Social and structural factors associated with substance use within the support network of adults living in precarious housing in a socially marginalized neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The structure of a social network as well as peer behaviours are thought to affect personal substance use. Where substance use may create health risks, understanding the contribution of social networks to substance use may be valuable for the design and implementation of harm reduction or other interventions. We examined the social support network of people living in precarious housing in a socially marginalized neighborhood of Vancouver, and analysed associations between social network structure, personal substance use, and supporters' substance use.

Methods

An ongoing, longitudinal study recruited 246 participants from four single room occupancy hotels, with 201 providing social network information aligned with a 6-month observation period. Use of tobacco, alcoh

SUBMITTER: Knerich V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6756550 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature