Speaking Truth to Power: How Black Twitter Subscribers Discuss Mental and Emotional Wellbeing in Relation to Drug Use, Death, and Everyday Life Open Access
Webster, Joni-Leigh (Spring 2024)
Published
Abstract
This dissertation explores the lasting impact of the war on drugs on the lives of Black women and men by investigating how processes of racialization and racialized gender oppression affect access to prescription drugs and nonmedical prescription drug use (NMPDU). I apply intersectional and Black Feminist frames to understand how Black women and men engage in NMPDU as a form of resistance to negative images of Black people who use drugs, utilizing Twitter (“X”) as a site of memory to articulate drug use experiences. In paper one, I employ qualitative thematic analysis of tweets guided by intersectional analytic methods to determine reasons for, patterns of, and side effects of nonmedical prescription opioid use among Black men Twitter subscribers. I learned that hip-hop is a cultural marker by which Black men explain opioid use behaviors tied to sex, mental health, and social interactions. Paper two examines how racial capitalism shapes Black women’s decisions to engage in nonmedical prescription stimulant use (NMPSU) from the perspective of the strong Black woman controlling image as Black women manage ADHD and labor-related and co-occurring stressors. I use the transactional stress process model to evaluate Black women’s coping processes and find that while Black women express positive identity when accomplishing goals linked to work and school, co-occurring stressors, difficulty meeting expectations, and lack of access to prescription stimulants contributes to negative mental health outcomes, including suicidal ideation. Lastly, paper three uses text analysis to explore the validity of natural language processing techniques to detect emotion, sentiment, and topics about NMPSU among Black women and men. Although research indicates that current emotion lexicons and sentiment dictionaries accurately assess emotion and sentiment for Twitter subscribers writ large, I observe that they fall short of detecting the emotions and sentiments of Black women and men. However, topic models suggest that prescription stimulant dependence is prominent in conversations about NMPSU among women whereas hip-hop is more important to men’s conversations.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
A Racial and Gender Project of Drug Use
Black Digital Life: Signifyin’, Social Media, and Substance Use
Summary of the Three Papers
References
Chapter 2: “A Dose of Percocet”: How Black Men Twitter Subscribers Describe Experiences of Prescription Opioid Use
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
Methods
Data and Collection
Analytic Methods
Results
Reasons for Use: Coping, Recreational Use, and Suicidal Ideation
Opioid Use Patterns: The Relevance of Source and Social Interactions
Unwanted Side Effects: Sleepiness, Sexual Dysfunction, and Addiction
Discussion
Limitations
Conclusion
References
Tables & Figures
Chapter 3: “Strong Black Women”: Prescription Stimulant Use as a Site of Resistance in the Context of Black Women’s Labor and Negative Images of Black Womanhood
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
“Welfare Queens” and “Crack-Addicted Mothers”: Racialized and Gendered Images of Black Womanhood in the War on Drugs
“Strong Black Women”: Negotiating Strength and its Effects on Black Women’s Experience of Stress and Coping
The Transactional Stress Process Model as an Analytic Frame
Methods
Data Collection and Sampling
Analytic Methods
Results
Overview
Stress and Coping: Problem-based Methods
Stress and Coping: Problem- and Emotion-based Methods
Discussion
Limitations
Conclusion
References
Tables & Figures
Chapter 4: “I Been Taking Adderall Mixing it with Lean, Hope I Don’t Wake Up Out My Sleep”: Harnessing Twitter to Understand Nonmedical Prescription Stimulant Use among Black Women and Men Subscribers
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
Methods
Data Collection
Analytic Methods
Results
Emotion Analysis
Sentiment Analysis
Topic Models
Discussion
Limitations
Conclusion
References
Tables & Figures
Supplementary Tables & Figures
Chapter 5: Conclusion
References
About this Dissertation
| School | |
|---|---|
| Department | |
| Degree | |
| Submission | |
| Language |
|
| Research Field | |
| Keyword | |
| Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor | |
| Committee Members |
Primary PDF
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Speaking Truth to Power: How Black Twitter Subscribers Discuss Mental and Emotional Wellbeing in Relation to Drug Use, Death, and Everyday Life () | 2024-04-09 16:42:20 -0400 |
|
Supplemental Files
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
|---|