A new study examining the narratives and motivations of men and women in rural Alabama who used methamphetamine (meth) has been featured in Criminology, a publication of the American Society of Criminology. It is the first photo-ethnography to be published in this top tier journal. 

The study was led by researchers Heith Copes (University of Alabama at Birmingham), Fiona Brookman (University of South Wales), Jared Ragland (Utah State University), and Blake Beaton (Sam Houston State University).

The broad aim of this 18-month project was to understand how people who used meth made sense of their lives and navigated their drug use within the context of economic marginalization, and rural life. 

“Our findings provide important insights into understanding how narratives guide behavior and shape harm, especially among already-vulnerable groups,” concluded Fiona Brookman, professor of criminology at the University of South Wales and co-author of the study. 

“Accessing and unpacking narratives from those who engage in crime or drug use, as well as victims of crime, affords a deeper understanding of how sociodemographic and cultural norms are reproduced and resisted within particular communities.”

Summarized from Criminology, Sex, Drugs, and Coercive Control: Gendered Narratives of Methamphetamine Use, Relationships, and Violence by Copes, H (University of Alabama at Birmingham), Brookman F (University of South Wales), Ragland, J (Utah State University), and Beaton, B (Sam Houston State University). Copyright 2021 The American Society of Criminology. All rights reserved.