Identity, Situational Elements, and Responses to Drug Debt

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines illicit drug sellers’ explanations of how their identities and attendant responses to drug debts are influenced by the situational elements of accounts, relationships with customers, and their business concerns. Methods: The study draws from data gathered from in-depth interviews with 33 active drug dealers operating in St. Louis, Missouri. Informants were recruited using a snowball sampling design. Data were analyzed using qualitative methods. Results: Drug sellers explain their self-views as “drug sellers” and ideal responses to debts as associated with the amounts and types of drugs they sell and their relationships with suppliers and customers as a whole. They suggest that deviations from these identities and responses are due to accounts (in the case of sellers that use violence), relationships with specific customers, and business concerns. Conclusions: The results add complexity to understanding of the connection between drug market structure, sellers’ identities, and their conflict management. Results also suggest the connection between culture and drug market violence is more nuanced than previously suggested. This study also adds to criminological understanding of how accounts can deescalate conflict by altering identities of offending parties and grievants.