGS & SOCIETY University of Haifa Sharon R. Sznitman, Ph.D א Wednesdays: Course description: An important social problem facing our society today is that of drug use/abuse. This problem cuts across all cultures, as well as across social class, gender, and ethnic groups. It affects the economy of the country as a whole and the well-being of individuals, families and the communities in which they live. In order to understand this problem better, this course attempts to place "drugs" in a sociological perspective and through using the sociological imagination. This means that we will discuss the multidimensionality of substance use which includes the pharmacological dimension, psychological dimension, and the social dimension of drugs. We will study both legal (tobacco and alcohol) drugs and illegal drugs (Amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, etc). The objectives of this course are for the students to: 1. Develop an understanding of the social factors that influence substance use. 2. Develop an understanding of how the effects of drugs depend not only on the chemical consistencies of the substance, but also psychological and social factors. 3. Gain insight into the reasons why people abuse drugs. 4. Understand the relevant theories, terms & definitions within the field. 5. Provide students with the tools to be creative and critical in analysis of readings on substance use Structure of the course: The course is structured around lectures, student presentations, group discussions and exams. There are also required readings for each lecture. The first part of the course will be lectures/videos and discussions of all the required texts. This will be followed by student s presentations in the latter part of the course. Course evaluation: 1 multiple choice test, counting 60% of your grade Participation in class discussion, in class exercises, counting 10% of your grade Final group project, counting 30% of your grade

2 LECTURE SCHEDULE Lecture 1: : Introduction to the sociology of drug use Structure of the course Your course work: Exam Class participation Student presentation How to do a good presentation What is sociology and how is it connected to substance use? Lecture 2: : sociological definition of drugs Objective definition of drugs Sociological definition of drugs FILM: Medical cannabis in Israel 1. Goode, E., (2012), Drugs in American Society, 8 th Edition, McGraw Hill: New York, Chapter 1 and chapter 2 2. Mandelbaum, D.G. (1965). Alcohol and culture. Current Anthropology Lecture 3: : Biological and psychological theories of substance use: Genetic dispositions to drug use/abuse/addiction Abnormal brain structure and drugs Reinforcement Personalities FILM: Student paper presentation 1. Goode, E., (2012), Drugs in American Society, 8 th Edition, McGraw Hill: New York, pp: and Ersche, Karen D. et al. (2012). Abnormal Brain Structure Implicated in Stimulant Drug Addiction. Science 335(6068):

3 3. Jessor, Richard, James A. Chase, and John E. Donovan. (1980). Psychosocial Correlates of Marijuana Use and Problem Drinking in a National Sample of Adolescents. American Journal of Public Health 70(6): Lecture 4: : Sociological theories: Durkheim, Merton, anomie and alcohol/drug use Social facts Anomie Social network 1. Ole-Jørgen Skog (1991), Alcohol and Suicide - Durkheim Revisited, Acta Sociologica, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp Ritzer, George, Emile Durkheim (1996) (pp: [social facts] and p: 84 [anomie]) in Sociological Theory, fourth edition, New York, McGraw-Hill,. 3. Neumark YD, Rahav G, Jaffe DH. (2003) Socio-economic status and binge drinking in Israel. Drug Alcohol Depend. Jan 24;69(1): Goode, E., (2012), Drugs in American Society, 8 th Edition, McGraw Hill: New York, pp: Merton, R., (1938) Social Structure and Anomie, American Sociological Review, Vol. 3, No. 5, pp Fazey, C. (1973) 'Merton, retreatism and drug addiction: The testing of a theory'. The Sociological Review 21 (3) Dull, R. Thomas, (1983), An Empirical Examination of the Anomie Theory of Drug Use, Journal of Drug Education, 13(1), pp: Lecture : Sociological theories: Goffman, stigma and drug use Symbolic interactionism Stigma Labelling theory 1. Williams, S., (1987) Goffman, interactionism, and the management of stigma in everyday life, in Scambler G (ed), Sociological Theory and Medical Sociology, Tavisock Publications: London, pp Ahern, J., Stuber, J. and Galea, S. (2007). Stigma, discrimination and the health of illicit drug users. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 88 (2 3), Corrigan, Patrick W, Amy C Watson, and Frederick E Miller. (2006). Blame, shame, and contamination: the impact of mental illness and drug dependence stigma on family members. Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43) 20(2): Simmonds, Lesley, and Ross Coomber. (2009). Injecting drug users: A stigmatised and stigmatising population. International Journal of Drug Policy 20(2):

4 Lecture 6: Sociological theories: normalization of substance use Stigma and normalization Pride and normalization 1. Parker H, L. Williams, Aldridge J. (2002) The normalization of 'sensible' recreational drug use: further evidence from the North West England longitudinal study. Sociology,36: Duff, Cameron. (2005). Party drugs and party people : examining the normalization of recreational drug use in Melbourne, Australia. International Journal of Drug Policy 16(3): Shiner, Michael, and Tim Newburn. (1997). Definitely, Maybe Not? The Normalization of Recreational Drug Use Amongst Young People. Sociology The Journal Of The British Sociological Association 31(3): Lecture Sociological theories: social control and school climate/school bonding, social learning and subcultural theory Social bonds (attachment, commitment, involvement, belief) Readings 1. Goode, E., (2012), Drugs in American Society, 8 th Edition, McGraw Hill: New York, pp: Henry, L. H., & Slater, M. D. (2007). The contextual effect of school attachment on young adolescents' alcohol use. J School Health, 77(2), Marcos, Anastaios C., and Stephen J. Bahr. (1988). Control Theory and Adolescent Drug Use. Youth and Society 19(4): Henry, Kimberly L., Eugene R. Oetting, and Michael D. Slater. (2009). The role of attachment to family, school, and peers in adolescents use of alcohol: A longitudinal study of within-person and between-persons effects. Journal of Counseling Psychology 56(4): Lecture 8: Sociological theories: social learning and subcultural theory Group versus significant other influences Learnt behavior Modeling In class exercise Readings: 1. Goode, E., (2012), Drugs in American Society, 8 th Edition, McGraw Hill: New York, pp Akers, R. L. Krohn, M. D., Lanza-Kaduce, L., Radosevich, M., (1979) Social Learning and Deviant

5 Behavior: A Specific Test of a General Theory, American Sociological Review, Vol. 44, No. 4. (Aug.), pp Becker, H.S., (1953) Becoming a Marihuana User, American Journal of Sociology, LIX, pp Akers, Ronald L., and John K. Cochran. (1985). Adolescent marijuana use: A test of three theories of deviant behavior. Deviant Behavior 6(4): By : send a copy of the article you have chosen to present on and the name of all students in the group. Lecture 9: : drug dependence, addiction and abuse Social constructivism The history of drug addiction and dependence Dependence/reinforcement model FILM: The 20 most dangerous drugs 1. Goode, E., (2012), Drugs in American Society, 8 th Edition, McGraw Hill:New York, Chapter 1 and chapter 2 2. Robins L.N., J.E. Helzer and D.H. Davis, (1975) Narcotic use in Southeast Asia and afterwards, Arch Gen Psychiatry, 32: Robins L.N., Helzer, M., Hessselbrock and E. Wish, (1980) Vietnam veterans three years after Vietnam: how our study changed our view of heroin, in the Yearbook of Substance Use and Abuse, edited by L. Brill and C. Winick, New York: Human Science Press,, pp Ben-Yehuda, N., (1994) The sociology of moral panics: toward a new synthesis, in Coomber (ed.) Drugs and Drug Use in Society, a Critical Reader, Greenwich University Press, pp: Nutt D, King LA, Saulsbury W, Blakemore C. (2007) Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse. Lancet. Mar 24;369(9566): Review. PubMed PMID: Lecture 10: Public health measures to reduce the harm of drugs: the case of tobacco and the war on drugs Lecture 11: No lecture, Christmas Lecture 12:

6 Student presentation and student evaluation of projects Lecture 13: Student presentation and student evaluation of projects Lecture 14: Course summary