Social capital and normalisation of adolescent drug use in Hong Kong

Abstract

The upsurge in consumption of party drugs among adolescents in recent years in Hong Kong has been part of the global trend of adolescent recreational use of drugs at rave parties, discos and similar party settings. Scholars in Western societies have recently proposed the thesis of “normalisation of adolescent drug use” to describe such a trend. This paper applies the normalisation thesis to analyse the situation of adolescent drug use in Hong Kong. Our data suggest that the normalisation of drug use among young people has occurred in Hong Kong, but the extent of normalisation in Hong Kong is smaller than those in Western societies. We also apply the social capital framework to an analysis of how family social capital, school social capital, and developmental disadvantages might affect drug use among young people in Hong Kong. Family social capital and school social capital are conducive to the generation of informal social control towards conformity, increase of legitimate opportunities, the learning of conventional values, and the raising of self-image. These resources can augment adolescents’ capacities for action oriented to the achievement of conformity. However, the deprivation of family social capital and school social capital increases adolescents’ likelihood of turning to drugs. Developmental disadvantageous experiences further impede the social capital acquisition of adolescents, thereby increasing their likelihood of drug use.