Sociological Approaches to Drug-Related Deviance

Situational Variations in the Acceptability of Marijuana and Alcohol Use

One of the main interests of researchers in the labeling tradition is analysis of how situational context affects social interpretations of problematic behavior. In a very real sense, no act—be it homicide, drinking, or drug use—can be adequately interpreted as deviant or non-deviant without the framework of meaning provided by situational circumstances. For instance, depending on situational context, the act of taking another person's life can be variously interpretated as murder (a "drive-by" shooting), as heroism (killing the enemy in combat), or as doing one's job (excuting a prisoner on Death Row). In an assigned reading on "Deviance as a Situated Phenomenon" (Orcutt 1975 in Pontell, Social Deviance, pp. 247-254), student respondents were asked to interpret the acceptability or unacceptability of marijuana use or alcohol use in various hypothetical situations. Situational circumstances were systematically varied according to three conditions that should affect interpretations of substance use as deviant or as nondeviant.

The first of these conditions relates to situational goals and varies according to whether drug use occurs in a task situation or in a socioemotional situation. The use of either marijuana or alcohol should generally be perceived as consistent with the goals of a socioemotional situation, such as a party, but as a potential source of interference with goal-attainment in a task situation. Therefore, the acts of marijuana use or alcohol use will tend to be interpreted as deviant when situated in a task setting.

The situational stability of marijuana or alcohol use was also varied. In some of the items presented to respondents, drug-using behavior was described as intra-situational, i.e., a single, situationally circumscribed occurrence. Other items described marijuana or alcohol use as inter-situational, i.e., the act of drug use was presented as a stable pattern of repeated occurrences across several situations. Attribution theorists argue that the certainty with which inferences or interpretations can be made regarding an act will be an increasing function of the consistency of the act's occurrence across situations. When drug use is perceived as a stable inter-situational pattern, it will be more likely to be interpreted as deviant.

The third and final situational variation considered in this study relates to motivations attributed to the marijuana or alcohol user. Drug-using situations were varied according to a distinction between social and personal motivations for use. Social motivation was depicted in situations that reflect mutual social participation in marijuana or alcohol use. Personal motivation was implied where drug use was presented as an individualistic attempt to cope with the situation. Interpretations of deviance should be more likely under the condition of personal motivation.

Two forms of the questionnaire--a Marijuana Form and an Alcohol Form--were distributed alternatively to 925 students in undergraduate classes at the University of Minnesota. Respondents' interpretations of situational variations were measured by a series of eight items (see Table 1 below). Respondents who completed the Marijuana Form were asked to rate descriptions of marijuana use, whereas respondents who completed the Alcohol Form were asked to rate alcohol use. The eight situations and the five-point response format were presented to respondents as follows:

"What is appropriate in one situation may not be appropriate in another. Below are 12 descriptions of situations in which marijuana [alcohol] might be used. Rate the acceptability of marijuana [alcohol] use in each situation as you see it. Enter your ratings according to the following codes:"

1 = I feel that marijuana [alcohol] use would be QUITE ACCEPTABLE under these circumstances.
2 = I feel that marijuana [alcohol] use would be SOMEWHAT ACCEPTABLE under these circumstances.
3 = I would feel INDIFFERENT regarding marijuana [alcohol] use under these circumstances.
4 = I feel that marijuana [alcohol] use would be SOMEWHAT UNACCEPTABLE under these circumstances.
5 = I feel that marijuana [alcohol] use would be QUITE UNACCEPTABLE under these circumstances.

Table 1 lists the eight situational items and the conditional variations that each presented. This table also shows the percentages of respondents who either rated an item as quite acceptable, somewhat acceptable, or indifferent. These three response categories together indicate the proportion of respondents who attach a non-deviant interpretation to marijuana or alcohol use. As you will see when you read this article, situational circumstances had a pronounced effect on respondents' interpretations of alcohol and marijuana use. However, there was also one particular situational condition that was especially important in respondents' definitions of deviant drinking. Under what circumstances is alcohol use seen as more deviant than marijuana use?