The Social Consequences of Methamphetamine Use

Sommers (School of Criminal Justice, California State University-Los Angeles) and Baskin (chair, School of Criminal Justice, California State University-Los Angeles) report on the results of a study on the relationship between methamphetamine use and violence, drawing on a sample of 205 in-depth, life-history interviews with heavy users. The authors conclude that, while methamphetamine use heightens the risk for violence, there is no evidence of a single, uniform path that all chronic users follow, and that violence is not always an inevitable outcome of even chronic methamphetamine use. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Ira Sommers received his doctorate in social work in 1983 from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a NIMH post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Massachusetts -Amherst, Department of Sociology. Currently, Dr. Sommers is a Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at California State University, Los Angeles. Over the course of his academic career, Dr. Sommers has conducted and published research on a wide range of topics, including female offending, substance abuse and violence, forensic mental health, and domestic violence. Deborah Baskin received her doctorate in sociology in 1984 from the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, she is a Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at California State University, Los Angeles. Dr. Baskin has published on a variety of topics, including female offending, substance abuse and violence, and forensic mental health.