Whitney Tchoula
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Criminal Justice, Graduate Student
We explore methamphetamine users’ perceptions about whether the images, people, and situations in anti-methamphetamine campaigns reflect their own lives and experiences using meth. To explore these perceptions, we used photo-elicitation... more
We explore methamphetamine users’ perceptions about whether the images, people, and situations in anti-methamphetamine campaigns reflect their own lives and experiences using meth. To explore these perceptions, we used photo-elicitation interviews with 47 people who used methamphetamine (30 former and 17 active). Specifically, we presented participants with images from the Faces of Meth and the Montana Meth Project campaigns to stimulate discussion. We found that participants believed these ads did not reflect their personal experiences and consequently were ineffective at curtailing their own methamphetamine use. They believed that the ads represented a certain type of methamphetamine user, particularly those they defined as dysfunctional users. They created symbolic boundaries between themselves and those portrayed in the ads to show how they differed, which allowed them to believe that the ads were not relevant to their experiences. The findings have implications for designing anti-methamphetamine campaigns.