title: Beyond income: material resources among drug users in economically-disadvantaged New York City neighborhoods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about material resources among drug users beyond income. Income measures can be insensitive to variation among the poor, do not account for variation in cost-of-living, and are subject to non-response bias and underreporting. Further, most do not include illegal income sources that may be relevant to drug-using populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  We explored the reliability and validity of an 18-item material resource scale and describe correlates of adequate resources among 1593 current, former and non-drug users recruited in New York City. Reliability was determined using coefficient α, ω(h), and factor analysis. Criterion validity was explored by comparing item and mean scores by income and income source using ANOVA; content validity analyses compared scores by drug use. Multiple linear regression was used to describe correlates of adequate resources.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The coefficient α and ω(h) for the overall scale were 0.91 and 0.68, respectively, suggesting reliability was at least adequate. Legal income >$5000 (vs. ≤$5000) and formal (vs. informal) income sources were associated with more resources, supporting criterion validity. We observed decreasing resources with increasing drug use severity, supporting construct validity. Three factors were identified: basic needs, economic resources and services. Many did not have their basic needs met and few had adequate economic resources. Correlates of adequate material resources included race/ethnicity, income, income source, and homelessness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 18-item material resource scale demonstrated reliability and validity among drug users. These data provide a different view of poverty, one that details specific challenges faced by low-income communities.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health, Identity, Behavior, and Prevention Studies and Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States. dco2@nyu.edu
authors.forename: Danielle C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Ompad
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nandi
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerdá
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galea
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vlahov
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000592:standards; D004467:Economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000191:economics; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics*; D055815:Young Adult