The Predisposing Factors to Substance Abuse

The Issue of Substance Addiction

The issue of substance addiction is a major challenge of society because of the negative health effects it has on the patient as well as the societal consequences that are visible in the drug addict’s culture. Substance addiction has been shown to be more prevalent in teens and young adults who become addicted to drugs at a young age. As a result, researchers have been encouraged to look at the causes behind the phenomena in order to draw causal relationships between the risk factors and protective factors that characterize the prevalence of drug abuse in society. The research paper thus seeks to investigate the plausibility of two research questions: What are the things that lead people to substance abuse? Why are some people more susceptible to substance abuse then others? To determine the correlation, it is necessary to carry out a literature analysis for studies. Following a causal assessment of the prevalence of drug abuse in different societies, it was established that susceptibility to drug abuse is defined by the societal, mental, and environmental features.

Background Social Factors

One of the primary reasons for the difference in the occurrence of drug abuse is that background social factors play a significant role in defining the trends. The social elements are determined by the language that is spoken in given setting and whether one understanding the culture of the new environment when they relocate to a new environment where people are using a given language. Varied types of research have confirmed this hypothesis. In one particular case, it was established that the youths with self-images and who spoke English when they are at home were less likely to use drugs compared to their counterparts with high self-images but who spoke mostly Spanish at home (Schinke et al. 187). The association is even stronger for immigrants who relocated to the US and who speak more Spanish at home that they speak English. It thus follows that the likelihood of using drugs increases when one comes from a country that uses drugs at a high rate and ends up associating with a language commonly used by native drug addicts. The relevance of the study was because the Spanish speaking subjects had relocated from a Spanish-speaking nation that uses the Spanish language often and that has a high rate of drug abuse.

Environmental Features

The other significant feature that determines the patterns of drug abuse in a given setting are the overall environmental features that are apparent in the given setting. It is inclusive of the social attitude and peer influences that are apparent in a given setting. It follows that the manner in which people use drugs in a particular location determines how the rest of the population who are not involved in substance abuse will perceive the drug abuse. Research has backed up these findings following the observation that negative influences tend to play a key role in the way African Americans are involved in property offenses, person offenses, and most importantly, drug use (Inciardi 1). It follows that the association exists in a social manner so that when one grows up in a setting that uses drugs they are internally influenced to try the drugs (Fishbein et al. 471). The finding that the negative peer influence plays a key role in predicting the usage of drugs has been found to be consistent in many other research projects. It thus confirms the central role of deviant peers in the development of drug abuse because provided the background environment promotes behaviors related to drug abuse, there is a higher incidence of its usage.

Ethnic Predisposition

Ethnic predisposition has also been found as a risk factor toward the demonstration of high addiction rates as defined by particular races showing higher incidences than others. Negative peer influences among the black population have been found to contribute to many young of black descent becoming drug addicts (Rhodes et al. 1). The findings come despite the fact that Whites sometimes demonstrated high incidences of deviant behavior. The indication from the result is that holding the occurrence of deviant behavior as a constant in the relationship, the black subjects tend to have a higher likelihood of engaging in substance abuse than the White population. Interestingly though, the Black youth have consistently been found to be somewhat less susceptible to drug abuse compared to the Whites in other related research findings (Fishbein et al. 474). The findings are particularly relevant in the assessment of the drug incidences between the Spanish-speaking communities and English-speaking groups. In fact, the subject has attracted more attention from the media than other causal factors in the understanding of the high incidence of drug use among the immigrant populations compared to Natives (Delcher, Johnson, and Maldonado-Molina 585). It thus affirms the observation that has been noted considering the racial difference in the trends of abuse of drugs.

Familial Bond

The nature of the familial bond is also a key determinant in defining the usage of drugs among different populations. In some communities, it has been described in the context of whether there is parental supervision or whether the addict is given the freedom to choose what they want. As expected, families where there was close supervision of the developing teenager showed lowered risk to drug abuse compared to families where there was no figure to moderate young behavior (Fishbein et al. 473). A closer look into the nature of the family connection has further yielded interesting findings that are critical in defining the research problem of the factors that predispose someone to drug abuse. Evidence shows that paternal drinking, drug abuse, and psychopathy are associated with a negative effect that is related to the eventual demonstration of drug use and delinquency (Fishbein et al. 474). It thus follows that the familial attributes as pertain to the use of drugs play a key role in determining the trend that is shown by the human subject concerning the attitude to drugs. The indications from these findings are that there is a higher chance that a young person will learn to be dependent on drugs when they observe a close family member being dependent on them.

Mental Health Disorders

It is also noted that the incidence of mental health disorders is associated with a higher likelihood of engaging in substance abuse and becoming a drug addict. The occurrence of mental conditions includes any disorder that is associated with problems that relate to mood, thinking, and subsequently, the behavioral patterns shown by the subject. A broad range of disorders is significant in this context, including anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and addictive behaviors. In some studies, the demonstration of these conditions is what is described as the addictive personality, where the specific set of traits includes being impulsive and sensation-seeking behaviors. Both types substantially increase the likelihood that someone will be addicted to the use of drugs. In fact, research indicates that half of the population of those who have a substance abuse disorder have an occurring mental disorder such as bipolar disorders or depression. Such findings show that the possibility of drugs becoming a central element in a subject’s life is substantially increased when there is an underlying mental process that impairs judgment. It is thus affirmed that differences in the occurrence of mental conditions eventually determine the way people will demonstrate behavior that relates to the use of drugs.

Conclusion

The subject of drug abuse and addiction to substance use has research in varied contexts with the goal of determining the underlying factors for the observed trends. The subject is of particular importance because of the notable patterns that have attracted media attention because of other issues that they often lead to, such as ethnic discrimination and prejudice based on behavioral patterns. The overall finding is that social factors play a huge role in defining how people perceive drugs and the susceptibility that they will end up using them. It is also indicated that the environmental conditions that define the attitude of the occupants of a given setting are central to the demonstration of related behaviors. Furthermore, ethnic differences that relate to racial affiliation are a predisposing factor as Blacks often show high incidences of drug usage compared to Whites when holding other factors constant. Moreover, the nature of the familial bond is central to the behavioral patterns that one will demonstrate and the attraction to substance abuse.

Works Cited

Delcher, Chris, Rachel Johnson, and Mildred M Maldonado-Molina. “Driving after Drinking among Young Adults of Different Race/ethnicities in the United States: Unique Risk Factors in Early Adolescence?” The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 52.5 (2013): 584–91. Web.

Fishbein, Diana H et al. ”A Regional Study of Risk Factors for Drug Abuse and Delinquency : Sex and Racial Differences.” Journal of Child and Family Studies 9.4 (2000): 461–479. Print.

Inciardi, James A. ”Screening and Assessment for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Among Adults in the Criminal Justice System Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series 7.” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (2005): n. pag. Web.

Rhodes, W A et al. ”Substance Use Problems Reported by Historically Black College Students: Combined Marijuana and Alcohol Use versus Alcohol Alone.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 40.2 (2008): 201–205. Web.

Schinke, Steven et al. ”Drug Abuse Risk and Protective Factors among Hispanic Adolescents ☆.” PMEDR 3 (2016): 185–188. Web.