title: Gender differences in the impact of social support on crack use among African Americans.
abstract: This article examines the influence of social support on crack use in a sample of 435 African American out-of-treatment crack users recruited through street outreach in Raleigh, North Carolina, between 2000 and 2002. Multivariate regression models indicated that social support was not a strong influence on crack use. For women, no social support variables predicted crack use, whereas for men, having a non-using partner was negatively associated with crack use. Findings indicate that existing social support is not strongly linked to drug use among African Americans, but African American men may be positively influenced by non-using sexual partners. Limitations of the sample and data are discussed. Further research is needed on the influence of social support for African American drug-using populations.
authors.affiliation: Macro International Inc., 3 Corporate Square NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. Kara.S.Riehman@macrointernational.com
authors.forename: Kara S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Riehman
authors.forename: Wendee M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Wechsberg
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zule
authors.forename: Wendy K K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Burton
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
chemical_list: D016578:Crack Cocaine