Three Realities : Women in different phases of drug abuse - a social psychological investigation
(1998)- Abstract
- The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the social, cultural and psychological situation of a group of women with drug addiction, and to gain an understanding of it. Different theoretical perspectives were utilized in efforts to understand and explain why some young women start using drugs. The attempt was made to integrate a social psychological perspective with a perspective based on women`s research and on personality psychology. The study concerns an empirical investigation of a group of 34 women treated at the Drug Dependence Unit of St. Lars Hospital in Lund, Sweden. The women were interviewed regarding their social circumstances, their interpersonal relations and their intrapsychic state. In addition, 19 of them were... (More)
- The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the social, cultural and psychological situation of a group of women with drug addiction, and to gain an understanding of it. Different theoretical perspectives were utilized in efforts to understand and explain why some young women start using drugs. The attempt was made to integrate a social psychological perspective with a perspective based on women`s research and on personality psychology. The study concerns an empirical investigation of a group of 34 women treated at the Drug Dependence Unit of St. Lars Hospital in Lund, Sweden. The women were interviewed regarding their social circumstances, their interpersonal relations and their intrapsychic state. In addition, 19 of them were investigated by means of DMTm (Defence Mechanism Technique, modified). The women had abused morphine and/or heroin for many years. Most of them had been prostitutes. The majority had been involved in criminal activities. On the basis of the theoretical framework, it appeared fruitful to analyze the construction of gender and identity within this context in the following three terms: (1) the current social and culturally related context in which the women lived, including aspects of power, gender and of time, (2) internalised versus rival norms and values the women regarded as relevant to them and (3) personality strategies serving as defences against a tachistoscopically induced threat. It was found that all the women in the study had a similar experience of a traumatic childhood and an adolescence in which their parents had addiction problems, divorce, frequently break-up of the home. The results of the interview indicate that those women who had overcome their drug addiction were able to seek help from others and to use this help in a constructive way. Their ability to utilze and create a constructive network was important in their process of constructing a new identity. The results of the DMTm-tes indicate that the women appeared to represent a given step in a line of psychological development involving the process og gaining freedom from drugs. Two fundamental questions are posed: What relevance does feminist research have to drug addiction research? What can that theoretical frame of reference contribute to an understanding of the women in the study? The therapeutical implication of the interview and the personality results obtained as well as quetsions of the constructing of female identity are discussed. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Avhandlingens syfte är att ge ett bidrag till att belysa hur olika teorier och modeller kan förklara den sociala, kulturella och psykologiska situation som en avgränsad grupp kvinnor med narkotikaproblem befinner sig i. I avhandlingen görs en ansats att integrera ett socialpsykologiskt perspektiv med ett kvinnoforskningsperspektiv och ett personlighetspsykologiskt perspektiv.Slutsatsen av den teoretiska genomgången blir att köns-och identitetsskapande bör analyseras ur minst fyra olika aspekter:(1) med avseende på det aktuella sociala eller kulturella sammanhang i vilket individer befinner sig i med avseende på makt och kön (tids- och rumsaspekten) (2) med avseende på internaliserade visavi... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Avhandlingens syfte är att ge ett bidrag till att belysa hur olika teorier och modeller kan förklara den sociala, kulturella och psykologiska situation som en avgränsad grupp kvinnor med narkotikaproblem befinner sig i. I avhandlingen görs en ansats att integrera ett socialpsykologiskt perspektiv med ett kvinnoforskningsperspektiv och ett personlighetspsykologiskt perspektiv.Slutsatsen av den teoretiska genomgången blir att köns-och identitetsskapande bör analyseras ur minst fyra olika aspekter:(1) med avseende på det aktuella sociala eller kulturella sammanhang i vilket individer befinner sig i med avseende på makt och kön (tids- och rumsaspekten) (2) med avseende på internaliserade visavi rivaliserande normer och värderingar så som kvinnan uppfattar dem som relevant för henne med avseende på makt och kön, (3) med avseende på aktuella relationer till män och hur dessa relationer har påverkats av tidigare relationer till män med avseende på makt och kön samt (4) med avseende på personlighetsstruktur, i synnerhet psykologiska försvar och uttryck för ångest. De 34 kvinnor som ingår i undersökningen har samtliga missbrukat morfin och/eller heroin under många års tid. De flesta har varit inblandade i kriminalitet och prostitution. Kvinnorna har vårdats för sitt narkotikamissbruk vid Narkomanvårdsavdelning 1F, S:t Lars sjukhus i Lund. De metoder som har använts vid undersökningen är intervju och en perceptgenetisk teknik (DMTm). Intervjun användes i avsikt att förmedla kvinnornas egen beskrivning av sin livssituation från barndomen fram till undersökningstillfället. Den perceptgenetiska undersökningen tillkom i ett senare skede av undersökningen och det var därför enbart 19 av de 34 kvinnorna som testades med DMTm. Intervjuresulten visar att kvinnorna hade vuxit upp i familjer med skilsmässor, dålig ekonomi och där föräldrarna missbrukade. Det var också vanligt att kvinnorna under barndomen hade flyttat ofta. Det vanliga var att kvinnorna hade börjat med att röka hasch under tonåren, för att därefter övergå till andra droger, främst morfin/heroin. Vid undersökningstillfället var det 14 av kvinnorna som inte hade missbrukat på flera års tid. De hade varir drogfria mellan tre och elva års tid, och kunde anses vara rehabiliterade från sitt missbruk. Nio kvinnor hade varit drogfria mindre är ett år. Deras situation var ännu osäker och risk för återfall kunde anses vara stor. Elva kvinnor hade ett aktivt missbruk av framförallt heroin. Av intervjuresulten framkom bl.a. att de rehabiliterade kvinnorna tycktes ha haft lättare för att knyta kontakt med andra människor utanför den egna familjen, och även ha en förmåga att be om hjälp av andra och kunna utnyttja denna hjälp på ett konstruktivt sätt. Denna förmåga att använda och skapa ett konstruktivt nätverk hade varit viktigt för utvecklandet av en identitet som icke-missbrukare. Resultaten från undersökningen visade sammanfattningsvis att de flesta av de intervjuade kvinnorna hade haft en svår problematik, orsakad av trauma och svårigheter i barndomen och i tonåren. En problematik som sedan förvärrades ytterligare genom upplevelser och erfarenheter under missbrukstiden. Ändå lyckades så många som 23 av de 34 kvinnorna sluta med drogerna. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/18877
- author
- Bergström, Marie LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Eliasson, Mona, University of Uppsala
- organization
- publishing date
- 1998
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- gender, Applied and experimental psychology, social psychology, personality, drug addiction, Tillämpad och experimentell psykologi, women, DMTm
- pages
- 264 pages
- publisher
- Department of Psychology, Lund University
- defense location
- Lund University
- defense date
- 1998-06-06 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:ISRN: LUSADG/SATP-98/1026--SE
- ISBN
- 91-628-3047-3
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ac38e186-1a02-4761-a9fb-de7875d72148 (old id 18877)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 12:07:11
- date last changed
- 2021-12-20 15:25:06
@phdthesis{ac38e186-1a02-4761-a9fb-de7875d72148,
abstract = {{The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the social, cultural and psychological situation of a group of women with drug addiction, and to gain an understanding of it. Different theoretical perspectives were utilized in efforts to understand and explain why some young women start using drugs. The attempt was made to integrate a social psychological perspective with a perspective based on women`s research and on personality psychology. The study concerns an empirical investigation of a group of 34 women treated at the Drug Dependence Unit of St. Lars Hospital in Lund, Sweden. The women were interviewed regarding their social circumstances, their interpersonal relations and their intrapsychic state. In addition, 19 of them were investigated by means of DMTm (Defence Mechanism Technique, modified). The women had abused morphine and/or heroin for many years. Most of them had been prostitutes. The majority had been involved in criminal activities. On the basis of the theoretical framework, it appeared fruitful to analyze the construction of gender and identity within this context in the following three terms: (1) the current social and culturally related context in which the women lived, including aspects of power, gender and of time, (2) internalised versus rival norms and values the women regarded as relevant to them and (3) personality strategies serving as defences against a tachistoscopically induced threat. It was found that all the women in the study had a similar experience of a traumatic childhood and an adolescence in which their parents had addiction problems, divorce, frequently break-up of the home. The results of the interview indicate that those women who had overcome their drug addiction were able to seek help from others and to use this help in a constructive way. Their ability to utilze and create a constructive network was important in their process of constructing a new identity. The results of the DMTm-tes indicate that the women appeared to represent a given step in a line of psychological development involving the process og gaining freedom from drugs. Two fundamental questions are posed: What relevance does feminist research have to drug addiction research? What can that theoretical frame of reference contribute to an understanding of the women in the study? The therapeutical implication of the interview and the personality results obtained as well as quetsions of the constructing of female identity are discussed.}},
author = {{Bergström, Marie}},
isbn = {{91-628-3047-3}},
keywords = {{gender; Applied and experimental psychology; social psychology; personality; drug addiction; Tillämpad och experimentell psykologi; women; DMTm}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Department of Psychology, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Three Realities : Women in different phases of drug abuse - a social psychological investigation}},
year = {{1998}},
}