published_or_final_version / abstract / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

This thesis is a subset of a larger “parent” project under the direction of my supervisor, Dr. Cecilia Benoit. The purpose of the larger project is to seize an unique research opportunity that has emerged with the development and implementation of the HerWay Home (HWH) program, a community-based initiative for pregnant and early parenting women who face substance use and other challenges in the Greater Victoria Area. My research has capitalized on the pre-implementation phase of the HWH program between 2010-2011. Thirteen in-person semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who would likely be clients for the HWH program, based on their pregnancy experiences, substance use concerns and other life challenges. The goal of this research has been to explore these women’s pregnancy and postpartum narratives and investigate what, in their view, should be crucial components of the HWH intervention in the short and longterm. My findings indicate that, consistent with the literature on pregnant and early parenting women facing substance use and other life challenges, a range of complex, intertwined disadvantages exist in their lives that translate into multiple barriers to accessing continuous health and social care during their pregnancy and after the birth of their child. An adapted model of the Health Lifestyle Theory is used to frame the analysis of the data collected from this research. The results from this research support the argument that the life choices of the participants are constrained by structural life chances and socially determined inequities that systematically disadvantage and disempower them. The findings also reveal an implicit sense of agency in the women’s narratives, as well as key specifics about what they view as the main gaps in care and their desired program services. The findings will be relayed to HWH organizers, and used to inform the development and implementation of the program’s services. / Graduate

The South African national drug policy (NDP) was implemented in 1994 to ensure the availability and accessibility of essential drugs to all citizens. The NDP also hoped to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality of drugs as well as to promote the concepts of individual responsibility for health, preventative care and informed decision making. However, drug utilisation studies performed after the implementation of the national drug policy showed that South Africa's pharmaceutical sector was characterised by indiscriminate and irrational drug use, high drug prices and polypharmacy. A retrospective study that was done in 2001 in the clinics supplied by Evander Hospital showed that only 11.9% of prescriptions for acid-related disorders complied with the standard treatment guidelines (STG). It became evident that there was need for an intervention. The general objective of this study was to determine the effect of an education intervention, implemented in 2003, on the prescribing patterns of drugs for acid-related disorders in the Govan Mbeki municipal clinics serviced by Evander Hospital. An empirical pre-intervention and post-intervention study using primary data obtained from patient files at the clinics was done. A quantitative survey of the use of the drugs included in the study (magnesium trisilicate, aluminium hydroxide/magnesium trisilicate combination tablets, cimetidine or omeprazole) was conducted. To determine a baseline, all prescriptions where the drugs selected for this study were prescribed from 1 July 2001 to 31 December 2001 were collected. For the period I January 2002 to 31 December 2002 retrospective data was collected in the form of all prescriptions where the relevant drugs were prescribed. Additional retrospective data was collected for the period January 2002 to 30 June 2003 to determine the outcome of treatment given. The phi coefficient was calculated, and although statistical correlation could not be proven, important tendencies could be detected in the data. Only 8% of the prescriptions adhered to the STG before the presentation of the face to face education intervention. In the first six months following the intervention, STG compliance increased to 15.2%. In the following six-month period, the STG compliance decreased to 14.1 %. The assumption was made that patients were cured if they did not return with the same complaint. Based on this assumption the conclusion was drawn that, before the intervention, 50.2% of the patients were cured. In the first six months after the intervention had taken place the percentage patients who did not return increased from 50.2% to 60.6%. In the second six months after the intervention the percentage of patients who did not return increased to 70.7%. It may be concluded that compliance with the STG improved as a result of the face to face education intervention. Moreover, it was found that cost efficiency improved in parallel and the cure rate seemed to be positively affected by the intervention. / Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This text demonstrates that my work on young people who are exploited through prostitution and young people involved in problematic drug use in Britain at the end ofthe twentieth and beginning ofthe twenty-first century constitutes a significant contribution to advancing our knowledge ofthese inter-related issues. The text demonstrates that, in Britain, at the end of the twentieth and beginning ofthe twenty-first century, young people exploited through prostitution and young people involved in problematic drug use share in common lived experiences in poverty at the margins of society. The common theme demonstrated here is that, as a result ofthe poverty generated by social and economic policies adopted in Britain in response to gIobalisation, 'street cultures' play an important role in the development and maintenance of survival strategies adopted by socially marginalised and economically disadvantaged young people. The discussion argues that these cultures perform important functions in time and space for socially and economically marginal young people. They do so in different ways for different young people. At the same time, however, they serve to further entrench their social and economic exclusion and disadvantage.

The purpose of this study determined whether use of student random drug testing provided an effective means to reduce drug usage by secondary school students. The participants included 50,214 7th through 12th grade students in 12 selected public schools. All school districts participated in the Texas School Survey of Substance Use in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. The six districts in the experimental group used drug testing as a method of reducing drug usage among students. The six districts in the control group did not use drug testing. Although athletes and students involved in extracurricular activities remain the focus of random dug testing, this research focused on an entire school population to determine whether drug testing only a select group of students reduced reported drug usage in the entire school. Two questions guided the research: First, does the use of random drug testing have an impact on student drug usage? Second, does the year of implementation of random drug testing have an impact on students' self-reported drug usage? The findings for each research question were categorized according to nine illegal drugs. The researcher used a one-way repeated measures factorial design. The data were analyzed via the univariate (split-plot) 2 x 4 analysis of variance (ANOVA), with the data from four periodic surveys (1994, 1996, 1998, & 2000) as a within-subject factor and the treatment group (participation in drug testing or control/no drug testing) as a between-subjects factor. The results of the study showed there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental group of school districts that used random drug testing and the control group of school districts that did not use random drug testing. In addition, the study showed there was no statistically significant difference in drug usage between the students in districts who began random drug testing in different years (i.e. 1994, 1996, 1998, & 2000).

Parents’ use of alcohol and drugs is a subject which is discussed in various fields of research and social domains by different actors and professions. The aim of this study is to identify and analyse discourses which appear in Swedish news press (Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet), and which similarities and differences that can be discovered regarding motherhood and fatherhood in relation to alcohol and drug use. A Critical Discourse Analysis has been carried out based on Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional analytical model. The result shows that it is not possible to identify any distinct discourses in the material. Instead three wider discussions where identified: moral discussions about parenthood, discussions on the medical effects of alcohol and drug use, and reflexive and norm critical discussions about current gender roles. The study shows that news press discusses the fact that women’s/mothers’ use of alcohol and drugs tends to be described as more unacceptable and stigmatising in comparison to men’s/father’s use. The number of news articles discussing men’s/father’s use of alcohol and drugs, as well as parents’ drug use, are limited. The study also shows that there are signs of a more gender neutral outlook on parenthood in relation to alcohol and drug use.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is discovering if there are any differences in knowledge and sources of knowledge about illegal drugs between rural and metropolitan high school seniors. The term "drugs" in this project includes those defined by law as illegal and also those drugs subject to abuse through misuse. The report concludes that both correct drug knowledge and attitudes toward drugs seem to depend upon the degree to which drugs have entered into the community and their availability. Since no actual differences in knowledge were discovered, the indication is that possibly rural and metropolitan areas can no longer be separated as to the reasons for, or the extent of, certain social problems.

Although researchers studying adolescent aggression have proposed a conceptual distinction between physical and relational aggression, there is contradictory evidence regarding the degree to which they differ in their trajectories and relations to other outcomes. This study explored the importance of differentiating between these two forms of aggression based on comparisons of their trajectories, relation with each other, impact on delinquency and substance use, and gender differences. Data were collected as part of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project, conducted at 19 middle schools from four sites with a predominantly low-income, minority sample of students (N = 2,822). Growth curves showed significant linear increases and quadratic trends for physical and relational aggression. Boys and girls had similar shaped trajectories, but boys reported significantly higher levels of physical aggression than girls. Bivariate latent growth curve models and autoregressive models suggested that physical aggression was a stronger predictor of externalizing difficulties than relational aggression.

This study examined whether religiosity, parental and adult support coping would moderate the influence of neighborhood risks and friends' drug use upon drug refusal efficacy and drug use among African American adolescents. One hundred and thirteen African American urban adolescents (77 females and 36 males) aged 11-17 (M=14.17) participated in this study. This study used the God Support and Religious Support scales to assess religiosity; the parental support coping subscale of the Wills Coping measure; Center for Substance Abuse Prevention's Special Event Drug Refusal Efficacy and Friends' Drug use scales; the Exposure to Neighborhood Risk Scale; and a one-item measure of adult support coping from the Wills' Coping measure. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that religiosity moderated the effects of neighborhood risks upon tobacco and alcohol refusal efficacy. Higher levels of religiosity were associated with lower levels of marijuana use, higher levels of parent support coping, and higher levels of alcohol and tobacco refusal efficacy. These findings suggest that religiosity may protect against drug use risk factors and enhance drug refusal efficacy among African American adolescents. Implications of these findings are discussed.