Abstract
Drugging, defined as administering a drug or alcohol to someone without their knowledge or consent, has increasingly gained attention in recent years. Heightened public awareness of drugging stems from media reports of drugging incidents (e.g., Bill Cosby), campus-based “watch your drink” campaigns, and products, such as straws and “sip chips,” that purportedly detect the presence of drugs in beverages. Yet, despite the potentially serious harms of drugging, until recently, there was very little empirical data on the topic. This chapter reviews the state of the literature on drugging, beginning with estimates of the prevalence of drugging victimization, drug-facilitated sexual assault, and perpetration, as well as types of drugs used to drug others. Next, theoretical frameworks for drugging are presented, including the interpersonal violence, theory of coercive action, coercive control, and bodily integrity frameworks. What is known about drugging victims and their experiences are discussed next. Then, we contrast two different approaches to drugging, one taking a more skeptical view – the social constructionist approach – and the other, risk mitigation approach, arguing that drugging is real and not uncommon, particularly for young people participating in the nighttime economy of college life and the bar and party scene. We end with recommendations for intervention and prevention.
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Swan, S.C., Pomerantz, J.B., Fisher, B.S., Lasky, N.V. (2020). A Conceptual Overview of Drugging: It’s Not What You Think. In: Geffner, R., White, J.W., Hamberger, L.K., Rosenbaum, A., Vaughan-Eden, V., Vieth, V.I. (eds) Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_311-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_311-1
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