Understanding Modes of Drugging and Their Effects From Reddit Users’ Descriptions

• In Event: Investigating the Contemporary Narrative of Drugging: What Do the Data Tell Us?

Abstract

Drink spiking, commonly known as drugging, is not a new phenomenon, but very few studies have explored it. Most of these studies tend to focus on the consequences of drugging rather than explaining how it occurs or the repercussions that drugging victims may experience. The public perception of drugging is fueled by media coverage, which commonly portrays drugging as being motivated by sexual assault. Researchers do not know if this perception is accurate, partly due to how few studies have been published.
This study examines the experiences of drugging victims to better understand the gaps in current research on the topic. To reach a wide, anonymous audience, a social news website, Reddit, was used to collect narratives. The question “Have you or someone you know ever suspected they’ve been drugged?” was posted on the Ask Reddit page thirteen times throughout October and November 2015 for a total of 38 responses. Among the themes identified via content analysis were: 1) There is no one way drugging victimization is experienced, and 2) When victims experienced something different than what they had come to expect from their ‘normal’ alcohol consumption, they concluded that the only way to explain their symptoms was that they had been drugged.

Author

• Rachael Ratay, University of Cincinnati