Linking Substance Abuse among Roma Youth in Slovakia and the Czech Republic to Discrimination and Marginalization (Research Brief)

My research examined the links between poverty, marginalization, discrimination and substance abuse among Roma minority living in rural settlements or city ghettos segregated from the majority population. Specifically, I concentrated on the examination of social determinants of inhalant abuse (sniffing of toluene—a paint thinner) among Roma youth, which is prevalent in Eastern Slovakia as well as in some urban areas in the Czech Republic. Twenty interviews were conducted with the field social workers working in seven Roma communities with a combined population of about 17,000 people. In six communities inhalant abuse was identified with an estimate of some 340 chronic toluene users, mostly males (90%). What is worse, 15% of users are children younger than 10 and another 44% are youth between 10 and 18. Easy access to toluene contributes to wide-spread inhalant abuse, which has potentially devastating consequences for users and their communities. Since treatment for inhalant abuse as it is currently being provided in Central Europe is largely ineffective, the only way out from the vicious circle of poverty, unemployment, dependence on the welfare system and drug addiction appears to be through Roma integration, non-discrimination, and education.

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Peter Vazan, of the National Development and Research Institutes, was a 2010-11 Short-Term Travel Grants (STG) fellow.