Moral belief and drug problem recognition in three ethnic groups

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between conventional moral belief and drug problem recognition in African-American, Hispanic-American, and non-Hispanic white drug users. After adjustment for demographic, psychosocial, and drug use severity factors that might have confounded this relationship, conventional moral belief was significantly associated with drug problem recognition among African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans but not among whites. The particular relevance of conventional moral belief among nonwhites may reflect cultural values emphasizing collective identity and/or religiosity. Nonwhites may be more inclined than whites to view recovery as a process of claiming or reclaiming moral standing in a community of conventional others.

Citation

Longshore, D. and Sanders-Phillips, K. (1999), "Moral belief and drug problem recognition in three ethnic groups", Levy, J.A., Stephens, R.C. and McBride, D.C. (Ed.) Emergent Issues in the Field of Drug Abuse (Advances in Medical Sociology, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 177-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1057-6290(00)80009-1