Introduction
Occasionally, human beings have been exposed to the use of drugs. On personal basis they use this substances either for survival or even behavioral reasons and for this reason this substances may or may not be of help to the body. In the current world, many people consume drugs either prescribed or even not prescribed by medical practitioners. Most of the substances used are not prescribed and most of this are the hard drugs. In many cases all over the world, drugs are commonly being used by the youth. Drugs range from hard to soft drugs.
In many parts of the world like in the USA and other first world and even third world countries drug and substance abuse has increased over time. Although some governments have imposed levies on consumption of some drugs the effort has not born any fruits. In totality, substan
...ce abuse can be explained as consumption of psychoactive substances that could be harmful to one’s health. Despite the fact that this consumption could be hazardous, many of the users do not realize this harm. There arises a dependence syndrome often after some period of using this substances.
This could be followed by antisocial behavior characterized by cognitive changes in individuals often seen though change in behavior. All this are evident after some period of substance use which is usually repeated over time. Even though persons may not be seen while using such substances, individuals develop certain traits that can be noted. This traits could include, strong desire for the substances and persistent use of the same. This is what translates to inability to control the substance use and hence one becomes an addict.
Addicted
persons do not just find themselves as addicts but there are factors that may dispose an individual to the same. This means that one could decide by themselves to indulge on substance use or some factors could lead them to such. However substance use cannot all times lead to its abuse and that’s only if kept under control. With stronger emphasis on looking at substance abuse it is all important to look at what are the exact causes. This causes can range from personal to even social groups.
Sabatier, (21) Argues that society comprises of social groupings. It can therefore be noted that in every society there exists social groupings. This groupings could either be dictated by the society’s way of life taking into account social norms and ethics. This means that the total way of life that people have in a given society dictates how people group themselves. Every society’s organizational structure dictates other aspects such as socialization. Socialization however takes most of its course on young ages of one’s life though some socialization processes are carried out even at old ages. This however influences the people within a given society and the morals they keep.
One of the great causes of substance abuse in today’s world is how people have been socialized. This is the kind of way people learn about their own society and the passing of such information across generations. Most of people indulging in substance abuse have an effect of having been socialized with aggressive behaviors or even aggressive persons. These persons could range from parents or even local elders and administrators. According to (Bukstein, 1995) Socialization could also happen within peers
as friends learn from each other. Often, there exists deviant peers especially within the young generation which comprises majority of youth. It is evident from local sources and even from observations across different regions around the world that majority of those people who are drug abusers are the youth.
Deviant peers are likely to expose individuals to the use of drugs and due to the continued use they find themselves unable to control the drug use. On the other hand, some individuals may have been isolated from their peers or done so by themselves. When this happens, the isolated could be predisposed to drug and substance use. Such individual’s develop antisocial behaviors which due to the coping mechanisms they indulge in substance abuse. Within socialization processes, some people might exhibit poor performance in schools. Such individuals are likely to indulge in drugs and other substance abuse as a way of creating or finding comfort. According to (Ouimette, 2003) people’s emotions can often be driven by life trauma.
Some family issues can also be mentioned as causes of substance abuse. Such issues can range from historical factors within ones family or even from ancestral grounds. Looking at family factors, history attached to one’s family can be simplified to reach basic causes of substance abuse. For example, many people are likely to be affected by what they went through in their early stages of life. According to psychologists, there are basic life stages especially the first two stages of life. The first stage is the oral stage that is followed by anal stage. Within the oral stage children show up some characteristics. This are whenever they came across any
object it’s directed to the mouth. Individuals fixated at this stage grow up even to old age with their pleasure always being derived from the mouth.
Such people even at old age derive pleasure from activities that involve using the mouth such as drinking, smoking or kissing. If such persons get involved in drug use such as alcohol, they are likely not be able to control its use. On the other hand, the anal stage of life can be referred to the toilet training stage. Individuals fixated at this stage could either learn to be organized in their life or even grow up on a messy life. Whenever such people grew up in a disorganized manner they usually tend to pull out of their peers and this brings up a possible route to drug and substance abuse since they isolate themselves.
Chaotic families especially at young stages of growth is also a factor for drug use within the youth. According to (Kassel, 2010) people retain emotions especially childhood encounters and this can be traced throughout the life course of an individual. Individuals brought up in such chaotic environments are likely to develop antisocial behaviors as they grow up and this directly leads to continued use of drugs which translates to inability in controlling the drugs with time .
Currently the world has changed and social roles have changed with time. Due to this changes, family roles have also changed thus affecting parenting procedures as compared to past decades. This has accrued to lack of parental attraction and has been worsened by deteriorating parenting styles. According to (Felitti, et al, 245-258), usually, ineffective parenting and lack of child parent
attachment accrues to lack of morality within the young generation as moral teachings are usually socialize from the family. Lack of socialization within childhood stages poses a serious problem to the current generation.
It can also be noted that availability of such drugs and substances also has a great impact in making the young develop the desire to use them. Under normal life circumstances, availability of any good is likely to influence a willing or able consumer to yearn for it. This fact therefore has a great impact in leading many people especially in the current society to abuse such substances.
It cannot be left out that there are personal factors that are likely to contribute to substance abuse. A good example of this personal factors is gender. Trying to expound gender would give some understanding that social roles bring out gender differences. This roles could be what really defines a person to belong to either male or female. However, we consider the fact that there are disparities in the society and as well within gender roles. This means that the male gender is likely to be exposed to drugs and other substances.
This factor predisposes men to greater chances of substance abuse by the fact that society offers them some privileges compared to women. Other personal factors can be in cases where there is parental drug use. In such situations, individuals are likely to copy such behaviors from parents who are the first socializing agents. If this happens, the young grow up whilst in drugs and by the time they reach adulthood they cannot control their drug use hence become abusers.
Conclusion
In summary, it can be pointed out
that drug and substance abuse has become a common problem in the world of today. There exist so many reasons that can be attributed to this habit of substance abuse that has been seen to increase over time and across centuries. As discussed earlier, this factors are within the day to day life and they come into existence within society as a result of society’s factors itself. However, if addressed the catastrophe can find its way out of society by addressing the discussed causes. It is evident that time difference even between the last two decades has seen an increase in substance abuse which poses great risk to the coming generations hence there’s great need to curb the rampant drug and substance abuse.
Work Cited
- Bukstein, Oscar Gary. Adolescent substance abuse: Assessment, prevention, and treatment. John Wiley & Sons, 1995.
- Felitti, Vincent J., et al. "Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study." American journal of preventive medicine 14.4 (1998): 245-258.
- Kassel, Jon D. Substance abuse and emotion. American Psychological Association, 2010.
- Ouimette, Paige Ed, and Pamela J. Brown. Trauma and substance abuse: Causes, consequences, and treatment of comorbid disorders. American Psychological Association, 2003.
- Sabatier, Paul A. "Top-down and bottom-up approaches to implementation research: a critical analysis and suggested synthesis." Journal of public policy 6.01 (1986): 21-48.
