Physical and psychological dependence on mind-altering substances
Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and relatedcircuitry.
The addiction is characterized by impairment in behavioral control, craving, inability toconsistently abstain, and diminished recognition of significant problems with one’sbehaviors and interpersonal relationships
Substance use: consuming any amount of alcohol or drugs. Some people can consume these substances and not form a dependency, while others cannot.
Substance abuse: the use of drugs or alcohol to the point where it causesproblems in our life. These could be problems related to our health,personal relationships, or our career.
Substance abuse. Substance abuse is recognized by doctors andmental health professionals as a health disorder. Alcohol is the mostcommonly abused substance, but other common ones include:• Tobacco. Marijuana. Prescription drugs. Steroids. Cocaine.Methamphetamine. Hallucinogens. Source
Substance dependence (addiction): we are unable to quit using drugsor alcohol. This can cause us to use them frequently and havewithdrawal symptoms if we try to quit
Substance dependence. This is a medical term used to describe usingdrugs and alcohol to the point of addiction. If we have a substancedependence, or chemical dependency, our tolerance usually goes upover time so that we need higher amounts of drugs or alcohol to getthe same effect. We might be aware that our dependence is causingproblems in different aspects of our life but we continue using thesesubstances anyway.
There isn’t a single cause of substance abuse or dependence. While it is up to eachperson individually to choose whether or not to try drugs or alcohol for the first time,some factors can determine if this can lead to substance abuse:• Genetics• Environmental stressors• Mental health problems• Personality characteristics• Social pressure
Incident refers to the number of new occurrences in a time period
Prevalence refers to the number of observed cases in a population ata particular point in time
AndrewWeill (2004) has proposed a theory of addiction premised on the assumption that drug use is not a disease or disorder at all, rather it is a completely natural and often healthy phenomenon.
Tolerance is the need for increasing amounts of the substance to produce the same level of effects, or if the dosage does notincrease, the effects are diminished.
Withdrawal is the presence of a pattern of medical symptoms that are specific to the particular drug being taken,and which occur upon the cessation of the drug use.
Drug seeking refers to significant amounts of time, energy, or resources spent in trying to secure drugs or recover from the use of drugs
Becker and Murphy 1988; Skog 2000• The decision to use drugs, event to engage in a lifestyle of addiction, is a choiceweighed consciously
Compulsion and Self-Control Theories• A common perception is that people prone to addiction have poorability to regulate their moods. Poor emotional control, called labilemood in psychiatry, were investigated by examining brain functionfollowing brain trauma, institutional neglect, or childhood abuse.
Compulsion and self-control theory contains one of the most famous ofthe classical theories of addiction: Jellinek’s disease model.
Bandura’s social learning theory proposes that increasing a person’ssense of self efficacy (control over behavior) will inoculate a personfrom initial drug abuse, and will provide a foundation for recovery fordrug addicts. This include decisions to associate with those role modelswhose presence is supportive of abstinence or controlled use
Alan Marlatt (1966) has proposed a cognitive behavioral model thatreduces the risk of relapse among drug abusers. The model begins withthe identification of high risk situations for drug users. (
Conditioning Theories• If a child grows up in a home watching addicted parents, he or she may welluse parental behavior as a social role mode
Exposure Theory• Repeated introduction of a substance into the body will automatically resultin addiction.
Ethology is the study of instinctive behavior
Instincts are complex mechanisms that are essential in maintainingthe steady state of living systems
Fourprimary categories of crime that are considered violent:Murder and non-negligent manslaughter2. Forcible rape3. Robbery4. Aggravated assaul
Some estimates run as high as 70% of the people in prison could bediagnosed as having antisocial personality disorder.
Operant learning theory addresses violence as learned behavior
Violence is determined by the reinforcing and punitive consequences
that follow behavior
Exchange theory proposes that in every exchange, a person is seekingto maximize his or her benefits at the lowest possible cost
Domestic violence is a primary professional concern for socialworkers.
domestic violence Types• Physical assaults, homicide and aggravated manslaughter, emotional abuse,threats, humiliation, sexual abuse, stalking, intimidation, passive aggressivemanipulation, and economic deprivation
domestic violence Reasons• Mental illness, substance abuse, poverty, social role modeling, patriarchalprivilege, posttraumatic stress, and familial recapitulation of earlier violence.
Lenore Walker cycle of violence model • 1) Tension-building phase, 2) Acting out phase, 3) Reconciliation phase, and 4) Calmphase
DuluthModelIntimidation2. Emotional abuse3. Jealousy and isolation4. Blaming, minimizing, denying5. Using children6. Using male privilege7. Economic abuse8. Coercion and threats
wo different functions of socialcapital; Bonding, and Bridging
The process of building linkages within a network is call bonding.
Bridging occurs between social networks rather than within them.
Social capital is the network of social relationships that supports aperson in society
Social capital is defined as ‘shared norms or values that promotesocial cooperation, instantiated in actual social relationships’.
Social exchange theory explains these associations with its claim that intimate partner violence occurs when partners believe that the costs of violence are lower than the expected rewards, such as increased power and dominance.