Section on Tobacco, Alcohol, & Drug Use, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, United States.
Behavioral Science Training in Drug Abuse Research, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, United States.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 May 1;222:108672. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108672. Epub 2021 Mar 18.
Big events (i.e., unique historical disruptions) like the COVID-19 epidemic and its associated period of social distancing can transform social structures, social interactions, and social norms. Social distancing rules and the fear of infection have greatly reduced face-to-face interactions, increased loneliness, reduced ties to helping institutions, and may also have disrupted the opioid use behaviors of people who use drugs. This research used Reddit to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the social networks and social processes of people who use opioids.
Data were collected from the social media forum, Reddit.com. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. (March 5, 2020, to May 13, 2020), 2,000 Reddit posts were collected from the two most popular opioid subreddits (r/OpiatesRecovery, r/Opiates). Posts were reviewed for relevance to COVID-19 and opioid use resulting in a final sample of 300. Thematic analysis was guided by the Big Events framework.
The COVID-19 pandemic was found to create changes in the social networks and daily lives among persons who use opioids. Adaptions to these changes shifted social networks leading to robust social support and mutual aid on Reddit, including sharing and seeking advice on facing withdrawal, dealing with isolation, managing cravings, and accessing recovery resources.
Reddit provided an important source of social support and mutual aid for persons who use opioids. Findings indicate online social support networks are beneficial to persons who use opioids, particularly during big events where isolation from other social support resources may occur.
像 COVID-19 疫情及其相关的社交隔离期这样的重大事件（即独特的历史事件）可以改变社会结构、社会互动和社会规范。社交距离规则和对感染的恐惧大大减少了面对面的互动，增加了孤独感，减少了与援助机构的联系，也可能扰乱了吸毒者的阿片类药物使用行为。本研究利用 Reddit 研究了 COVID-19 对阿片类药物使用者的社交网络和社交过程的影响。
数据来自社交媒体论坛 Reddit.com。在美国 COVID-19 大流行开始时（2020 年 3 月 5 日至 2020 年 5 月 13 日），从两个最受欢迎的阿片类药物 subreddit（r/OpiatesRecovery，r/Opiates）中收集了 2000 条 Reddit 帖子。对帖子进行了与 COVID-19 和阿片类药物使用相关的审查，最终样本为 300 篇。主题分析以大事件框架为指导。
COVID-19 大流行导致阿片类药物使用者的社交网络和日常生活发生变化。这些变化的适应导致了 Reddit 上强大的社会支持和互助，包括分享和寻求关于应对戒断、应对隔离、控制渴望和获取康复资源的建议。
Reddit 为阿片类药物使用者提供了重要的社会支持和互助来源。研究结果表明，在线社交支持网络对阿片类药物使用者有益，特别是在可能与其他社会支持资源隔离的重大事件期间。
