Risky Substance Use Environments and Addiction: A New Frontier for Environmental Justice Research

Jeremy Mennis, Gerald J. Stahler and Michael J. Mason
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Jeremy Mennis: Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Gerald J. Stahler: Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Michael J. Mason: Commonwealth Institute for Child & Family Studies, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Substance use disorders are widely recognized as one of the most pressing global public health problems, and recent research indicates that environmental factors, including access and exposure to substances of abuse, neighborhood disadvantage and disorder, and environmental barriers to treatment, influence substance use behaviors. Racial and socioeconomic inequities in the factors that create risky substance use environments may engender disparities in rates of substance use disorders and treatment outcomes. Environmental justice researchers, with substantial experience in addressing racial and ethnic inequities in environmental risk from technological and other hazards, should consider similar inequities in risky substance use environments as an environmental justice issue. Research should aim at illustrating where, why, and how such inequities in risky substance use environments occur, the implications of such inequities for disparities in substance use disorders and treatment outcomes, and the implications for tobacco, alcohol, and drug policies and prevention and treatment programs.

Keywords: environmental justice; environmental equity; drug abuse; substance use; substance abuse; addiction; substance use disorder; health disparity; tobacco outlet; alcohol outlet; neighborhood disorder; neighborhood disadvantage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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