Impulsivity is closely linked to drug use and abuse, both as a contribution to use and as an effect of use. Why do some groups display differing impulse control when it comes to these situations? People who are 50 to 64 years old have a much higher rate of illicitly using prescription drugs compared to other adults. Drug arrests for African Americans were three times the rate for whites between 1980 and 2003. Of course, difference in incarceration rates could also b e linked to discrimination. Research shows that the racial groups with the highest rates of illegal drug use were Hispanic women at 40%, white men at 41.5%, and Hispanic men at 45.1%. In the third article, it concluded that there is evidence to support a correlation between socioeconomic status and illicit drug use, but the results are only conclusive for cannabis. The last example is that self-reported drug use for African-Americans was very high due to their environmental, social, and psychological factors. Females are more likely to use illegal drugs to cope with depression or other psychological severe factors, and males use illicit drugs just for excitement. The last article concluded that women were more likely to abuse prescription drugs. Eventually, all of these four factors will come together to determine the correlation between them and illegal drug use.
Keywords: age, race, gender, illegal drugs, subcultural theory, socioeconomic status
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Literature Review on Illegal Drug Usage in U.S
Introduction
Impulsivity is closely linked to Usage of illegal drugs has increased significantly resulting in drug use and abuse, both as a contributor and addiction which has now raised concerns regarding this issue. A number of questions have been raised that have led to several types of research trying to use and as an effect of use (De Wit 2009:1). If this theory is correct, thendetermine
what could causeinfluences the impulsivity? Not every single person has poor impulse control, butusage of illegal drugs in the country. However, it is possible that has been argued by various researchers that illegal drug utilization is impacted through some groups might face resistance. The research question I am introducing is: how do one’saspects including age, race, income, and gender influence one’s likelihood to use illegal drugs?
This topic is important to research because there might be correlation shown between people’s backgrounds and their lack of resistance to using drugs. It is still a very controversial issue in the United States, but we will understand more about the problem if we can study why some people have particular likelihoods.. Therefore,
Literature on Drugs in the U.S.
In
this paper presents a literature review, there will be four sub-topics that will cover the base of this research: age, race, income, and gender. It is laid out this way because these will be the three independent variables. All of these factors could influence why people engage in drug subcultures. A noticeably strong pattern is that scholars overwhelming support the subcultural theory, which means that certain social groups with favorable opinions about drug use can influence individuals to use them. on how age, race, income, and gender Impact Illegal Drug usage.
Age
When it comes to age, the Researchers have determined that drug usage varies with age. Every age group is associated with certain types of drugs vary from each age group. For example, people who are 50 to 64 years old have a much higher rate of the and the prevalence of illegal drug use varies with age. For instance, people between the age of prescriptionfifty and sixty-four years old tend to possess a higher usage rate of illegally prescribed drugs compared tomore than other adults. They are also lessMoreover, they tend to be
likely to seeview drugs and
substance abuse asto be dangerous (Wu and Blazer, 2010:481). Another example is that another). Similarly, according to a certain
study found that older Americans in 2006 were more likely to have tried illicit drugs than the elderly population 1985 (by White, Duncan, Bradley, Nicholson, and Bonaguro (2011:61).) identified that in 2006 elderly American were more probable to have given a try to illegal drugs as compared to the 1985 elderly population.
Another shockingoutstanding
fact is how illicit drug use can affect adolescents. In one journal article, data suggested that teens who regularly smoked marijuana performed poorer on cognitive-based tests (Spueglia, Jacobus, and Tapert 2009:32). Interestingly, juveniles use marijuana substantially more than adults, whereas adults use cocaine and heroin considerably more than adolescent (Leal and Mier 2016:347).
One surprising fact is that anotherlies within a
study undertaken by a researcher named referred to as Beth Han which forecasts the prevalence of SUD [that Substance Use Disorder] will be prevalent
among adults agedof the age of
50 years or older more than other age groups in 2020. Their The outcomes obtained out of the results indicate that the number of adults aged 50 or older with a SUD is projectedshowing the total adult population of fifty years old experiencing Substance Use Disorder tends
to more than double from approximately be anticipated to be twice the current population from about 2.8 million [annual average] in 2002–06 to approximately annually up to about 5.7 million in the year 2020, resultingemerging from the combined effectsintertwined impacts
of a 39% population increasegrowth and a 44% increase in the population growth rate of adults who have aexperiencing substance use disorder. The numberIn 2020, the total population
of 50 years old people aged 50 or older whoin need of illegal drug or alcohol or illicit drug treatment in 2020 is also likelyprobably to exceed theirsurpass the projected 5.7 million populations (Han et al.., 2009).
Additionally, illegal drug use impacts adolescents significantly. A certain journal provides evidence, data implying that teenagers who often smoked marijuana performed terribly in cognitive-based tests that were undertaken (Spueglia, Jacobus, and Tapert, 2009). Remarkably, it is determined that juveniles utilize marijuana significantly as compared to adults, while adults consume heroin and cocaine a lot as compared to the adolescents (Leal and Mier, 2016).
Race:92). The other
Apart from age, the race is another social group besides age that couldthat is believed to influence people’s capacity to use illegal drugs. In a certain article discussing drug usage statistics asserted that African Americans’ drug arrests rate were triple to that of the whites from 1980 to 2003. It also made a stand that whites tend to use cocaine more than African Americans (Fellner, 2009). Albeit African Americans being more probable to be connected to arrested, it is possible that whites usage of drugs is of the same rate as those of African Americans. Similarly, a researcher named Sean Esteban McCabe in another article attested that the Hispanic is the highest-ranked racial group in terms of illegal drugs usage as Hispanic women were 40%, Hispanic men were 45.1% and the whites were 40% (McCabe et al., 2007).
A research undertaken by Shinew & Parry (2005) put their emphasis on Greek college students. They polled 740 undergraduate students over the course of several semesters at an American Midwestern research university. The research showed that 23.9% of Caucasians indicated they used illegal drugs, 10.7% of African Americans, and 14.6% of Asians (Shinew and Parry, 2005). A certain 2006 article by Beckett, Nyrop, and Pfingst studied to determine whether there was any form of racial disparity among the arrested people for using illegal drugs. The researchers identified that Latinos and African Americans are overrepresented in the group of the people arrested for having possessed drugs in comparison with the population of those utilizing drugs habitually and in dangerous methods. The police placed their emphasis greatly on those who use crack and not on the basis of race or ethnic composition for the serious illegal drug users. This resulted in a significant racial discrimination for the drug possession arrests as this research proved that the minority cannot take up the majority population of illicit drug users (Beckett, Nyrop, and Pfingst, 2006).
A study conducted in 2004 by a researcher referred to as Dr. John Macleod, asserted that drug usage for African Americans was very high because of the influence of their environmental, social, and mental aspects. They consisted of challenges in early health and development to school behavior to diagnosed illnesses (Macleod et al., 2004). The environment and activities occurring around an individual or the activities that the individual is involved in influences their rate and capacity of illegal drug use.
A study is race.
Race
In an article about drug use statistics, it stated that drug arrests for African Americans were three times the rate for whites between 1980 and 2003. It also concluded that whites are more likely to use cocaine (Fellner 2009:274). Even though African Americans are more likely to get arrested, it is very plausible that whites use drugs at a similar rate. In another article, researcher Sean Esteban McCabe concluded that the highest-rated racial groups to use illegal drugs were Hispanic women at 40%, white men at 41.5%, and Hispanic men at 45.1% (McCabe et al. 2007:78-79).
In a study about by Mitchell and Caudy (2016) focusing on racial disparities foramong drug offenders within a study comprising of 8,901 people, researchers Ojmarrh.
Mitchell and Michael S. Caudy revealedshowed
that about 5.2% populations of African Americans, 2.4% 1.5% population of Hispanics,the whites and 1.5% 2.4% population of Whites. Thesethe Hispanic. It is evident from these statistics indicate that Africans Americans were that African Americans’ probability of arrests was 247% andwhile for the Hispanics were 60% more likelyprobable
to be arrested than Whites foras compared to the whites due to illegal drugs. However use. Nonetheless, the same statistics showindicate that Whitesthe whites
have a statistically higher high rate of involvement within
drugs in terms of statistics as more than Blacks do andAfrican Americans whereas the differencevariance between Whites and Hispanics onand the whites in terms of
drug useusage
is of statistical significanceworth [p < 0.05] (Mitchell and Caudy, 2016:101).
One article from 2006 studied if there any racial disparities in people arrested for using drugs. Researchers found that blacks and Latinos are overrepresented among those arrested for drug possession as compared with the population that uses drugs in habitual and sometimes dangerous ways. The police focused too much on crack users and not on the racial and ethnic composition of those who used serious drugs. That caused a huge racial disparity in drug possession arrests and this research paper will prove that minorities do not make up the majority of illegal drug users (Beckett, Nyrop, and Pfingst 2006:108).
In a study by Kimberly J. Shinew and Diana C. Parry, they focused on college students in the Greek system. The researchers polled 740 undergraduate students over the course of several semesters at an American midwestern research university. The study showed that 23.9% of Caucasians indicated they used illegal drugs, 10.7% of African Americans, and 14.6% of Asians. The most commonly used drug was marijuana [98.1%], followed by ecstasy [27.5%], cocaine [11.6%], LSD [6.6%], valium [6.6%] and heroin [4.1%] (Shinew and Parry 2005:378-79).
The last example is in a study from 2004 by a researcher named Dr. John Macleod, self-reported drug use for African Americans was very high due to their environmental, social, and mental factors. They ranged from problems in early health and development to school behavior to diagnosed illnesses (Macleod et al. 2004:6). Even though race is a very crucial factor in sociological studies, another critical one is income.
Income
Income
There is anLevel of income determines one’s illegal drug use. A certain article that concluded that there is general support for the existence of an associationexists a relationship between illegal drug uses with social disadvantage and use of illicit drugs, though primarily only for disadvantages, albeit mainly applying to cannabis. In contrast, they found little robust Contrary, it was identified a small but strong
evidence to supportsupporting the assumption thatclaiming
childhood disadvantage is associated with later , to be attributed to alcohol or drug use/ and abuse later in life (Daniel et al.., 2009:146). Although illicit). Albeit illegal drugs are usedbeing utilized by people in all stratalevels
of SES, drug-related morbidity andassociated
mortality are disproportionatelyand morbidity tend to be up to the proportioned and higher amongon
lower SES groupsgroupings (Galea and Vlahov, 2002:138).
Another studyresearch conducted in France showedindicated that participants with lowof lower
socioeconomic position generally initiatedliterally started
substance useusage at a youngertender
age thancompared to
those with highfrom a higher socioeconomic position. AdditionallyMoreover, low educational achievement predictededucation attainment projected tobacco use other thanusage instead of cannabis andas well as
polysubstance useusage (Redonnet et al..,
2012:235). However in). Essentially, another study, it concluded asserted that out of the results obtained from this study suggestimply that teens with greaterteenagers who have more financial resources and higher, as well as a high
family social status are using, tend to use
substances a lot more than lowas compared to SES teens. Financialteenagers. Actually, financial resources appearseem to be the most salientprominent
SES determinant of teendetermining a factor for teenage drugs and
substance use behaviors (Hanson and Chen 2007:34). Finally, the last article , 2007). Ultimately, a certain article portrayed those adolescents with sufficient resources and those who spend a lot of money showed that adolescents with more spending money reported greater substance use andusage while
college students with more spendingwho spend a lot of
money are engagedwere engaging in greatermore
alcohol use (Humensky 2010:7). The last essential factor for this study is gender., 2010).
Gender
Gender
There is an A certain article that focusesby Barnes, Welte, and Hoffman (2002) laid its focus on the relationship ofrelation between alcohol with illicitand illegal drug useusage. It foundidentified
that relationships between age of first use ofinitial alcohol consumption age and illegal drug useusage did not have a significant difference between males and females, even though more men had their first alcoholic drink than women did (Barnes, Welte, and Hoffman 2002:169). . Similarly, another article gave an explanation that women and men’s purposes differ when they abuse illicit drugs. Women are most probable to utilize illegal drugs as a way of coping with depression or serious mental factors, and males use illegal drugs just for excitement (Ettore, 2004). Another different article concluded that women were more probable to abuse prescribed drugs. Such women usually obtain their drugs from other family members (Berenson and Rahman, 2011).
Another article explained that women and men’s purposes differ when they abuse illicit drugs. Females are more likely to use illegal drugs to cope with depression or other serious mental factors, and males use illegal drugs just for excitement (Ettore 2004:329). The last article concluded that women were more likely to abuse prescription drugs. These women often get their drugs from other family members (Berenson and Rahman 2011:215).
One An
article about initialfirst drug use opportunities and transitionstransformation
to the first use explainsusage of drugs gives an explanation that all drugs, including marijuana, such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and hallucinogens, and heroin, significantly more males than females substantially
reported usingthat more men than women use
each drug. ThisThe gender differencevariance in
drug use appearsusage seems to be due to howemerge out of the way men and women viewperceive
the opportunity to use the drugs: males were more likely than females to have an opportunity to use each of these drugs, but not more likely to eventually use the drug once utilize drugs. Men more probable to get an opportunity was for using each drug as compared to women, though not probable to utilize the drug when presented the opportunity unto them (Etten and Anthony, 1999:120).
One quick study aboutA survey was conducted which lasted for thirty-three years which focused on the illegal drug use by college students. It was determined that men used illegal drugs more than women for the 12 grade age group. This finding is interesting because other studies determined that men and women have similar rates of using illegal drugs (Johnston, 2010). Another different study entailed a follow-up of high school students and in order to determine whether they continued illegal drug use or not into their twenties and thirties (De Wit, 2009). A study revealed that the main risk time period for beginning to use cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol is usually at the age of 20 and more prevalent at the age of 16 to use cigarettes and the age of 18 to use alcohol and marijuana (Chen and Kandel, 1995). In essence, the general risk patterns are the same for both men and women through both genders differ from each other.
A certain short study regarding the risk of men and women developing drug disorders in New Haven, Baltimore, and St. Louis showed that the relativea significant risk for males across the three sites is between 1.3 and 1.9 times greaterto be higher than forthat of females. There is a difference between the genders in the risk forof
developing a drug disorder, but it is still not great. In the youngest age group of the study, which was ages 18-24, there was an equal risk for both sexes (Robins and Przybeck 1985:180). , 1985). In another, study focusing on the lifetime drug usage of Brazilian college students, it was determined that as males consumed more alcohol, cocaine, anabolic, crack and inhalants as compared to women. Both men and women showed equal results in marijuana, amphetamines, tobacco, hallucinogens, and anticholinergics. Women used amphetamines through prescribed medicines as compared to men (Wagner et al., 2007).
In a study about lifetime drug use from Brazilian college students, researchers found that while men experimented more alcohol, inhalants, anabolizers, crack, and cocaine than women did, both genders experimented equally tobacco, marijuana, hallucinogens, amphetamines, anticholinergics, and illegal drugs in general. Moreover, women consume amphetamines and tranquilizers, i.e. prescribed medications, more than men do (Wagner et al. 2007:128).
There was a survey that lasted from 1975-2008 and focused on the illicit drug use of college students. In the age groups of 12th graders, college students, and young adults, males were more likely to use illicit drugs than women which is interesting because every other study found that men and women are more likely to use illicit drugs at the same rate (Johnston 2010:22).
The last study was the follow-up of high school students and whether they continued illegal drug use or not into their twenties and thirties. The study showed that the major risk periods for initiation into alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana are mostly over by age 20, with peaks occurring at ages 16 for cigarettes and 18 for alcohol and marijuana. The risk for cocaine initiation appears to peak at ages 21 to 24 and tapers off by age 30. The overall patterns of risk are very similar for men and women, even though the two genders are very different from one another (Chen and Kandel 1995:44).
Methods
I plan to use methods of counting, measuring the intensity of the drugs, and map the data with software. I will use a quantitative approach to my research and the software program I plan to will be Quant Stats (SPSS). I will gather all of my quantitative data by conducting my surveys on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The types of survey questions that I will use are dichotomous and demographic questions. Dichotomous items are generally “yes/no” questions, and they will be utilized in my survey top separate people or branch into groups of those who have done illegal drugs or not. Demographic questions are a very crucial part of any questionnaire. In this survey, they will be used to identify the characteristics such as of age, gender, household income, and race. Lastly, I will use the Likert scale because I would need to know how often those people use drugs and what their impulse levels are. Dichotomous questions are known to be very simple, but they can help categorize the participants into different groups. Demographic and Likert scale questions are known to be more reliable because they can further analyze the respondents' experiences with illegal drugs.
Sampling
The type of sampling strategy I will be conducting for my research is convenience sampling. In a convenient sample, subjects are selected because of their convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher. I am not only going to select particular groups of people, as everyone of all backgrounds is welcome to take the survey. For my study, I want to examine a small representative number of the United States national population. The number of the people who answered the survey was two hundred participants. The demographics of the respondents should be as random as possible and give me the best results. See Table 1 for the demographics of the participants.
Age
Frequency
Percent
Valid
18-25 years old
36
18.0
26-35 years old
90
45.0
36-45 years old
33
16.5
46-55 years old
15
7.5
56-65 years old
18
9.0
65 or more years old
8
4.0
Total
200
100.0
Gender
Frequecy
Percent
Valid
Female
116
58.0
Male
84
42.0
Total
200
100.0
Race
Frequecy
Percent
Valiid
Asian
18
9.0
Black
26
13.0
Hispanic
12
6.0
Other
3
1.5
Pacific Islander
1
.5
White
140
70.0
Total
200
100.0
Income
Frequency
Percent
Valid
Less than 50k
107
53.5
50-80k
58
29.0
80-100k
17
8.5
100k-200k
18
9.0
Total
200
100.0
Procedures
For operationalization, I will take the vague concepts of age, gender, and race, which are independent variables as well as illegal drug use, which is a dependent variable. I will establish a connection between those variables to find out if there are certain phenomena in all of these groups of people that I study. The instructions to the participants will be to remain as honest as possible, and of course, the respondents will stay anonymous. These methods will lead to results within the next month and will soon show statistical findings and consistent tables and figures. Many students and professors have very positive reviews about the response rate of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, and I am sure I will find the number of results that I need.
Results
Gender and Illegal Drug Use
A chi-squared test was conducted to examine the relationship between illegal drug use and gender. The relation between these variables was significant, X2 (1, N = 200) = 5.925, p<.05. Males were more likely than females to use drugs. There was an equal percentage of men who used or did not use illegal drugs and there were more women who never used illegal drugs.
Drug Use
Total
Used illegal
Not used illegal
Gender
Male
Count
53
31
84
Expected Count
44.5
39.5
84.0
Standardized Residual
1.3
-1.3
Female
Count
53
63
116
Expected Count
61.5
54.5
116.0
Standardized Residual
-1.1
1.1
Total
Count
106
94
200
Expected Count
106.0
94.0
200.0
Table 2. Crosstabs of Gender and Illegal Drug Use
This graph shows the percentage and number of men and women who have used or not used illegal drugs.
Race and Illegal Drug Use
A chi-squared test was conducted to examine the relationship between illegal drug use and race. The relation between these variables was significant, X2 (5, N = 200) = 11.5225, p<.05.
Whites were the most likely to use illegal drugs than other races. It could be due to the fact the white people make up a majority of the United States, so that is why 70% of the survey respondents are white. Even though the random samples for blacks made up 9% and Hispanics made up 2%, the numbers of those who used illegal drugs is also quite high. 6.5% of blacks said they had used illegal drugs and 1.5% of Hispanics said that as well.
Drug Use
Total
Used illegal
Not used illegal
Race
White
Count
79
61
140
Expected Count
74.2
65.8
140.0
Standardized Residual
.6
-.6
Pacific I
Count
0
1
1
Expected Count
.5
.5
1.0
Standardized Residual
-.7
.8
Other
Count
3
0
3
Expected Count
1.6
1.4
3.0
Standardized Residual
1.1
-1.2
Hispanic
Count
7
5
12
Expected Count
6.4
5.6
12.0
Standardized Residual
.3
-.3
Black
Count
13
13
26
Expected Count
13.8
12.2
26.0
Standardized Residual
-.2
.2
Asian
Count
4
14
18
Expected Count
9.5
8.5
18.0
Standardized Residual
-1.8
1.9
Total
Count
106
94
200
Expected Count
106.0
94.0
200.0
Table 2d. Crosstabs of Race and Illegal Drug Use. “Pacific I” means Pacific Islander/Hawaiian
This graph shows the different groups of races and the percentage and number of each have used or not used illegal drugs. “Pacific I” means Pacific Islander/Hawaiian.
Income and Illegal Drug Use
A chi-squared test was conducted to examine the relationship between illegal drug use and income. The relation between these variables was significant, X2 (1, N
= 200) = 14.453, p<.05. The majority of the people who took illegal drugs made less than $50k per year and the percentage was 32%. They made up 54% of those who answered this poll. The lower end of the spectrum were the higher-end SES groups, each making up around 8%-9% of the respondents.
Count
Drugs
Total
Not used illegal drugs
Used illegal drugs
Income
Less than 50k
43
64
107
50k-80k
27
31
58
80k-100k
14
3
17
100k-200k
10
8
18
Total
94
106
200
Table 4. Crosstabs of Income and Illegal Drug Use
This graph shows the percentage of each SES group who have used or not used illegal drugs.
Age and Illegal Drug Use
A chi-squared test was conducted to examine the relationship between illegal drug use and age. The relation between illegal drug use and age was not significant, X2 (5, N = 200) = 5.463 , p>0.05. The majority of the people who took illegal drugs were aged 26-35 years old and the percentage was 26%. They made up over 45% of those who answered this poll. The lower end of the spectrum was the 65 and older crowd, making up 3% of the respondents.
Count
Drug Use
Total
Used illegal
Not used illegal
Age
65+
2
6
8
56-65
7
11
18
46-55
8
7
15
36-45
16
17
33
26-35
52
38
90
18-25
21
15
36
Total
106
94
200
Table 5. Crosstabs of Age and Illegal Drug Use
This graph shows the different age groups and the percentage and number of each group that has used or not used illegal drugs.
Discussion
The chi-squared tests reflected a significant relationship between the independent variables of gender, race, and income and the dependent variable of illegal drug use. It did not show a significant association between the independent variable of age and the dependent variable of illicit drug use. Current literature shows no significance between age and illegal drug use, and this data suggests that age is not a major factor on whether this person has used illicit drugs or not. Although there is a group of people who said they did use drugs at a certain age, this independent variable does not determine how likely someone is to use drugs based on how old they are.
The relationship between gender and illegal drug use is interesting because there is still a high number of women who use illicit drugs, especially minority women. Otherwise, the results were expected because most people who get caught with drugs and go to prison are men. Since there are more male prisoners in for the most harmful drugs, it makes sense that more men in this survey admitted to using any illegal drug.
The relationship between race and illegal drug use is intriguing because it stated that whites are more likely to use illicit drugs. It could be due to the fact the white people constitute more than 60% of the United States, so that could be why 70% of the survey respondents are white. Blacks made up 9% of the respondents, and 2% were Hispanics. However, 6.5% of blacks said they had used illegal drugs, and 1.5% of Hispanics said that as well. 39.5% of whites admitted to using illicit drugs, so these other numbers are pretty high for their race groups as well. It is very consistent with journal articles since they said whites, blacks, and Hispanics are the most likely to use illegal drugs.
The relationship between income and illegal drug use is also fascinating because there is still a high percentage of people with higher socioeconomic status who have used illicit drugs in the past. 83% of the people who answered the survey made under $80k per year and made up 90% of the respondents who did say they used illegal drugs. However, eighteen people responded saying they made around $100-$200k
