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D B Heath

Publications and source records attributed to D B Heath.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Culture and substance abuse.

Although inhaling is commonly thought of as a novel form of drug use, it has been customary for centuries with finely ground tobacco or with a wide variety of hallucinogenic powdered plant derivatives in tropical South America (de Rios). Nose pipes facilitate snuffing in some cultures, and in others, drugs are blown, by turn, through tubes into the nostrils of companions. Pictorial evidence illustrates the use of enemas as an alternative means of ingesting drugs, especially among a few pre-Columbian Indian populations in Central and South America. In light of the rapidity of absorption from the bowels to the bloodstream, one may wonder why it has been so little used (or at least reported) in recent years. Even within the modern, urban United States, the verbs drink, smoke, and eat have variously been used to characterize variant means of ingesting drugs. Dire predictions about a generation of hopeless "crack babies" have not been confirmed, but differential treatment and punishment of users has resulted in the unjust imprisonment of many more blacks and for longer periods, even though whites are more numerous among drug users.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1993

Recent developments in alcoholism:anthropology.

During the past few decades, the volume of literature on anthropological studies of alcohol has doubled every five years. New topics are being investigated, and a variety of new methods, including quantitative analysis, have been integrated with the proven qualitative approaches. This chapter reviews work since 1980, illustrating both continuity and change, as well as describing relevant developments in terms of practical applications of the findings. Special emphasis is given to recognition and interpretation of cross-cultural variation, qualitative data and emphasis on context, and critical discussion of concepts, models, and theories, as many more, better trained, investigators address new as well as old topics and relate their studies to issues of policy and action.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1992

Prohibition or liberalization of alcohol and drugs? A sociocultural perspective.

The "war against drugs," and calls for increasing restrictions on the availability of alcoholic beverages, reflect a resurgence in the popularity of mandated formal controls and suspicion of informal controls. A small, but increasing countercurrent recommends various forms of liberalization of access to alcohol and drugs. Both viewpoints are being promulgated for their efficacy in reducing and/or preventing a broad range of problems "associated with" (and often assumed to be caused by) psychoactive substances. In the absence of rigorous empirical evidence on the subject, critical examination of prior experience in the United States, and of analogous experiences in other cultures, provides a range of relevant "natural experiments." The association of alcohol and cocaine with various problems varies markedly from culture to culture and from time to time within a single culture. The definition of "abuse" problems is evidently based on social constructions rather than reflecting the epidemiology of public health and social welfare. Formal and informal controls are not mutually exclusive and can be complementary. A broader view of education and of controls could result in fruitful natural experiments among jurisdictions within this country, and lessen alcohol and drug problems at the same time.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1991

Women and alcohol: cross-cultural perspectives.

A review of the worldwide literature about women and alcohol contradicts many stereotypes and raises some new questions, interpretations, and practical implications. Norms, values, attitudes, and expectations may be at least as important as physiological differences between the sexes with respect to patterns of drinking and their outcomes. Women have been drinking as long as men have throughout history, and they drink about as often as men in many cultures; in a few instances, they even seem to drink more, in spite of the fact that the physical impact of a given dose of alcohol is greater for women. In nonindustrial societies, women usually have more easy access to alcoholic beverages; in fact, they often monopolize production and predominate in the distribution system. A cross-cultural perspective shows that too narrow a focus on the social, psychological, and physical problems that excessive drinkers incur has severely hampered the understanding of women's diverse roles with respect to alcohol.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1990

Cultural factors in the choice of drugs.

The human animal has discovered a wide range of drugs, some of which are readily available products of nature, and has invented others by means of manufacture or processing. The meanings, uses, and associations that are attached to such drugs vary from one population to another and are often different for subgroups within a given population. Even the effects of drugs vary, demonstrating that they are not inherent in the substances or in the biochemical impact they have on the human organism. Meanings, uses, and associations often change over time as well. These facts, briefly illustrated with selected examples, demonstrate that culture is an important aspect of the environment--interacting with biological and psychological factors--in relation to choices individuals make about drugs, their uses, and the outcomes of use. The concept of culture has heuristic value in describing and analyzing beliefs and behavior, but it should not be construed as an etiologically powerful entity. Culture can be viewed as a metaphor, reflecting and incorporating social consensus and controls. Any serious attempt to change patterns of drug use must involve changes in the culture, and education promises to be the most likely way of altering both individual choices and cultural patterns. Whereas "the control model" of prevention unrealistically relies on formal legislative and regulatory controls, "the sociocultural model" emphasizes more powerful informal social controls.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1984

Selected contexts of anthropological studies in the alcohol field. Introduction.

Anthropologists have made contributions out of all proportion to their small numbers among the multidisciplinary groups that conduct research on alcohol use and its outcomes. Among topics concerning which these contributions have been especially valuable are: social organization, intracultural variation, institutional analysis, symbolism and norms, and cross-cultural comparison. A brief note on each of the variously authored chapters in this section shows how it illuminates one of those topics.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1984

Cross-cultural studies of alcohol use.

A major contribution of anthropology to alcohol studies is the description and analysis of the range of variation in drinking and its outcomes among diverse populations. Various kinds of cross-cultural comparisons are helpful for understanding the relationships among variables and for testing hypotheses about how alcohol use relates to other aspects of culture. Transcultural studies, small-scale comparisons of a few cultures, are reviewed. Also summarized are those hologeistic studies--in which associations between specific traits are statistically evaluated for a large worldwide sample of cultures--that have yielded theoretically significant models emphasizing anxiety, social structure, dependency, and power as basic motivations for drinking or drunkenness or both.

Alcohol Drinking↗