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Contextual Perspectives On Heroin Addiction And Recovery: Classic And Contemporary Theories, Sarah L. Callahan

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Drug use and recovery have received considerable attention from social scientists over the past few decades. However, many studies involving heroin use continue to focus on person-centered risk factors surrounding use and, to a lesser extent, recovery processes. There is a need to further develop and use theories that focus on contextual approaches that include opportunity structures and behavioral economic factors. In this article, two classic criminological theories (Differential Opportunity and Subcultural) are reviewed as well as the more recent Social Resource theory (SRT). Differential Opportunity theory focuses on the fact that those involved in illegitimate means of opportunity require …