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. These factors may be influenced by psychological, biological as well as social factors which can increase the likelihood of a person developing a chemical dependency disorder, or chemical abuse (Levin, et al, 2001). Some of this factors may include a lack of positive peer influence, psychiatric disorders such as bipolar and depression, weak support at home, a history of physical or sexual abuse, as well as a family’s history of chemical dependence. Substance abuse may be differentiated
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