'The drugs did for me what I couldn’t do for myself’: A qualitative exploration of the relationship between mental health and amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use

Spencer, L; Addison, M; Alderson, H; McGovern, W; McGovern, R; Kaner, E; O'Donnell, A

'The drugs did for me what I couldn’t do for myself’: A qualitative exploration of the relationship between mental health and amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use

Spencer, L; Addison, M; Alderson, H; McGovern, W; McGovern, R; Kaner, E; O'Donnell, A

Authors

L Spencer

Dr Michelle Addison michelle.addison@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

H Alderson

W McGovern

R McGovern

E Kaner

A O'Donnell

Abstract

Substance use and mental ill health constitute a major public health burden, and a key global policy priority is to reduce illicit and other harmful substance use. Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are the second most used class of illicit drugs and a range of mental health issues have been documented amongst users. This paper explores the relationship between mental health and ATS use, through a thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with n=18 current and former ATS users in England. The findings are presented by trajectory point of; (1) Initiation of ATS use; (2) continued and increased ATS use; and (3) decreased and remitted ATS use. This work helps to develop understanding around the complex and bidirectional relationship between ATS use and mental health. Many ATS users lead chaotic lives and engage in multiple risk behaviours; however, there is a need to better understand and conceptualise the dynamic interaction between different individual, social, environment and cultural factors that determine individuals’ mental health and substance use. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to prevention and treatment, and these findings highlight the need for more joined-up, tailored, and holistic approaches to intervention development.

Citation

Spencer, L., Addison, M., Alderson, H., McGovern, W., McGovern, R., Kaner, E., & O'Donnell, A. (2021). 'The drugs did for me what I couldn’t do for myself’: A qualitative exploration of the relationship between mental health and amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 15,

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Oct 27, 2021
Online Publication Date	Dec 6, 2021
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2021
Deposit Date	Nov 3, 2021
Publicly Available Date	Nov 3, 2021
Journal	Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	15

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).