Introduction
Subculture theory discusses the presence of small cultures within the dominant culture and in opposition to the dominant culture (Blackman, 2014). For instance, the existence of deviant youth groups in forms of gangs and other manifestations within the society and opposition to the middle-class culture. The term subculture has been used predominantly to refer to defiant groups. However, There are subculture groups that are not deviant (Conti, 2016). Overall, subculture groups are aware of their isolation from the mainstream and are understood and treated as such. They exploit their position while the mainstream seeks to silence their activities and influence.
The concept of subcultures originated from Anglo-American researchers. The concept was limited to youth groups manifesting deviant behaviors ( Nwalozie, 2015 ). The American conceptualization of the study is governed by a liberal or structural-functionalist approach, originated at Chicago school. The founders of the concept undertook studies on crime in cities and concluded that delinquency was a social problem and not a personal pathological development ( Nwalozie, 2015 ).
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According to Nwalozie (2015) , the existence of subcultures is reactionary to the problems caused by the dominant culture or an appraisal of the dominant culture. Cohen’s observations were based on the comparison and contrast between middle and lower class students. Lower class students faced with limited resources rejected education as a means of attaining status and satisfaction and instead developed a subculture in which they achieved immediate gratification through deviant behaviors and had status. Therefore, members of a class reject or resist some elements of the dominant culture and amalgamate elements they agree with new practices. A Marxist perspective initiated at the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham governs the British perspective (Nwalozie, 2015). The British approach began by analysis of the changes in the economic sector whereby the society was confronted by traditional peasant labor and the industrial system. The study later shifted to studying delinquent behavior concerning the post-war British transformations. The later British development relied on the American developed theory on delinquency and social status ( Nwalozie, 2015 ).
The American perspective is the most effective in this analysis. First, the study focuses on the party drug culture in American kids, and the perspective would be the most relevant to explain the trend. Secondly, the American concept is based on whole city studies and subculture analysis of deviant groups. The kid party drug is a subculture phenomenon, thus fitting the direction of the concept. Lastly, the American view is the foundational understanding of youths and delinquency hence provides an original understanding of the concept. However, the two approaches have similarities, such as their focus on delinquency among subculture groups, underscoring the role of society and structure in shaping response from subculture groups, the characterization of subculture groups based on their dress, motivation, behavior, and other elements.
Thesis Statement
Kids Party Drugs Culture in the United States is a subculture phenomenon. The practice is influenced by the social disorganization existing in the society due to weak regulations and the lack of expectations and order in the party sessions. The party drug subculture is contrary to the dominant culture expectation. Since the dominant culture lacks definite boundaries, youths rebel against what they perceive as a problem or failure of the mainstream and seek to establish their own subculture.
Theoretical Framework
The combination of the theory of Anomie and the American subculture perspective provides an explanation to the kids’ party drugs rebellion among American youths. Durkheim first introduced the theory of anomie, which Merton developed further. As a sociologist, Durkheim provided a sociologist’s direction to the theory. He developed the theory in his two books, “ The Division of Labor in Society,” and “ Suicide .” In the first book , Durkheim postulates that the division of labor provides social harmony under normal circumstances. The normal circumstances include common understanding or consciousness. The theory is based on the observation of social systems as the primary source of evidence. It is built on the premise of social units existing in larger groups and which have a significant role to play in the large unit (Çam & Irmak, 2014). According to the theory, a state of normlessness or anomie exists in the transition period whereby the control mechanisms in the large unit become dysfunctional. For instance, the society’s control systems during adolescent become incapable of controlling deviant youths’ behaviors. The theory is fundamental to the study as it predicts the failure of the society’s correction systems in controlling kids’ party drug problem. The failure of the control systems means that youths are left to external influences loved by the group, such as music, figures, and peers.
Durkheim provides an illustration of the industrial system and the theory. Based on the theory, if the division of labor does not attain to establish organic solidarity, it is because of anomie. The phenomenon is observed in industrial employment whereby the employees and the employer are not in solidarity due to misunderstanding of the rules. The anomie occurs in crisis, which forces the society to adjust ( Çam & Irmak, 2014 ).
The theory provides underlying conditions leading to anomie in social conditions such as kids’ party drugs. The precipitating conditions include lack of limits between impossible and possible, just and unjust, immoderate claims and moderate hope, and lack of definite restraint on appetite, and aspirations ( Çam & Irmak, 2014 ). Kids have no restraint, as the society does not agree, as to what constitutes acceptable behavior. Eventually, the kids make their standards or rebel against loosely held public norms.
Literature review
The party drug subculture mushrooming is a global youth problem. Just as in the development of ‘ My Dress, My Choice, My Life, My Choice’ slogan, youths are acting in rebellion to what they perceive as a problem created by society . Countries are responding differently; some are assisting the youths through amoral and pragmatic ways while others are in denial and using oppressive mechanisms. A study conducted by Day et al. (2018) in Australia highlights the role of facilities and procedures established to check the purity of substances used at parties, some of which include harmful drugs (mainly when used in large quantities and for a long time), to ensure the safety of the users. The conduction of the tests on party drugs indicates that the problem is overwhelming, and the most appropriate solution is acceptance and provision of tests.
The position of the government and the community on party drugs is equivocal. Both are opposed to the act and have established regulatory frameworks to arrest, punish, control, or rehabilitate affected youths. The society and the government are using excessive force to solve a problem whose origin can be traced to the society and the government. Other conditions, such as peer pressure in normless environments in party sessions, encourage drug use.
The development of music festivities has contributed to the creation of youth subcultures in response to the dominant mainstream culture. The music festivities are characterized by hedonistic behaviors and easy access to party drugs, which they learn through the media (Groves, 2018; Hezelden Betty Ford Foundation, 2019). The party environment acts as a temporary transition phase whereby the kids are suspended between parental control and full independence, and the anomie condition is created. The society, largely, fails to establish regulations in the party festive, and a state of lawlessness is encouraged whereby the youths can act as they please.
At the parties, kids are exposed to harmful substances and are likely to contract sexually transmitted infections. According to Bracchi et al. (2015), the activity involves the consumption of a variety of drugs classified as club drugs, and drugs specific for sexualized context. The drug combinations include drugs such as methylenedioxy, gamma-hydroxybutyrate, methamphetamine, ketamine, benzodiazepine, mephedron, poppers, methamphetamine, and erectile dysfunction agents. Sharing of injections brings the risk of transmitting infections such as HIV/AIDS. In addition, the substances result in early deaths and worthless life due to the development of addiction. It is at the party that youth begin to experiment with drugs and eventually become addicts.
Music has become an influential tool in creating subcultures. Musicians display culture in rebellion to the mainstream, which influences the youths as they associate with their peers. Electronic Dance Music played in parties has the power of tantalizing towards normlessness. Music is a powerful instrument for education. Music has been used to “establish, maintain, and Reproduce” social status and as “sensitive measure of status characteristics and cultural dispositions” ( Tanner, Asbridge & Wortley, 2008, p. 118 ). Music is here defined and presented as a powerful tool in acculturation. The choice of music varies with age, and youths are inclined to listen to violent, loose, and junk music that is repulsive to adults.
The stratification in school setup determines music taste and consequently rebellious or submissive behavior among teenagers. The conscious or ignorant stratification based on performance or race and other elements accomplished by students or school creates subcultures within the institutions, some of which become rebellious ( Tanner, Asbridge, and Wortley, 2008). The school is, therefore, vital to the establishment and development of subcultures that educate adolescents. It is at school that the youths compare and contrast their family values, and societal standards, with content from musicians and friends. Youths are more likely to adopt unrefined behaviors in opposition to their family norms as a demonstration of power over their lives. Once the youths perceive their family and society codes of conduct as inferior, they are led, motivated, and rewarded to rebel against the moral norms. Social acceptance is a highly cherished reward. The group is esteemed as the supreme standard, and the youths are driven to satisfy their lack of direction by defining themselves with peer and personal ambitions. Again, the events in the school environment occur away from the family or teacher control in an anomie state.
Party drug is a subtle form of resistance and rebellion. Theoretical frameworks seek to explain the development of party drug culture among the youths. Some contend that it is due to peer pressure, while others argue that it is a manifestation of resistance and rebellion by the younger generation. Party drug use as a form of peer pressure contributes to a small percentage of the cause. Strickland and Smith (2014) notes that proximal factors cause substances; these are the social conditions immediate when the drug is present, and that prepare or lay the foundation for substance use. The proximal factors include the presence of other individuals and the status of those present individuals (whether they are using drugs or not). According to the concept, there must be others around the youth, and they must be taking the substance. The party places provide these conditions.
It is essential to understand the problem of party drugs from the perspective of youths or young adults. The social lives of the kids require multiple adjustments to societal demands and life requirements as they are pushed to occupy social status and roles. The friction and commotion in this stage result in adjustment problems and intensifying stress (Van Havere, Vanderplasschen, Broekaert & De Bourdeaudhui, 2009). At the same time, there are feelings of rejection, compulsion, and over demand from society, which causes the youths to fail to adjust accordingly to the social requirements and personal needs. Youths are pushed to a state of dilemma as they see the social norms as unachievable.
Further, the extreme punishment meted on youths, the alienation resulting from an imbalanced social system, and unequal distribution of success opportunities result in rebellious acts. The society may be disgusted by the behaviors, but the youths consider them fun and acceptable in the subculture context. Therefore, party drugs are a result of rebellion and resistance than it is about peer influence. The classical view of Party drug defines the norm as a result of attraction rather than drive and provides more explanation to the proximal theory. The concept emphasizes the role of society in creating conditions that cause the youths to engage in drug use. The family, government, and society all contribute to the unbearable conditions that predispose the youths to participate in party drugs.
According to the concept, unmet childhood needs cause developmental constraints. Coupled with the presence of children in the neighborhood, the child goes on to find associates with whom they play and define their rules. The rules become a way of life without the notice of the society and the government. The failure of the government to exert control in certain areas of isolates kids, resulting in uncontrolled youths. The family, too, is negligent of the matter, and the children are left to define their lives as they become delinquent. The crowded underdeveloped and under controlled areas teams with excited youths, low economic conditions, and struggle for space and fame. The group progressively becomes a gang and gains influence over other youths outside its control. The established gang becomes an influence establishing itself as a way of life and a standard for other youths.
The classical view is limited in addressing the concerns of children from affluent and controlled settings. The concept focuses on children from poor settings, while those in affluent areas are also attracted to substance use through party drugs. Children from affluent areas, with government presence and family control, cannot be excused as they are held to higher standards. Their involvement in drugs must be the response to drive rather than attraction, which is rebellion to existing norms.
Merton, R. K. (1938) presents the concept of the original inborn needs and how it is impacted by the societal goals and the institutional methods of achieving the goals. The original inborn needs are also defined as biological factors that determine individual behaviors or predispositions. While each person has unique biological urges, they are not free to act out of their own volition. The society has established a set of conducts perceived as acceptable. The established norms are expectations to be fulfilled but in varying degrees depending on personal circumstances. For instance, society establishes sobriety to be the ultimate end of character perfection. In reality, the examination of society reveals that sobriety disposition varies across gender, race, age, and other factors. While the community establishes a single mark, the variation in the potential to achieve that mark results in different characters.
The government, too, imposes restraints by establishing pathways that are deemed acceptable towards the achievement of societal demands. Richness is desirable, but how the riches are obtained becomes a subject of special concern to the government. Methods such as theft, bribery, and deception are discouraged and punished when noted. The checks and balances help to shape the direction of society and the youths in particular. The intemperate demeanor characterizing the youths requires restraints and constant vigilance. The dilemma arises when biological urges conflict with societal and government regulations thereby causing deviant behaviors.
The punishment meted against youths involved in party drugs, and social labeling contributes to rebellion and increased use. First, punishment has a direct impact on character development (Gold & Appelbaum, 2014). Individuals have varied genetic dispositions that interact with the environment to cause a specific character development trajectory. Punishment receives a positive or negative response from the offender (Gold & Appelbaum, 2014). For instance, criminal punishment mechanism such as imprisonment exposes the offender to like minds that educate and strengthen them in other complex vices. In addition, the feeling of oppression and animosity causes the hardening of behavior. Individuals with genetic predispositions that code for deviant characters are more likely to be entangled in behaviors the society identifies as unacceptable. The youths protest back to societal pressure mounted on them. They perceive the measures as an obstacle to their ability to enjoy, interact, and exercise their free will.
Therefore, the kids’ participation in party drugs is the development of subculture groups due to the presence of anomie between society’s expectations and the party environment. The state of lawlessness and rebellious attitudes towards social and government pressure promotes behavior. Youths protests to the restrain and define a subculture that is an agreement to their desire and understood by them as solving the expectation pressure.
Discussion
The government and society have nurtured the American drug culture. At first, the government encouraged advertisement and accessibility substances that have now since then been proven harmful and illegalized. The Gilded Age witnessed the advertisement of substances such as Cocaine toothache drops, cocaine hairdressing, and lucky strike cigarettes for weight loss. The advertisements created a culture of drug consumption that laid the foundation for current drug cases (Washington State University, 2019). An advertisement such as "Kid Tested, Mother Approved" was used for marketing opium drugs that were not only poisonous but also misguiding. Even though the understanding of drugs and their effects on health were underdeveloped, the effects of the culture cannot be overlooked. It created a social system that treated serious drugs like opium, cocaine, and heroin lightly, which affected how subsequent generations responded by developing subcultures. The government’s later responses have been with strict legal restrictions and punishments. It can be observed that the government has been reactionary to a problem that itself established. The government is responsible for creating anomie in the transition from the weak drug regulation to the strict restraints.
Substance abuse is a significant challenge that is developing into a crisis, especially in youths. According to CBS News, one of ten kids aged 12-17 years uses illicit drugs (CBS News, 2019). The leading cause is the parent’s inability to establish expectations. Teens who understand their parent’s positions on drugs before they arrive at their teenage are less likely to take illicit drugs. However, parents are often distanced from the children causing them to engage in drug abuse. The parental mistakes include ignoring child’ mental health issues which are the cause of substance abuse in more than a half of substance abusers, assuming child experimenting with drugs, and not sharing the parent’s experience with drugs. Others include parents living as bad examples and being judgmental and exerting on child, and failing to monitor child’s growth and development and groups’ interaction (CBS News, 2019).
The social structure of the native Indian Americans has promoted substance use among its youths. Substance abuse in the community is attributed to socioeconomic constraints (Volkow, 2014). Drug use among the youths begins earlier than it is for other American youths. Volkow observes that substance abuse begins as early as eighth and 10 th grades. Drug use is high among non-school going Indians, and only 47% manage to finish school against 71% of other races that go through school successfully. The drug use culture (marijuana and alcohol) is predominant among teens, resulting in mental disorientation. The problem is a systemic problem rooted in society failing to establish social expectations hence causing confusion and lack of a standard for children transiting to adolescence.
Electronic dance music and rave have become a predominant phenomenon in America. While the native Indians represent substance use in a less developed social setting, the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) is synonymous with the rave in urban centers. EDM began in underground settings but has progressively gone public into more commercial settings such as clubs ( Palamar, Griffin-Tomas & Ompad, 2015). Substance use among party attendees is higher than that of national statistics. Palamar, Griffin-Tomas, and Ompad note that the US has the highest percentage of use of party drugs. According to the study, 61% had been using MDMA for 12 months leading to the study, 41% magic mushrooms, 44% LSD, 34% cocaine, 27 %, 15% ketamine and amphetamine. In addition, the study observed that individuals that listened to rock and funk music had the highest probability of using club drugs.
From Palamar, Griffin-Tomas, and Ompad’s study, t he role of music in influencing the character and inciting rebellion is the catalyst towards party drug use. The EDM music educates towards negligence or rebellion to social norms. According to Wagner (2014), peers select music that encourages rebellion and sophistication. The music experience is identified as getting weird together. The combination of music and drugs creates the right environment for drug use as the epitome of rebellion toward social norms.
From the traditional British theoretical perspective, the deviant behavior would be explained as occurring due to lack of employment among the youths. Therefore, the youths would be compelled to participate in the party drugs to escape the pressure of not having employment. The later refinement of the theory towards the American perspective would emphasize the role of the society in providing conditions that foster rebellion and the more pressing role of music, government, history of unrestricted substance use and parental indolence in shaping teenage behaviors and rebellion. The American perspective provides direct explanations of the underlying cause and development. According to the theory, Kids are exposed to peer influences, advertisements, and media content that educate rebellious cultures. The kids respond in rebellion to the established norms and embrace subculture identifying their needs. The lack of defined expectations or inferior implementations of the societal norms perpetuate the needs. The state of anomie results in deviant behaviors.
Conclusion
Kids Party Drugs Culture in the United States is a subculture phenomenon. The practice is influenced by the social disorganization existing in the society due to weak regulations and the lack of expectations and order in the party sessions. Parents’ negligence in monitoring their kids' development and the culture of substance use fostered a social condition in which youths could act independently or in rebellion to the established social norms. The existence of substance use among native Indians emphasizes the role of social structures and norms in facilitating substance use. The party drug culture in the urban areas and non-Indian populations, however, demonstrates rebellion to societal norms that punish and demonize substance use. The party drug subculture is contrary to the dominant culture expectation. Since the dominant culture lacks definite boundaries, youths rebel against what they perceive as a problem or failure of the mainstream and seek to establish their subculture. Exposure to music and media content that encourages deviant behaviors establishes a subculture that identifies with the music content. Interactions in the school and other social gatherings foster rebellion as kids perceive societal norms as in opposition to their biological and social demands to have fun.
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