Drug use/abuse and deviance

Introduction

Deviance is the act of rejecting the social norms and engaging in antisocial activities which are not accepted by the community. Through engaging in drug abuse activities, such people acts immorally, unethically and against the law. Though deviance does not always portray antisocial behavior, some situations such as drug abuse clearly portrays the action against the law. This means that deviance is defined with respect to social setting. Drug abuse is a deviant behavior and according to social constructionist theory, many people engage in drug abuse activities due to lack of social control and conventional culture which reinforces conformity.  In addition, the society has rules, regulations and common values which govern its members.  Deviant behaviors do not follow the common values and society norms. Society takes responsive measures to deal with deviant behaviors contributed by drug abuse. Generally, drug abuse is socially constructed in that people engages in deviant behavior through breaking the social norm of the society.

 

 It is important to understand drug abuse, in order to understand how deviance behavior occurs and how social constructionist defines both drug abuse and deviance.  Drug abuse is the act of taking illegal drugs and the act contributes to negative consequences which affect life in terms of interpersonal relationship, education and other social interaction (Berridge, 2015). Drug abuse results to drug addiction.  According to Berridge (2015) drug abuse is related with crime. The important point to note is that drug abuse is contributed by substance use which is associated with repeated intake. The maladaptive pattern causes drug addiction which then leads to antisocial behavior. Someone who is addictive increases tolerance and social harm. Drug abuse is a deviant behavior because it is a voluntary action which violates the social norms.  Drug abuse leads to ethical and social issues which contribute to conflicting values in societies.   It is important to note that drug  users  changes their lifestyle and they become involved in  situation which encourage crime hence  participating  in illegal activities (Berridge, 2015).  Drug abuse affects the nervous system and personality and finally it interferes with the health and causes adverse issues in the society.  The self-administration is an action which goes against the norms of a given culture. A person who takes drug loses self-confidence and as a result, the person gains a negative sense of doing anything such as kidnapping and rape.  In addition, people show deviance in various forms in that they also engage in sexual behaviors. Particularly the young adults, they may engage in opposite sex relationship or premarital sex for the purpose of making money and for economic means (Berridge, 2015). In this situation, they put fashionable and unacceptable clothing which do not portray a positive image of the culture. Drug abuse creates a hostility environment where drug users become hostile to their friends and society in general.

 

According to social constructionist approach, people understand the society through the cultural rules which are imposed. The theory presents the assumption that people should focus on knowledge and follow the social reality in interacting with the social group (Shipunova, 2016). In addition, people understand the world through interaction with social groups. Thus, people create psychological constructs through social discourse. The theory is strengthened by principles which are based on the ideology that reality in social constructionist is represented by language and maintained by social progresses. Human beings enter in a world where people understand the reality and share common beliefs which should be followed within a society (Shipunova, 2016). Social constructionist is derived from the ideology that in a society, individuals constructs a sense of reality. However, people tend to reject the sense of reality or in other words they create self-production and social order.  Social constructs focuses on three elements which creates social reality. First is externalization which indicates that individuals in society have the responsibility in creating institutions. By creating an institution, they construct objective reality. Both externalization and objectivities makes an individual within the society to become a social product where he or she uses institutional role to gain social identity (Shipunova, 2016). Social constructs are natural ideas which are assigned within a society or in a particularly environment and rather than applying immutable laws, social constructionist focuses on human choices. In other words, society and world believes shapes the reality and positive perceptions. With respect to the theory, reality complies with what is socially acceptable and unacceptable behaviors are shaped by everyday situations and experience (Shipunova, 2016). Thus, failure to follow the reality is a deviance behavior and in this case, deviance is revealed through the illegal actions caused by drug addiction.  At this point, a person shows deviant behaviors which are defined by the society with respect to the norms.

 

Drug abuse not only affects the user but also the entire society and governmental resources.  Note that drug abuse cause adverse effects to the users’ health   and causes diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, mental disorders, Lung disease among many (Borges et al, 2016).  Children whose parents are drug abuse are negatively impacted in that they lack parental care, medical care and also they are emotionally and physically mistreated. There are other risks to children in that some illicit drugs are manufactured in homes and the chemical produced includes anhydrous ammonia, iodine and others which if inhaled; they cause long term effects to the body in terms of psychological problems.  In economy particularly in business field, drug abusers are unable to work effectively hence giving other workers heavy workloads (Borges et al, 2016). Due to lack of self-control, drug users engage in unethical behaviors in a way that they even steal cash and products so that they can buy drugs. The productivity and economy in general is affected in that drug users slow the productivity due to absenteeism and poor performance. The business is affected financially in that it provides benefits and medical insurances to workers   and drug users often gets illnesses thereby misusing the finance in unproductive way (Borges et al, 2016). Other form of deviant behaviors which affects the community is theft or murder. Since drug users are unable to work in order to sustain them, they commit crime such as theft and this becomes a security issue in the society. In addition, the side effects of drug for example the effect on brain makes the drug user to commit crime such as murder since he or she lacks self-control and it is difficult to distinguish between wrong and right and to act ethically (Borges et al, 2016).

 

 In the case of drug abuse, the act is both criminal and deviant.  This is because, the drug user acts against the social and legal rules.  Drug abuse has effects on local and global level. It causes rapid changes in family and community and in global level it affects political and economic aspects. The implication of deviant behavior from the drug abuse affects the community in a negative way.  Family, as part of the community is affected in that the sense of belong is weakened. They are viewed through negative sight by the community members since they have the responsibility to nurture and encourage their children to act in a moral way.  Apart from deviance behavior from drug users, other deviance behaviors which are against the society norms are contributed by manufactures and distributors.  The process of selling drug leads to other harmful behaviors such as money-laundering, terrorism and use of guns.  Drug abuse disconnects young people with their family and leads to adverse effects which affect their lives. For example, studies on deviancy behavior from drug users show that young girls become pregnant as a result of engaging in drug abuse behaviors. Illicit drug and crime are closely interrelates and a higher number of crime is contributed as a result of peer pressure. Drug users tend to follow common behaviors which violate the society rule and regulations.

 

According to social constructionist, drug abuse and deviance is related with social influences.  In this theory, individuals are interconnected with cultural and political contexts and the interaction creates aspect of humanity as well as social practices. The theory presents the assumption that human nature is not universal but the mutual existence is shaped by socialization and enculturation (Gergen, 2015). It is important to note that deviant behaviors which are caused by drug abuse are referred to as crime in that the actions are non-conformity following that they fails to comply with the law. Gergen (2015) presents a similar notion based on social constructionist and asserts that individuals’ interaction and social reality influences understanding. In addition, people develop social reality through interaction in life. The author asserts that social constructionists creates communal beliefs and connects themes related with gender, power and more. Through this theory, it is possible to understand the human interaction and how they relate in the world experience in creating understanding. Gergen, (2015) asserts that social constructionist focuses human interaction and behavior and asserts that personal representation regulates thoughts and behaviors of others.  In relation to human interaction and gaining social reality in life, the theory presents the ideology that deviance arises due to lack of individual control. Gergen, (2015) drug users engage in deviant behaviors which harm their health and society as well. They engage in illegal activities such as drinking driving, property damage among other unaccepted behaviors. The author asserts that people tend to engage in deviance behavior during the stage of drug addiction. At this stage, addiction affects the brain and the brain change contributes to long-lasting harmful behaviors (Reibstein, 2013). In this case, harmful behaviors are referred to as deviant behaviors because they are against the social norms and they affect the society in various ways. In other words, deviance is socially constructed given that norms which are set up within the society are violated.  Scholars and research asserts that the act of misusing drug is a voluntary behavior which makes the person to lose self-control and behave in unaccepted manner (Reibstein, 2013). For example, alcohol lowers inhibitions and leads someone to risky behaviors including lack of responsibility. Cocaine affects the brain and increases irritability. Marijuana affects the nervous system and the drug user may lose self-control and act in a negative way (Reibstein, 2013).

 

In order to change the deviant behaviors and implement positive behaviors, first it is important to understand the drug use patterns and then support the drug users. Note that drug users pass through different patterns and the first pattern is known as experimental use (Riley & Hayward, 2004). In this pattern or stage, people become curious about drugs and others are enticed by peer pressure. Though drug use in this stage can cause harm, there is no addiction. People often takes mood-altering drugs and the continue use opens paths for entering in the next stage which is known as social use. In this stage, drug user takes drugs in social institution for various purposes such as recreational, having fun, socialization and more (Riley & Hayward, 2004). Social use creates an environment where drug users get an opportunity to participate in substance use regularly and he or she finds it hard to stop the behavior.  At this point, the users show defiance and depression. Third, drug users enter in Binge drinking or in others words becomes involved in risky behavior. During this stage, drug abuse not only affects the health but also cause negative behaviors which effects personal life and community (Riley & Hayward, 2004). The next stage is substance abuse and dependence. At this point, the drug user is unable to control his or her life and addiction becomes chronic and it becomes hard to recover from addiction.  If the user does not abstain, the dependency stage may cause death.  

 

 The drug abuse can become a positive behavior through employing behavioral approaches. Behavioral treatment plays a great role in helping them in recovery and   resisting in drug.  Therapists in behavioral treatment should provide incentives which will offer modifying attitudes, life skills, and environmental cues and help the family with communication skills and other forms of social interaction (Danielsen et al, 2016). Drug abusers and particularly adolescents can change their behavior through forming group therapy. The peer discussion can improve social reinforcement and help individuals live a drug-free lifestyle.  Other important point is that drug users can create community reinforcement approach and this will help them maintain abstinence and they can also gain problems-solving skills, communication skill and recreational activities (Danielsen et al, 2016). Cognitive –Behavioral Therapy can also change the drug abuse behaviors and create a positive behavior through providing teaching programs for the purpose of providing coping strategies.  In CBT, drug abusers will learn about consequences of drug abuse, personal skills, self-control skills and problem-solving skills and apply them in life. Next, contingency management is effective in reinforcing positive behaviors. This approach helps the drug users with low-cost incentives which act as substitutes of drug abuse (Danielsen et al, 2016). The incentives weaken the drug abuse behaviors and reinforce healthier activities which would create a meaningful life. Other effective approach which can play a great role in shaping behavior is Motivational Enhancement Therapy. This approach provides drug abusers with advice and helps them in quitting drug abuse behaviors and engaging in treatment.  In other words, the approach mainly focuses on treatment and it uses motivational interviewing and through counseling, a person involved in drug abuse understands the importance of treatment and takes a step to get a treatment and create a plan for change (Carroll & Onken, 2005). Other behavioral approach which should be included in changing behavior is Family Behavior Therapy.  This approach is effective and produces positive results since it plays a great role not only in helping a person quite drug use but also in solving other problems such as unemployment, depression and more. In other words, this approach not only focuses on behavioral aspects but also contingency management (Carroll & Onken, 2005).  FBT connects the drug user with friends and families, removes the conflict in between and reinforces relationship. The point is that the approach creates a new home environment and in contingency management, drug users are assisted in creating behavioral goals such as effective parenting. The last behavioral approach to reinforce positive behavior is Twelve-Step Facilitation Therapy (Carroll & Onken, 2005).This approach involves active engagement and ensures that drug users follows three important aspects namely, acceptance, surrender and active involvement. These play a great role in ensuring that drug abuser understands the negative effects of the behavior and the only solution is quitting. Then, the person decides to follow the 12-step program with recovery activities. Third, a person follows the treatment and becomes actively involved in 12-step programs and facilitation (Carroll & Onken, 2005).

 

 In order to prevent drug abuse and deviant behaviors, there should be a well-constructed plan which will involve drug abuse problems in the community, prevention programs, long-term objectives and prevention strategies (Lowe et al, 2016). Community should be responsible in assessing drug abuse and other risk factors so that it can understand the nature of the problem and implement relevant programs which will help in meeting community needs.  It is important to understand that prevention starts with the community and so it is responsible in creating motivation, hold a discourse with community members, involve the media and join hands with different level of community groups in planning and developing prevention programs on how to end the drug use (Lowe et al, 2016).  In preventive programs, risk and protective factors should be included. There should be universal programs designed for general population such as family, selective programs designed for groups at risk such as children and indicated programs designed for drug users who are unable to quit. Preventive programs designed for families will help the family members with communication skills, discipline style and other management skills.  Parents can also gain cognitive and social skills and help them to take active roles. Family program will also improve parent-child connection and family guidance (Lowe et al, 2016). Preventive program designed for children will provide academic skills, self-control and social behaviors. This will improve academic performance through teaching drug resistance, social skills and importance of creating meaningful life as a young person. Programs designed to community will provide community members with prosocial behaviors and new policies which should be followed (Lowe et al, 2016). The programs should also involve measures to deal with mental illnesses so that mentally ill can get treatment and be prevented to engage in substance abuse.

 Conclusion

Drug abuse and deviant behaviors go hand- in- hand.  Drug abusers develop tolerance and at this stage, their engage in deviant behaviors which are rejected by the society. Change in behaviors is the main symptom which is portrayed and the users become disconnected with family and society. According to social constructionist approach, society has set social norms which community members should follow. It focuses on subjective and objective reality and through knowledge and everyday interaction, people understands the reality. Deviance in this case is referred to as social construction in that the society norms should followed and failure to follow indicates that the drug user is violating the norms. The drug abuse and deviant behavior is a voluntary act created in social interaction. In general, the theory asserts that an act is defined as a deviant behavior or a social problem when there is a claim made by social movement. In other words, drug abuse becomes a deviant behavior because it violates the society norms which are created by the community. Other important point is that the community takes a social response in order to address the deviant behavior. For example in the case of drug abuse, society deals with the issue through taking measures such as medical treatment or psychiatric evaluation. Community should be in the frontline in preventing abuse through providing programs with preventive measures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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