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Essay on Substance Abuse and the Family
Substance abuse is the use of a drug or other substance for a non-medical use, with the aim of producing some type of 'mind-altering' effect in the user. This includes both the use of illegally produced substances, and the abuse of legal drugs, in a use for which the substance was not intended. Often this involves use of the substance in excessive quantities.Addiction is a state of physical or psychological dependence on a substance. Physical addiction includes the development of tolerance (needing more and more of the drug to achieve the same effect) and withdrawal symptoms that appear when the user stops taking the drug, and disappear when more of the drug is taken.
One of the most telling signs of a family member’s increasing involvement with drugs is when drug use becomes part of the teen’s daily life. Preoccupation with drugs can crowd out previously important activities, and the manner in which the teen views him or her self may change in unrealistic and inaccurate directions. Friendship groups may change, sometimes dramatically, and relationships with family members can become more distant or conflictual. Further bad signs include more frequent use or use of greater amounts of a certain drug, or use of more dangerous drugs, such as cocaine, amphetamines, or heroin. Persistent patterns of drug use in adolescence are a sign that problems in that person’s environment exist and need to be addressed immediately.
What Causes Substance Abuse in Family?
There is no single cause of family drug problems. Drug abuse develops over time; it does not start as full-blown abuse or addiction. There are different pathways or routes to the development of a family drug problems. Some of the factors that may place teens at risk for developing drug problems include:
- Insufficient parental supervision and monitoring
- Lack of communication and interaction between parents and kids....
