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22 Deviant Behav. 1 (2001)

handle is hein.journals/devbh22 and id is 1 raw text is: Deviant Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 22:1-21, 2001 0 Copyright 0 2001 Taylor & Francis 0163-9625/01 $12.00 +.00 disability and illicit drug use: an application of labeling theory Li Li and Dennis Moore Wright State University School of Medicine Dayton, Ohio, USA Applying the concept of secondary deviance from Labeling Theory, this study hypothesizes that perceptions of disability labeling are relevant to individuals' acceptance of disability. Such reactions may lead to an entitlement attitude toward substance use and encourage further deviant activities such as illicit drug use. The findings from our analyses tend to confirm our expectations that perceived discrimination and acceptance of disability play important roles in illicit drug use by persons with disabilities. The present study also suggests that perceived discrimination against persons with disabilities is significantly associated with disability acceptance, and, in turn, indirectly related to illicit drug use attitudes and practice. In addition, severe disability conditions, such as the presence of multiple disabilities, are important factors in predicting negative reactions to labeling that might result in drug abuse. This study does not support all elements of the labeling perspective, but it suggests that the labeling approach provides a useful framework for understanding the relationships between disability and substance abuse. Given the demographic changes associated with an increasing aged population, the number of persons with disabilities in the United States has risen in the past 25 years (Kaye et al. 1996). Received 21 June 1999; accepted 8 January 2000. Address correspondence to Li Li, 215 Medical Science Building, Wright State University School of Medicine, P.O. Box 927, Dayton, OH 45401-0927. Email: li.i@wright.edu 1