“You can die with me but I won’t let you live with me”: Exploring social influences on the continuation of heroin use in men who use heroin

Houghton, Ben, Notley, Caitlin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0876-3304, Kouimtsidis, Christos, Duka, Theodora, Paloyelis, Yanis and Bailey, Alexis (2024) “You can die with me but I won’t let you live with me”: Exploring social influences on the continuation of heroin use in men who use heroin. Substance Use: Research and Treatment. ISSN 2976-8357 (In Press)

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Abstract

Background: Heroin is a substance with a unique social profile in that it is commonly used by individuals alone but there is a paucity of qualitative research exploring how social influences impact the continuation of heroin use, particularly when people are trying to stop using heroin. This study explored social determinants which influence the continuation of heroin use in males in UK community treatment who use illicit heroin alongside opioid replacement therapy. Design: Participants were self-selecting from an initial purposively recruited sample. Using Janis (1972) eight symptoms of Groupthink as an a priori framework for analysis, the study method utilised qualitative interviews with fourteen males. The discussions were digitally-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Findings: Contrasting with the evidence base, the sample included people who transitioned from recreational drug use to dependent heroin use without experiencing trauma of any kind. Far from becoming socially isolated when actively using heroin, interviews identified a shift in social networks from networks built on shared moments to networks underpinned by transactional exchange. Components of Groupthink were identified when participants described belonging to heroin using networks and continued to use heroin whilst trying to abstain though individual accountability was central to the decision to continue to use heroin. Conclusions: The conflict between the individual goal of abstinence and the group goal of continuation suggests that social network interventions could be more successful if delivered to cohorts of people who buy heroin together.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	22 Aug 2024 10:30
Last Modified:	30 Aug 2024 12:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/96313
DOI:

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