Explain social disorganization as a rationale for drug abuse

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• One explanation ties drug abuse to poverty, social disorganization, and hopelessness. Drug use by young minority group members has been tied to factors such as racial prejudice, low self-esteem, poor socioeconomic status, and the stress of living in a harsh urban environment.
• The association among drug use, race, and poverty has been linked to the high level of mistrust and defiance found in lower socioeconomic areas.
• Despite the long-documented association between social disorganization and drug use, and even some specific drugs such as methamphetamine, the empirical data on the relationship between class and crime has been inconclusive.
• For example, the National Youth Survey (NYS), a longitudinal study of delinquent behavior conducted by Delbert Elliott and his associates, found little if any association between drug use and social class. The NYS found that drug use is higher among urban youths, but there was little evidence that minority youths or members of the lower class were more likely to abuse drugs than White youths and the more affluent.
• Research by the Rand Corporation indicates that many drug-dealing youths had legitimate jobs at the time they were arrested for drug trafficking.
• Student views will vary.