New designer drugs are a major public health concern, particularly in disadvantaged,
segregated communities. While the phenomenon is better understood in urban settings,
it remains unexplored in rural areas. This gap explains our research rationale: an
interdisciplinary survey was designed; the fieldwork took place in Hungary, in a segregated
rural area ( n = 425), in 2022. The complex sociological-psychological-existential
trap represented by rural segregation is characterized by the lack of prospects for
change. As the individual’s attention is narrowed to the present, such a burdensome
existence is managed through escapist strategies of substance use. Our research investigates
whether substance use is a cause or a consequence of structural deprivation. K-means
cluster analysis was used to differentiate between the idealtypical patterns of substance
use (e.g. self-controlling vs. risk-taking) and abstinence (e.g. vulnerable vs. consistent);
chi-square tests were used to map the structural background and trajectories leading
from abstinence to substance use.
