 Research on psychotropic drug use: A review of findings and methodsRuth Cooperstock and Penny Parnell Social Science & Medicine, 1982, vol. 16, issue 12, 1179-1196 Abstract: Studies of licit psychotropic drugs, utilizing a variety of methodologies, which have been conducted in the United States, Australia, Canada and Europe (including the United Kingdon) are examined to describe the prevalence and patterns of use of these drugs. While not directly comparable, consistent patterns emerge both nationally and internationally, with notably higher use recorded among women and the elderly, and where identifiable, minor tranquillizers generally being the most commonly prescribed psychotropic. The necessity of moving beyond the level of quantitative data analysis in order to provide insights into the processes influencing current drug-prescribing and consumption practices is pointed out. Recommendations are made for future research directions which would address questions of the potential social and public health consequences of drug consumption, matters of particular interest to policy makers. The various methods employed in psychotropic drug use studies are described and evaluated in terms of their advantages and disadvantages and their appropriateness for future investigations utilizing this public health approach. Date: 1982 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:16:y:1982:i:12:p:1179-1196 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier |
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