'You Can Die With Me But I Won't Let You Live With Me', Exploring Social Influences on the Continuation of Heroin Use in Men Who Use Heroin

Abstract

Background: Heroin is a substance with a unique social profile in that it is commonly used by individuals alone but there is a paucity of qualitative research exploring how social influences impact the continuation of heroin use, particularly when people are trying to stop using heroin. This study explored social determinants which influence the continuation of heroin use in males in UK community treatment who use illicit heroin alongside opioid replacement therapy.

Design: Participants were self-selecting from an initial purposively recruited sample. Using Janis (1972) 8 symptoms of Groupthink as an a priori framework for analysis, the study method utilised qualitative interviews with fourteen males. The discussions were digitally-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically.

Findings: Contrasting with the evidence base, the sample included people who transitioned from recreational drug use to dependent heroin use without experiencing trauma of any kind. Far from becoming socially isolated when actively using heroin, interviews identified a shift in social networks from networks built on shared moments to networks underpinned by transactional exchange. Components of Groupthink were identified when participants described belonging to heroin using networks and continued to use heroin whilst trying to abstain though individual accountability was central to the decision to continue to use heroin.

Conclusions: The conflict between the individual goal of abstinence and the group goal of continuation suggests that social network interventions could be more successful if delivered to cohorts of people who buy heroin together.

Keywords: Opiates; groupthink; heroin; qualitative; relapse; substance use disorder.

Figure 1.

The deductive Groupthink themes of heroin use and subthemes. Groupthink appeared in the majority of interviews. The above circle size denoting prevalence within the interview set.