When self-direction meets conformity: Surfacing Schwartz's 10 basic human values in drug policy dialogue with lived/living experience participants

Original research
by
Askew, Rebecca & Alison Ritter

Release Date

2023

Geography

UK

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

No

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

No

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

Research on values is gaining in popularity within drug policy scholarship. To date, research has focused on analysing values within policy, through documentary analysis and interviews with key stakeholders. We extend this research enquiry to investigate the values that emerge from drug policy debate with those who have lived and/or living experience of using drugs.

Findings/Key points

We found that the values of ‘self-direction’, ‘security’ and ‘conformity’ were prominent across this participant group, when discussing these policy topics. Yet the drug policy preferences discussed in the workshops revealed that it is the combinations of values that nuance preferences. Security combined with self-direction supports policies that enhance personal responsibility for change; self-direction combined with hedonism supports freedom to use drugs, whereas self-direction combined with conformity and achievement supports recovery policies; and conformity combined with tradition and power supports abstinence-based drug prevention. Schwartz's ten basic values provided a useful framework for surfacing values that underpin drug policy preferences.

Design/methods

Workshop data

Keywords

Policy/Regulatory
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