The Role of Loneliness in the Process of Addiction Development among FSU Immigrant Drug Users in Israel
The Role of Loneliness in the Process of Addiction Development among FSU Immigrant Drug Users in Israel

Author(s): Liat Yakhnich
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies, Evaluation research, Substance abuse and addiction, Demography and human biology, Migration Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Immigration; drug abuse; immigrant youth;
Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to illustrate the trajectories of development of drug addiction among FSU immigrants, and to stress immigrant users' sense of loneliness as the core issue that characterizes these trajectories. The paper is based on a qualitative phenomenological study that explored the characteristics of drug abuse among FSU immigrant drug addicts in Israel. The information was gathered by interviewing 19 Russian-speaking recovering addict counselors employed in Israeli addiction treatment centers. The interview analysis yielded two main trajectories of addiction development among FSU immigrants. The most common one is characteristic of older users who immigrate with already-existing drug problems which almost always become aggravated after immigration. The second trajectory is typical of younger users who immigrate in late childhood and early adolescence, and start using drugs after immigration (and usually in proximity to it). The core issue that characterizes both trajectories is the immigrant users' sense of loneliness. Implications for prevention and treatment based on the interviewees’ reflections, as well as on extant literature, are discussed.

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