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The Social Construction of the Prescription Drug Use Problem Among America's Youth

Stewart, Breanna C.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1376739466

Abstract Details

2013, Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, Sociology (Arts and Sciences).
This study examines the social construction of the prescription drug use problem among America's youth. Guided by Spector and Kitsuse's (1977/2001) constructionist perspective, we trace the emergence and development of prescription drug abuse as a social problem using a grounded theory approach. To do this we examined American newspaper articles published between 1960 through 2012. Newspapers provide an important source of data because they reflect what people in a certain society viewed as the most important issues at the time they were published, and also because news media is a place where many American's obtain their information. We employed an open-coding process and discovered two major themes: "Prescription Drug Abuse as a Widespread Problem" and "Claims-makers Accounts for the Emergence of the Prescription Drug Problem." This research can help us to better understand how certain social problems are constructed and how that construction is reflective of societal values and norms. It is important to view a social problem in this way because a strict constructionist approach allows us to question the very foundation of a problem and the claims being made about it.
Thomas Vander Ven (Committee Chair)
45 p.
Sociology
Social Construction; Prescription Drug Use; Youth; College; Sociology; Content Analysis; Spector and Kitsuse

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stewart, B. C. (2013). The Social Construction of the Prescription Drug Use Problem Among America's Youth [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1376739466

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stewart, Breanna. The Social Construction of the Prescription Drug Use Problem Among America's Youth. 2013. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1376739466.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stewart, Breanna. "The Social Construction of the Prescription Drug Use Problem Among America's Youth." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1376739466

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.