... | |Substance Abuse | |Final Research Paper Substance abuse is characterized as a social problem in numerous parts of America. Substance abuse is defined as a pattern of harmful use of substances for mood-altering purposes (“Drug Abuse”). Drug abuse is the use of illicit drugs or abuse of prescription or over the counter drugs for purposes other than those for which they are indicated or in a manner or in qualities other than directed (“Drug Abuse”). Many people believe that substance abusers, drugs abusers, and addicts should be able to stop taking these substances and drugs if they are willing to change their behavior. What many people do not understand is that substance and drug abuse is a problem that needs to be addressed. It is not as easy as some people think to stop using these substances and drugs. There are several causes for substance abuse. Substance abuse ranges in many different ages from teenagers to elderly. This social problem can affect families and many different individuals. 50% of Americans have a beloved one who is suffering from a substance or drug abuse problem at any given time...
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...How likely is someone going to get addicted to a substance? Around the world there are those who consume addictive substances because of peer pressure, enjoyment, or relaxation. Whatever the reason, there is a call for concern when harmless recreation becomes dangerous abuse. There are many causes for substance abuse disorders but what is crucial to determine is what the root cause is. What is the initiating cause of a casual chain of events that leads to a certain outcome? In other words, what is the very first thing that inhibits the substance abuse to develop? Substance abuse can be defined as the condition in which one or more substances leads to a clinically significant impairment or distress. However, who’s to say that that kind of distress...
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...be in mental health counseling; specifically, substance abuse counseling. I came through many years in active addiction. Overcoming those years led to my passion for the field in which I have chosen to embrace. I have selected to write based on an article from the ProQuest Psychology Journals entitled, “Social Workers Employed in Substance Abuse Treatment Agencies: A Training Needs Assessment,” (Hall, Amodeo, Shaffer, Vander Bilt, 2000). Improving upon this growing profession and identifying areas of weakness are key. In the pages to follow, I will identify the research problem, the method used, how the research has solved the problem, and other potential applications for this research within functional and related areas. Identifying the Research Problem and Method Used Business research, as we use it in our text, is a systematic inquiry that provides information to guide managerial decisions. More specifically, it is a process of planning, acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating relevant data, information, and insights to decision makers in ways that mobilize the organization to take appropriate actions that, in turn, maximize performance (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). It can therefore be concluded that within the area of social work, there needs to be significant training to all persons involved in the recovery and rehabilitation of clients. This is not limited to substance abuse counselors. It is extended to social workers who often are held responsible for drug...
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...Alcohol and Substance Abuse Disorder Substance abuse is the continued use of any medication, non-medically indicated drug, or toxins such as but not limited to opioids, benzodiazepines, sedatives, stimulants, cannabinoid drugs, cocaine-based drugs, hallucinogens, inhalants, and alcohol. Those with substance abuse often fail to meet social and professional obligations, and they are subjected to interpersonal conflicts as well as legal problems. Substance abuse is more frequently diagnosed among those who are just beginning to take drugs. Substance abuse is often an early symptom of substance dependence, however while substance abuse could eventually evolve into substance dependence or addiction, substance abuse can linger for extended periods...
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...Contents INTRODUCTION 1 EFFECTS OF THE DIFFERENT SUBSTANCES ON THE FETUS 2 Marijuana (also known as weed, pot or grass): 2 Cocaine: 2 Alcoholism 3 LAW AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE MOTHERS 4 THEORIES OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE 6 Biological Theories 6 Genetic Factors 6 Metabolic Imbalance 7 THEORECTICAL PERSPECTIVE 8 MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT 10 SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 11 EXPECTED RESULTS/TIMEFRAME 12 CONCLUSION 13 REFERENCES 14 PICTURES ILLUSTRATING PREGNANT SUBSTANCE ABUSE WOMEN AND FETUS 15 INTRODUCTION Social problems exist at the door step of every community it has been in existence decades ago and still lives on today. Social problems can be defined as an issue that relates to society’s perception of an individual’s personal life and their behaviour is considered to be out of the norm. Substance abuse has vast becoming an epidemic in today’s society and it is considered as a social problem. Substance abuse is one thing but to see pregnant women abusing these endangering substances is another issue. People use drugs for many different reasons but for a pregnant woman to use drugs she may be mentally ill or depressed. Substance abuse may not have a serious or long-lasting effect on you but the same is not always true for a foetus. Mothers that abuse substances give birth to "drug babies." These children have serious developmental problems. Researches show that using substances legal or illegal during pregnancy has a direct impact on the foetus, whether smoking...
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...Substance Abuse Counselor Profession Freda Davis Winston Salem State University Substance Abuse as defined by DuPont (1997) is as follows” drug addiction or alcoholism and other times referred to more generally as chemical dependency” (The Selfish Brain Learning from Addiction, p. xix). Substance abuse has been identified as a meaningful social problem. The extent of substance abuse and its consequences demand ways to seek effective ways of intervention, prevention, and treatment for individuals, along with monitoring the cost to society as associated with alcohol, drugs, and perhaps other drugs. Although the use of drugs is down from the mid-1980s, it is a problem for society today (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2006), (Journal of Social Work Education, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Fall 2009). Abuse is not limited to mood, or mind altering substances, we live in a society where obsession, and compulsion are at the root of excessive indulging behaviors. We will briefly discuss addiction, and the description for which is given to assist in understanding what the counselor may encounter with-in their realm of practice. Increasingly addiction, a pleasure-producing or compulsive behavior that may occur from jogging, television watching, gambling, eating disorders, drugs, and alcohol abuse (DuPont, 1997). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (2000),” substance abuse is a maladaptive pattern of substance use related to...
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...Skaff October 01, 2008 Chemical Dependency Paper Chemical Dependency Paper This paper will discuss Chemical Dependency or Substance Dependency and Substance Abuse in Adolescents; specifically the development, progression and biopsychosocial of dependency and abuse in the adolescent population. The definition of epidemiology and diagnosis will be addressed. Lastly three treatment options including the range of severity will be provided. There is difference between substance abuse and substance dependence. The distinction between the two is characterized by the role they play in a person’s life. Substance dependence is defined in terms of physiological and behavioral symptoms of substance abuse, and substance abuse in terms of social interaction and consequences. (Wikipedia, 2008) Substance abuse refers to the repeated and excessive use of drugs that are illegal or harmful to the individual and causes significant adverse consequences. Symptoms in adolescents who are abusing and using substances include: “failure to meet family or school obligations, interpersonal conflicts, legal problems. Other adverse consequences include accidents or injuries, blackouts and risky sexual behavior.” (Wikipedia, 2008) Substance dependence is when the frequent and repetitive use of drugs becomes habitual and a physical dependence occurs. Substance dependence in adolescents is identifiable by negative physical symptoms, which usually includes tolerance of the drug (requiring higher...
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...Parental Substance Misuse: An Exploration of the Impact of Substance Abuse on Children 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background and Problem Definition It is beyond debаte thаt the use or misuse of substаnce hаs severe impаct on the well being of children. The term substаnce refers to both the illicit аnd non illicit forms of drugs. The use of substаnce by а pаrent becomes misuse when the pаrent in question uses it to the level where the usаge becomes hаzаrdous for both the behаviour аnd heаlth of the pаrent аs well аs the life of the children involved. The hаrmful behаviour in the pаrent hinders the pаrent’s аbility to tаke good cаre of their children which is the children’s fundаmentаl right (Forrester 2011, p. 4). The pаrentаl substаnce misuse hаs physicаl, behаviourаl, sociаl аnd emotionаl or mentаl consequences for the children. Parental substance Misuse is a major issue that has captured the attention of social worker and professional as well as policy makers with regard to wellbeing and needs of a child (Murphy & Harbin, 2003, p.354). The National Treatment Agency (2012, p.3) notes that over 50% of the total adults undergoing drug treatment in 2012 were parents of which a third (66,193) were living with children under the age of 18. Out of these, those who live with their children are 40,852 while those who live with children who are not theirs are 25,341. While not all parents with substance misuse problems harm their children, past research evidence has indicated...
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...Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker is defined as someone who assesses and treats clients with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including alcohol, tobacco, and or other drugs. The worker may include activities such as individual and group counseling, therapy, crisis prevention, case management, client advocacy, prevention, and education. Substance abuse is one of the major health problems in the United States impacting society on multiple levels. The cost of treating substance abuse individuals continues to rise each year. Approximate costs of substance abuse in the U.S. are $138 billion on smoking, $161 billion on illegal drugs, and $185 billion on alcohol. It costs the nation more than $484 billion per year to help individuals begin on the road to recovery. These costs affect all of society not just abusers. Tobacco contributes to 11-30% of cancer deaths, 30% of heart disease cases have been linked to the use of illegal drugs, one third of HIV/AIDS cases and most cases of hepatitis C are a result of the injection of drugs. The abuse of drugs has also resulted to pediatric AIDS cases where the mother was a user or was having sexual relations with an injection drug user. Many individuals who have substance abuse problems have usually experienced domestic violence, child abuse, and stress and use this as a coping mechanism. Mental Health disorders include suicide, schizophrenia, ADHD, autism, eating...
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...LIFE ORIENTATION LESSON 1 General information Teacher: B Stemele Topic: Substance abuse Duration: 1 hour School: St Andrews School for Girls Grade: 8 Date: 6 March 2015 2 Specific aim(s) for Life Orientation * Guide learners to achieve their full physical, intellectual, personal, emotional and social potential; * Develop learners’ skills to respond to challenges and play an active and responsible role in the economy and society; * Teach learners to exercise their constitutional rights and responsibilities and to respect the rights of others; * Guide learners to make informed and responsible decisions about their health, environment, subject choices, further studies and careers; and * Provide opportunities for learners to demonstrate an understanding of, and participate in activities that promote movement and physical development. 3 Lesson aims: (Knowledge, skills, values and attitudes) Knowledge | Skills | Values and attitudes | TerminologyWhat is substance abuse, illegal and legal substances? What makes teenagers to start abusing these substances? * General knowledge about drugs * Signs and symptoms of substance abuse * Investigate factors contributing to substance abuse * Health risks for teens (Effects – physical, mental & social) * Effective Treatment Approaches * Where to go for help? | * Research * Analyse * Compare * Summarize * Apply * Decision making | * Responsibility...
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...Substance abuse The 5th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) combines substance abuse and substance dependence to mean the same thing (American Psychiatric association, 2013). Substance abuse refers to the habitual non-medical substance seeking, and the substance taking behavior which is suppression or resistance through its pharmacological consequences. Substance abuse may therefore include the use of alcohol, abuse of cigarettes, food, sniffing of solvents or even the abuse of nicotine and caffeine (Nordegren, 2002). Substance abuse has been taken to generally refer to the use of hard drugs such as cocaine and marijuana. Every year, United States spends billions of dollars on increased health care cost, low productivity and increase in crimes. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, substance abuse costs United States 524 billion dollars a year of which 181 billion dollars is as a result of illicit drugs. Given the huge expense, there is therefore a need to understand the physical, social and psychological effects that substance abuse presents, analyze the factors contributing to substance abuse, examine the range of interventions used, and examine how managing substance abuse is influenced by cultural, legal, as well as political issues. Though at times substance abuse is completely something that an individual may pick from nowhere, there are some risk factors which may play a significant role in an individual’s substance abuse...
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...video and course concepts, how Jim’s self-concept impacted his interaction with his father. Was it positive or negative? Jim believes that Substance abuse is the use drugs which can be for recreational use or it can be an addiction. The substance abuse can be with alcohol, prescription drugs or it can be with illegal drugs. Many people use substance abuse for relief of stress, pain, depression and anxiety. A social worker can be very beneficial option for a person with a substance abuse problem because they have many resources. The social worker assigned to the case gets counseling/therapy for the abuser and family members. A treatment plan is made which usually involves a drug rehabilitation program and 24-hour crisis intervention. The social worker also provides transportation and referrals for assisted living housing. The goal of the social worker is to get the patient a fully functional citizen without the use of drugs. Reasons for child and families needing a social worker are needing a stable home environment, financial support, child welfare, and assistance with pregnancy. A child and families social worker provides the family in crisis resources that meets their specific need. The family dynamic is assessed and a plan is put together that addresses the problems. For financial problems a budget can be put in place or the social worker can assist with applying for government benefits. When a child’s welfare is jeopardized the...
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...GLT Task 2 Substance abuse is defined as “a pattern of harmful use of any substance for mood altering purposes” (Medline encyclopedia, 2014). This includes over the counter and prescription medications. Substance abuse leads to many problems from homelessness, jail, and even death. Many people abuse substances because they have some kind of stress in their life and see drugs as a symbol for a way out (More, 2008). I will be discussing how prescription drugs have an effect on the United States economy and how social theory relates to substance abuse dependency (More, 2008). Prescription drug abuse is one of many social problems in the United States. This problem is becoming an epidemic. In most instances, people are using controlled substance that were not prescribed to them or uses a legitimate prescription that does not match the label instructions (Davis, 2011). People think that since it was prescribed by a physician it is safe. This problem has been growing over the past few years and has cost the economy billions of dollars (Davis, 2011). Prescription drug abuse may come as a surprise to people but since physicians easily prescribe medications now days, they can be accessed very easily. Most drugs that are abused are opiates, which people also illegally sell on the streets for money (Davis, 2011). These drugs can be ingested, snorted, and smoked which is a misuse of how the medication is prescribed and is considered a felony (Davis, 2011). A wide...
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...Substance Abuse: A Public Health Problem Description, Effects, and Sociological Theory Substance abuse and addiction is a major public health problem that has a grave impact upon multiple levels of our society. Every community and every family is either directly or indirectly affected by substance abuse and addiction. This essay takes a look at this massive social problem and the extent to which it affects our country and its citizens and will also explore different causes of addiction. A. Description Addiction can affect a person of any age group, though most analysts gather data on the population of those age 12 and over. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), describes substance abuse as an abnormal pattern of substance use that leads to clinical impairment or distress that manifests itself with the following within a 12 month period: 1. Repeated substance use that results in a failure to meet obligations at work, school, or responsibilities at home. 2. Repeated use of a substance even during situations proven to be physically dangerous. 3. Continual legal problems related to the use of a substance. 4. Sustained use despite social or personal problems caused by a substance use. (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) We see two aspects that must be present in order for a behavior to be considered addictive. First, the behavior must be counter-productive to the individual. It will actually inhibit...
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...Prescription drug abuse is becoming more problematic in today’s society. So problematic, that Healthy People 2020 created an initiative, SA-19, to help decrease non-medical prescription drug abuse (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “n.d.”). To better help understand the problem of prescription drug abuse, one must explore related concepts. This paper will analyze the related concept of dependence. Prescription drug abuse may lead to dependence. Dependence can be applied to other disciplines. Understanding dependence better to help decrease this incidence may in turn decrease prescription drug abuse. Concept analysis is meant to help define the concept so that everyone shares a common language (Walker & Avant, 2005). According...
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