Socially Situated Experiences of Substance Use: A Photo Elicitation Pilot Study

Abstract

Our study was designed to pilot a photo elicitation methodology and undertake preliminary examination of substance use from the perspectives of two potentially disparate groups. Photo elicitation methodology involved participant generated photos and elicitation interviews to purposefully explore (i) how people who use substances depict and discuss their own substance use, and (ii) how professionals who prescribe/dispense pharmaceuticals depict and portray how substances impact the lives’ of patients/clients. Individuals who use substances told “stories of self.” Health providers blended “stories of others” and “stories of social worlds” that indirectly revealed “stories of self.” All participants confronted dominant social perspectives, offering alternative interpretations and challenging such opinions as incomplete or erroneous. The social nature of substances held contrasting perspectives, with health professionals seeing incentives of “fitting in” with “peers using” and a “coping strategy” to reduce social anxiety. Participants who use substances told stories of positive social connections through shared experiences of substance use and increased effects of sociability. Findings may contribute to nuanced understandings to destigmatise and mitigate Othering.