Psychological Influences on Drug Use

9 Key excerpts on "Psychological Influences on Drug Use"

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  Drug Use and Misuse

  • Stephen Maisto, Mark Galizio, Gerard Connors, , Stephen Maisto, Stephen Maisto, Mark Galizio, Gerard Connors(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  For example, the major advances in genetics that have been made in the last few decades have paved the way for increasing our understanding about genetically based differences in how individuals react to a given dose of a psychotherapeutic drug (see Chapter 13). We referred to one genetically based difference in reactions to drugs earlier when we discussed initial sensitivity to a drug. But in Chapter 4, we saw that there also are genetically based differences that underlie differences among racial and ethnic subgroups around the world in reactions to a dose of a given psychotherapeutic medication. A major reason for these differences is inherited variations (mutations) of the genes responsible for the enzymes that metabolize drugs, and they occur both within subgroups of individuals and between racial and ethnic subgroups (Keh- Ming et al., 2001). Genetically based differences such as these combine with other culturally based beliefs, attitudes, and expectancies about psychotherapeutic drugs, which of course overlap to a degree with racial and ethnic differences, to affect how individuals react to a given dose of psychotherapeutic medication. This same process may occur for other types of drugs as well. The information presented so far in this chapter and in Chapter 4 completes our overview of the drug experience and the factors that affect it. We have shown that the drug experience in humans is complex, because biological, psychological, and social/environmental factors influence it. This knowledge about the drug experience prepares us to address the fundamental topic of this text: the links between the drug experience and the behavior of drug use or, as commonly referred to by scientists, “drug-taking behavior.” We now turn to some of the principles and methods of behavioral pharmacology, which is the specialty area of psychopharmacology that concentrates on drug use as a learned behavior.

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  Drug Use and Abuse

  A Comprehensive Introduction

  • Howard Abadinsky(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  Furthermore, contrary to conventional wisdom, research has found that drug use is typically a group activity of socially well-integrated youngsters (Glassner and Loughlin 1989). That is, con-trary to some psychological views, the adolescent drug user is socially competent (or ego sufficient). Sociological studies often challenge the conflicting views of the adolescent drug user as either a deviant isolate or a peer-driven conformist. Sociology cautions us to distinguish drug use that is situational and transitional from drug dependence or addiction, which is compulsive and dysfunctional. In England, the much smaller number of adolescents who use illicit drugs regularly, in contrast to those who have tried illicit drugs, “reminds us that because a young person has tried an illicit drugs does not mean that they will necessarily develop a pattern of long term misuse” (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs 1998: xii). “Many studies show that both sub-stance use problems and delinquency start during mid-adolescence and then stop or sharply decrease for many individuals in their 20s and 30s” (Mulvey, Schubert, and Chassin 2010: 4). We will examine the implications in a discussion of labeling and drift . We are ethically restricted in our search for explanations of human drug dependence. Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300 Psychology and Sociology of Drug Use 173 STAGES OF DRUG USE Sociologists have studied and labeled the stages that alcohol, heroin, and cocaine users go through on the path to dependence—a path that is not inevitable. Alcohol The alcoholic typically passes through several stages on the way to becoming addicted to alcohol (Catanzarite 1992): ➤ Social drinking : In this initial pattern, alcohol is used to enhance pleasant social situ-ations.

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  Health and Well-being for Young People

  Building Resilience and Empowerment

  • Colin Goble, Natasha Bye-Brooks(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  Genetic theories These suggest that an individual’s genetic makeup predisposes them towards the likelihood of substance use/misuse. The main evidence lies in the way patterns of use and addiction can run in families. Schuckit (1980) developed the genetic predisposition theory, but also acknowledged that other factors – such as the availability of the substance – must be present too. A purely genetic explanation is almost impossible to prove in reality as there are so many other possible influences, or ‘confounding variables’, that could act upon a young person (Innovation with Substance and Southampton Healthy Schools, 2011). Psychopharmacology theories Psychopharmacological theories deal with substance abuse, addiction and treatment by focusing on the chemical reactions induced by drug use. Addic-tion can be explained, for example, in the ‘incentive-sensitization’ theory, which suggests that addictive behaviour is caused by the drug-induced changes – feelings/sensitization – in the nervous system (Innovation with Substance and Southampton Healthy Schools, 2011). Biological factors are particularly signifi-cant when responding to the needs of young people experiencing addiction. They underpin medical responses such as substituting less harmful substances (such as methadone) for more harmful ones (such as heroin) as part of a behav-ioural ‘weaning’ process, culminating ultimately in the cessation of all substance use. It is recognized, however, that substance use has psychological dimensions which also need to be addressed. SUBSTANCE USE AND MISUSE 139 Psychological theories Reinforcement theory is based on the idea central to behaviourism that individu-als will tend to maximize positive experiences and minimize negative ones, and will pursue or avoid specific behaviours in accordance with past experiences. Reinforcement can be ‘positive’ – the increase of pleasure – or ‘negative’ – the cessation of stress, discomfort or pain.

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  Drugs and the Future

  Brain Science, Addiction and Society

  • David J. Nutt, Trevor W. Robbins, Gerald V. Stimson, Martin Ince, Andrew Jackson(Authors)
  • 2006(Publication Date)
  • Academic Press

    (Publisher)

  362 SOCIOLOGY AND SUBSTANCE USE increase funding in the areas of drug preven- tion, drug treatment and drug enforcement and to ensure that interventions in each of these areas are maximally effective. 2 INTRODUCTION This report looks at the contribution of sociological research on substance use and misuse within the UK. It is possible to view drug use as an individual behaviour in which a given person consumes a given drug and experiences the effects of that sub- stance on his or her system. Sociology, how- ever, reminds us that drug-using behaviours are not simply a matter of what the indi- vidual person does. Rather, drug use exists within a cultural context: some drugs are legal and some are not, some people have anti-drug attitudes and some have pro-drug attitudes, some people enjoy drugs that have a euphoric effect and others prefer drugs that have a depressive effect. As well as being substances in their own right, drugs can also be associated with a certain kind of image, for example, some substances may seem ‘cool’ and ‘attractive’, others may have the reputation of being ‘dirty’ and ‘danger- ous’. These social factors can influence what drugs are used, how they are used, who uses them, and the impact of drug use on society. Understanding these dimensions is the role of sociologists and it is their contribution that we look at in this report. Section 3 provides a short overview of sociological research in the area. Section 4 examines what is known about the preva- lence of drug use and considers possible changes in its prevalence over the next 20 years. In Section 5, we look at individ- ual and sociocultural factors associated with the onset and progression of illegal drug use. We consider how these factors may change over the next 20 years and with what impact. Section 6 focuses on treatment, considering the effectiveness of existing treatments and the scope for new treatments as the drug problem itself evolves.

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  Drugs Across the Spectrum

  • Raymond Goldberg, Pardess Mitchell(Authors)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  14 Chapter 1 Drugs in Perspective circumstance, and personal behavior.” 104 Many theories attempt to explain addiction. It has been attributed to poor self-control, ignorance, personality traits, bad genes, poverty, dis-ease, and the absence of family values. When addicts were asked what caused their addic-tion, most attributed it to psy-chological factors such as fear, anxiety, and sorrow. 105 When laypeople were sur-veyed to determine what they thought was the basis for heroin addiction, their political beliefs were a factor. Conservative voters tended to attribute addic-tion to low moral standards, and liberal voters attributed addic-tion to psychological and social reasons. 106 Although no single theory adequately covers every aspect of drug addiction, elements of various theories provide insight into drug addiction. A number of theories regarding drug abuse are examined here. Personality Theories Some specific personality traits have been related to drug dependence. Personality refers to “a dynamic set of traits acquired by a person that influences his or her perceptions, motivations, and behav-iors in various occasions.” 107 What is difficult to know is whether certain personality traits lead to drug dependency or if drug dependency alters per-sonality. It has been noted that substance abusers have lower reasoning skills compared to nondrug users. 108 Persons with high reasoning skills are good abstract thinkers and have the ability to consider the consequences of a decision and make appropriate decisions based on foreseeing the outcomes of the decision. Drug-dependent people tend to be nega-tive, self-deprecating, depressed, and tense and have a sense of helplessness. 109 Learned helplessness is the idea that one’s actions do not impact outcomes. 110 Thus one feels powerless to control the outcomes of his life. The learned helplessness trait has been asso-ciated with poorer levels of self-control and internal motivations among drug-dependent people.

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  Drug Abuse in the Modern World

  A Perspective for the Eighties

  • Gabriel G. Nahas, Henry Clay Frick, Gabriel G. Nahas, Henry Clay Frick(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Pergamon

    (Publisher)

  Some have theorized that drug dependence is itself a psy-chiatric illness, with a single yet unspecified etiology. Blaine and Renault (1) have reviewed the history of psychiatric theories of drug abuse and have suggested three recurrent formulations, each with several variations. Self-Medication Theories Recent psychoanalytic theorists such as Yorke, Wurmser, Khantzian and others have been among the major proponents of the view that drug abuse originates as an att-empt to self-medicate underlying psychological problems (2-4). Although there are several specific theories, these authors share the belief that in drug abusers, social, economic and/or parental deprivation lead to regressions or arrests in psy-chological development with resultant vulnerability to problems of anxiety, de-pression, aggression and psychosomatic illness (5-8). In these theories, inadequate development of psychological defenses leave the individual unable to effectively control intense affective states such as shame, rage or despair (4,9,10). These theorists explain drug use as an attempt to overcome personality inadequacies by repressing the affective states and escaping the psychological discomfort. Causation Theories Recent work in biological psychiatry (11-13) as well as earlier psychopharmacological *The work reported was supported by HSR&D Projects 284 and 525 to the senior author. The cooperation and assistance of the Substance Abuse Treatment Unit of the Coates-ville VA Medical Center and the editorial assistance of Ms. Peggy Fabrizio are gratefully acknowledged. 27 28 DRUG ABUSE IN THE MODERN WORLD studies (14-17)have demonstrated the profound behavioral effects of acute or chron-ic administrations of the commonly abused drugs in laboratory animals. These stud-ies have led to the development of so-called laboratory models of common psychiat-ric disorders such as psychosis, mania, and depression (18-21).

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  Perspectives on Person-Environment Interaction and Drug-Taking Behavior

  • Bernard Segal(Author)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Rounsaville, Spitzer & Williams, 1986 ). Alexander and Hadaway (1982) advance a similar argument with regard to opiate addiction, that repeated mere exposure to the chemical is not a sufficient condition to explain addictive behaviour, and we must look to drug use as adaptive behaviour.

  The role of pharmacological effects is still problematical. Consider the relationship between stress and drug use, and the proposition that people may use substances to cope with stress (see Shiffman & Wills [Eds.], 1985). Such a proposition actually should be decomposed into several specific hypotheses: (1) drugs provide pharmacological effects which enable the person to cope with stress, either by reducing feelings of tension or by substituting an intensely pleasurable experience, (2) tension-reducing or hedonic/distracting drug effects reinforce further drug use, perhaps to the extent of an overlearned habit or “addiction,” (3) after repeatedly experiencing such effects, drug users develop expectancies, that drinking or other drug use helps one to relax when under stress, and (4) expectancies regarding positive drug effects lead to the use of that drug in certain situations. All of these are defensible propositions—to a degree.

  However, the extensive research literature shows the picture to be considerably more complicated. Alcohol (or other drugs) may or may not reduce tension, dependent upon dose level, set and setting (Cappell & Greeley, 1987 ). Many drug effects arc biphasic, perhaps by eliciting a compensatory reaction (Siegel, 1979 ), or simply as a function of time and whether blood concentrations are ascending or descending. Thus, it is difficult to isolate certain effects as reinforcing. While expectancies about a drug may derive in part from direct experience with the drug, they also clearly reflect cultural expectations which are learned through interactions with others. For example, recognition and definition of a set of physiological and psychological symptoms as a marijuana “high” occur within a group setting where interpretations are shared (Becker, 1967 ). The notions of alcohol as a “disinhibitor” is widely shared in our culture, portrayed in mass media, and surely influences our expectancies regarding alcohol (Mac-Andrew & Egerton, 1969). Expectancies or “set” profoundly influence the effects of any psychoactive drug. Indeed, research using “balanced placebo designs” shows the primacy of expectancy over pharmacology in regard to many alcohol effects (Marlatt & Rohsenow, 1980

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  Beyond Drugs

  • Stanley Einstein(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Pergamon

    (Publisher)

  The meaning of drug-taking behavior has to be considered, as well as the pharmacology of the drug itself. It is questionable whether the training of any representative of law enforcement, like the training of doctors and nurses, is sufficient to handle adequately any but one facet of this multifaceted behavior. What is a Drug? So what is a drug? A broad, unbiased, scientific definition would be of great use in helping us to understand the extent of the drug problem and Critical Issues and Definitions 7 how better to cope with it. Such a definition is given by Modell (1967), who says that a drug is any substance that by its chemical nature alters the structure or functioning in the living organism. This definition is not moralistic and not committed to a limited social arena. Its focus is on chemicals with active ingredients that affect behavior, physical or psychological. This definition forces us to consider as drugs not only illicit substances such as heroin or marijuana, or legal substances used in unacceptable ways, such as amphetamines to get high on* but also alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and even food. Each has active chemical ingredients, and each has both positive and negative consequences associated with its use. This definition offers part of the key to understanding the present-day drug problem. Substances and reactions to substances are classified ac-cording to social usage during a given time. Whether a given substance is associated with serious or relatively minor medical, psychiatric, or social consequences is of relatively little importance in deciding whether it is in or out for this season of man. One might conclude that this means that society's decisions about drugs are arbitrary. In a sense, this is so. In the same sense, almost any indi-vidual and community decision is arbitrary. A decision or behavior that is arbitrary is neither good nor bad—it just is.

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  Substance Use Disorders

  A Biopsychosocial Perspective

  • Perry M. Duncan(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  In other words, what happens when you take a psychoactive drug depends partly on what you think will happen. Conversely, what you expect to happen when you take a drug has a big effect on your choice to take that drug. So, expectancies of a drug’s effect partly determine drug use, as well as the consequence of that use including SUD. Expectancy effects are one of the two types of nonpharmacological influences on drug action, the other being the environmental context in which the drug is taken (Figure 7.2). 236 7 Behavioral, Cognitive, and Social Factors Promoting SUD Many correlational survey studies reveal how drug effect expectancies are related to drug use, as have a smaller number of controlled experiments. Most of this research has dealt with expected effects of alcohol, although some investiga- tions have surveyed expectations of cannabis or cocaine effects. In many of these investigations, SUD was studied only indirectly in that subjects were not selected for high or low levels of drinking or drug use. Alcohol consumption was assessed, and subjects indicating high levels of drinking undoubtedly included some with current or potential alcohol use problems (Montes et al. 2017, Sher et al. 2005). Alcohol outcome expectancies are measured by means of such instruments as the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ) (Brown et al. 1987), or similar self-report questionnaires. Not surprisingly, many studies have shown that sub- jects who drink alcohol have more positive expectations of alcohol effects than do abstainers. The decision to drink is associated with (and seems to be driven partly by) the belief that alcohol consumption will result in certain desirable con- sequences, such as tension relief, mood improvement or the facilitation of social interaction (Leigh and Stacy 2004, Treloar et al. 2015).

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