Integrating Theories of Gender and Sexuality With Deviance: The Case of Prescription Drug Misuse during Sex

2021 ◽  
pp. 089124322110098
Author(s):  
Laura C. Frizzell ◽  
Mike Vuolo ◽  
Brian C. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Prescription Drug ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Minority Stress ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Deviant Behavior ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Drug Misuse ◽  
Identity Conflict ◽  
Prescription Drug Misuse ◽  
Sexual Identities

Social scientists have expended substantial effort to identify group patterns of deviant behavior. Yet beyond the ill-conceived treatment of sexual minorities as inherently deviant, they have rarely considered how gendered sexual identities (GSIs) shape participation in deviance. We argue for the utility of centering theories of gender and sexuality in intersectional deviance research. We demonstrate how this intentional focus on gender and sexuality provides important empirical insights while avoiding past pitfalls of stigmatizing sexual minorities. Drawing on theories of hegemonic masculinity, emphasized femininity, and minority stress together with criminological general strain theory, we demonstrate how societal expectations and constraints generate strains among GSI groups that may lead to distinctly patterned deviance, using the case of prescription drug misuse during sex. We employ thematic analysis of 120 in-depth interviews with people who misuse prescription drugs, stratified by GSI. We identify six themes highlighting distinct pathways from strain to misuse during sex for different GSI groups: intimacy management, achieving sexual freedom, regulating sexual mood, performance confidence, increased sense of control, and managing sexual identity conflict. In this article, we demonstrate the empirical and theoretical importance of centering gender and sexuality in deviance research and provide a roadmap for theoretical integration.

scholarly journals Initiation into prescription drug misuse: Differences between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and heterosexual high-risk young adults in Los Angeles and New York

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1289-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Kecojevic ◽  
Carolyn F. Wong ◽  
Sheree M. Schrager ◽  
Karol Silva ◽  
Jennifer Jackson Bloom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Prescription Drug ◽  
Drug Misuse ◽  
Prescription Drug Misuse

scholarly journals Trajectories of prescription drug misuse during the transition from late adolescence into adulthood in the USA: a national longitudinal multicohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 840-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Esteban McCabe ◽  
Philip T Veliz ◽  
Kara Dickinson ◽  
Ty S Schepis ◽  
John E Schulenberg
Keyword(s):  
Prescription Drug ◽  
Late Adolescence ◽  
Drug Misuse ◽  
Prescription Drug Misuse ◽  
The Usa
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