Exploring the relationship between implicit self-representation and drug use

Abstract

Sociological theory stresses the link between drug use and identity and the need to reconstitute this identity as separate from drug use for successful recovery. Research in implicit social cognition suggests that people's attitudes need not be available to conscious awareness to have an influence on behaviour. Combining these two ideas, this exploratory study aimed to assess the association between an individual's implicit self-representation and their drug of choice on the assumption that this relationship may be pivotal in understanding drug use, drug dependency and ultimately recovery from drug use. This study assessed the implicit associations between self and heroin among 30 heroin users in residential rehabilitation and compared these to implicit associations of self with heroin of 41 people attending the same residential rehabilitation facility, but for their alcohol use. Participants were also administered the Severity of Dependence Scale to assess whether implicit associations between self and heroin use are stronger among people who are more heavily dependent on drugs. Results show that people in treatment for heroin use had stronger implicit associations between the self and heroin than people who were in treatment for alcohol use. Greater severity of heroin use was also associated with stronger implicit associations between the self and heroin. These findings demonstrate a link between heroin and implicit self-representations and may aid our understanding of drug dependency, severity of use and recovery from drug use while also helping to predict differential treatment success.