The process of chemical dependency

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

8 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

03/05/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Social sciences

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Summary :

Introduction.
Definitions of chemical use, abuse and addiction.
1. The notion of chemical use.
2. Drug abuse.
3. The concept of chemical addiction: Robson.
Discussion of models on the process of chemical dependency.
1. Model of the process of chemical addiction that adolescents typically go through.
2. Model proposed by Ungerleider and Beigel.
3. The process of drug addiction: The model of drug pathways developed by Parker.
Models of chemical dependency.
1. Biological models.
2. The science of the human mind.
3. Behavioural models of addiction.
4. Sociocultural model of addiction and its limitations.
Chemical dependency: The individual and society.
Bibliography.

Abstract

Peele, Brodsky, and Arnold (1991:133) cited in Dowieko (1993:11) maintain that '[addiction] is not an all-or-nothing thing, but a continuum from moderate excess to severe compulsion'. With this citation in mind, I will attempt to discuss both the 'how' and 'why' of addiction, focusing on the main models that sought to explain the process of addiction, as well as the reasons why certain individuals, unlike others, finish up victims of a severe drug dependency. Nonetheless, I will start this essay by briefly exploring the terminology and provide a definition of those concepts that by their very own nature are central to the conceptual understanding of the process of chemical dependency - chemical use, abuse and addiction. I will finish off this essay by pointing at the way drug addiction would typically act upon both the individual and society.

As a starting point, it might be important to keep in mind that even if chemical use, abuse and addiction are distinctive concepts, yet there is hardly any consensus concerning their definitions or diagnosis. Indeed, Fishbein and Pease (1996) explain how definitions of various forms of chemical use and abuse vary among cultures and how the distinction between chemical use and abuse, for instance, can be confusing and biased by subjective value judgments and personal experience.