Beating Drug Addiction and Becoming Successful - Research Paper Example

Beating Drug Addiction and Becoming Successful Drug addiction is typically regarded as one of the most serious issue currently faced by the modern day society depicting a rapid increase in the fatalities caused by the issue over the preceding few years. It has been viewed that the populaces belonging to the young generation are more vulnerable to drug addiction in comparison with others because of their desire to feel sophisticated or adult-like. In this regard, the different rehabilitation centers play an imperative role in beating such issues with the establishment of various rehabilitation programs. Based on such concerns, in order to make a comprehensive analysis about the subject matter of beating drug addiction, numerous journals and corporate library materials have been used in this study. Moreover, both qualitative as well as quantitative approaches in relation to research methodology have been taken into concern. It is in this context that the research has been expected to ultimately reveal the role played by the different rehabilitation centers in beating drug addiction over the past few years. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Background of the Study Drug addiction is fundamentally regarded as a major cause of health hazards in the modern lifestyle practices of individuals. Medical reports have specified that such addictions tend to cause chronic diseases amid the worldwide population (Moal & Koob, 2007). It is increasingly viewed as a sort of neuropsychiatric disorder that eventually places a massive burden upon the community in terms of increased level in health hazards and crimes linked with drug abuse and unlawful trafficking (Robbins & Everitt, 1999). It has been apparently observed that drugs contain certain strong chemicals that impose significant effects on the mental balance and cognitive skills of individuals by disturbing their nerve cells by a greater extent (NIH, 2011). It is worth mentioning in this regard that the young people are the ones who mostly tend to consume drugs as compared to other adults being influenced by various reasons such as extreme family pressures, desire to feel adult-like or sophisticated and low self-esteem among others. The major facets of a drug abuser encompass astonishing appearances, assertive personality as well as temperament, extraordinary behavioral attitudes and suicidal tendency (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). Concerning the criticality of such issues in the current societal context, medical assistance is being made easily available for the drug addicts so that the problem of drug addiction can be effectively controlled. In other words, it can be stated that beating drug addiction can be possible in this modern day context with greater availability and advancement in medical assistance. To be illustrated, the rehabilitation centers strategically emphasize upon introducing as well as implementing numerous treatment programs to beat drug addiction within a societal context with the intention of changing the behavioral attitudes of the addicted individuals and encourage them to lead a better life in future. It can broadly be affirmed in this regard that the treatment programs which are being utilized by the different rehabilitation centers all around the world would ultimately play an influential role in beating the problem of drug addiction successfully (WeDoRecover, 2013). 1.2. Scope of work Focusing on the current strategic procedures adopted for beating drug addiction successfully, this study emphasizes on addressing a serious social issue. It further examines the role played by the different rehabilitation centers in beating the issue which can assist strategic policy makers in the global society to overcome the problem with greater efficiency. 1.3. Limitations One of the major limitations of this research study was related to the obtainment of free consent from the respondents, i.e. the drug abusers in some of the selected rehabilitation centers. Furthermore ethical responsibilities also imposed a degree of limitation on this study owing to the influence of various social and legal constraints related to drug trafficking. 1.4. Methodology The research methodology for this particular research study has been based upon a mixed approach comprising both qualitative as well as quantitative approaches. Besides, an administered questionnaire survey through personal interview process has been taken into concern for the data collection in this research study. In order to comprehensibly analyze the collected data, graphical and diagrammatic representation forms has been considered. 1.5. Structure of the study The structure of this research study encompasses a fundamental introduction which progresses towards a critical literature review. In the next stage, a summary of the findings obtained through the questionnaire survey has been conducted. The key findings generated through the survey procedure have been further analyzed in detail in the analysis and discussion section. At the end, a comprehensive conclusion summarizing the study findings has also been described followed by a section of recommendations for the rehabilitation centers. Chapter 2: Literature Review According to Abadinsky (2010), the term, ‘drug addiction’ is fundamentally described as the state of unceasing or episodic intoxication that is mainly fabricated by repetitive usage of drugs. To put it in simple words, drug addiction is the state where a person, habitually tends to depend on regular drug intakes to perform his/her daily activities normally. There are various causes of drug addiction that generally encompass shortage of willpower, moral weakness as well as mental illness, communal problems, family socialization and inclination towards anti-social activities (Narconon London, 2011). Botvin (1997) identified that in the current phenomenon, the problem of drug addiction has been mainly observed amid the young generation people comprising adolescents as well as teenagers. In majority instances, the young generation people tend to use drugs due to extreme family pressures, lower degree of self-esteem and their desire to feel sophisticated or adult-like. The chief characteristics of a drug abuser include the personality traits deciphering over-confident attitudes, unusual physical appearances along with loud facial expressions which make such populaces quite distinct from the common public. Drug addicts have also been observed to possess another significant characteristic of suicidal tendencies (Botvin, 1997). As stated by Possi (1997), the problem of drug addiction imposes considerable impacts upon physiological, social, financial and psychological aspects. When concerning the physiological aspects, it has been observed that extreme use of drugs tend to adversely affect the health of an individual. At the primary stage of drug addiction, the regular intakes of drugs tend to affect the brain functioning of the drug abusers and which gradually creates strong effects on their nervous system. Thus, it can be stated that the entire body functioning of a drug abuser gets affected with regular drug consumption; whereby a longer period of being addicted to drugs tend to increase the mortality of the addicted. In relation to social aspects, it has been apparently observed that the drug abusers often lead an isolated life due to tremendous drug consumptions which results in disturbances in their social functioning. When analyzing the financial aspects, it has been found that drugs are marketed at a cost-intensive way for which the regular consumers often have to face various financial difficulties. Such financial issues are mostly faced by the young generation people who are learnt to depend largely upon the household income with meager capability to earn their own living and thereby afford regular drug consumptions (UNODC, n.d.). With regard to the psychological aspects, after being addicted to drugs, the drug abusers normally tend to lose their courage as well as confidence which further restrict them to take their own decisions independently owing to the effects caused by extreme use of drugs on their nervous and brain systems (Possi, 1996). As stated by Hanson, Venturelli & Fleckenstein (2011), the rate and the consequences led by drug addiction has gained momentum in this modern day context that has not only inhibited the moral of the society but has also augmented criminal activities which further causes serious negative impacts on the socio-economic balance of the society. According to the report published by United Nations (2003), the problem of drug addiction can be effectively controlled by providing simpler treatments to the drug abusers. In this regard, a regimented and compassionate as well as trained ‘treatment workforce’ can successfully mitigate the problem of drug addiction persisting within the global society. Treatment, in this particular context can be described as the introduction as well as the implementation of well-structured intervention programs that are designed with the intention of managing health related issues as a result of drug abuse. Hence, drug addiction can be successfully beaten by developing as well as utilizing efficient treatment strategies focusing upon certain key areas. These areas principally comprise engaging effective partner agencies, every member of a community, guaranteeing policy commitment, performing sound evaluation along with planning for the suitable exploitation of the accessible resources in accordance to the requirements (United Nations, 2003). According to the report published by Transformations Treatment Center (n.d.), there are several ways by which drug addiction can be beaten successfully in this modern day context. In this connection, one of the important ways to beat drug addiction is educating the drug addicted people regarding the results of regular drug abuse. This particular role of informing can be played by the parents at the primary stage who need to discuss about the adverse effects of drug abuse to their growing children and make them aware about the mental as well as physical outcomes of such addictions (McCaffrey, 1997). The other significant way of beating drug addiction successfully is encouraging the drug abusers to visit rehabilitation centers and avail the required treatments which can ultimately support them to alter their behavioral attitudes and most importantly encourage them to lead a better life (Transformations Treatment Center, n.d.). Focusing on a similar context, Niraula, Chhetry, Singh, Nagesh & Shyangwa (2006) noted that rehabilitation centers play an imperative role in beating or diminishing drug addiction among the young people by a considerable level. The rehabilitation centers introduce as well as develop effective rehabilitation programs in order to provide active support to the drug abusers with the aim to make extensive transformation in their behavioral attitudes as well as characteristic developments. As stated by Niraula, Chhetry, Singh, Nagesh & Shyangwa (2006), the prime objective of rehabilitation centers is to facilitate the drug abusers to attain long lasting abstinence, enhance both personal as well as social functioning and eradicate any sort of complications caused due to drug abuse. As per the observation of Platt (1995), the rehabilitation programs that have been introduced by different rehabilitation centers with the purpose of transforming the lives of the drug abusers include evaluation of the vocational requirements of the addicted individuals in terms of skills training, counseling and job placements. According to the report published by NTA (2012), different rehabilitation centers attempt to introduce as well as develop effective structured programs intended towards the development of the lifestyle possessed by the drug abusers and likewise, encourage them to mitigate various sorts of health or community related issues. In this similar context, the programs include psychological interventions, grouped or individual therapeutic sessions and domestic as well as social skills (NTA, 2012). Chapter 3: Summary of Findings In order to obtain valuable findings relating to the research study, an administered questionnaire survey, based on personal interviews has been designed with due consideration to the young drug abusers as the respondents. The respondents have been accessed from different rehabilitation centers. Notably, in order to preserve confidentiality and integrity through free consents from the respondents, when disclosing the facts, the names of the rehabilitation centers and the identification of the respondents have not been mentioned. The sample size for this research study has been confirmed as 50 that have been selected on the basis of simple random sampling method. When analyzing the results obtained through the questionnaire, the questions included in Part A (personal details) (refer to appendix) reveals that 20% of the respondents who were below the age of 20 years bearing the educational level of primary school have been addicted to drugs particularly with the desire to become sophisticated or adult-like. A majority of the respondents, i.e. 36% of the total 50 respondents aged between 21 years to 25 years possessing the education level of secondary as well as post-secondary education qualification have been recorded as addicted to drugs. One of the major reasons observed for their drug addiction was unemployment and family pressures in the age-group of 21 years to 25 years unlike the group of teenagers where the main causes were observed to be family socialization and desire to become adult-like. Furthermore, only 16% of the respondents belonging to the age group of above 31 years were viewed to be drug addicted due to the reason of family pressures and family socialization. To be summarized, as per the data obtained the youths possessing the education level of primary, secondary and post-secondary schooling are the ones who have been largely involved with drug addiction. Apart from the reasons of family socialization and unemployment, another major reason for the majority of the respondents, i.e. 36% of the total sample population, to get involved with drug addiction was family structure. In this similar context, it has been apparently observed that 36% of the respondents have been brought up by their step-parents that ultimately led them towards mental stress where they found comfort when taking drugs. This can be better understood with the help of the following table. According to the results obtained from question number 7 (refer to appendix), it has been viewed that a majority of the respondents, i.e. 58%, use more than one drug at a time. The remaining respondents, i.e. 42%, do not use in excess of one drug at a time. The data which were acquired can be well observed from the graphical representation below. Fig.1: More than one drug usage at a time With reference to the findings obtained through question 8 (refer to appendix), it has been observed that 61% of the respondents experienced severe medical or health problems while using drugs. Conversely, a smaller portion of the respondents the remaining 39% did not encounter any severe medical or health problem. The diagrammatical representation regarding this issue has been provided below for a better comprehension. Fig.2: Occurrence of medical or health problems due to drug abuse With regard to question number 9 (refer to appendix), affirming the experience of withdrawal signs (felt sick) when stopped taking drugs, it has been apparently observed that 55% of the respondents have experienced withdrawal indications at the time of stopping drugs. While, the remaining respondents, i.e. 45%, revealed that they did not experience any sort of withdrawal symptoms in the form of feeling sick or in any other way. An explicit idea concerning the data obtained from the above scenario can be better explained from the graphical representation which has been provided below. Fig.3: Occurrence of withdrawal symptoms while stopping taking drugs With regard to question number 10 (refer to Appendix) concerning the expectations of the respondents, it has been viewed that a majority of the respondents, i.e. 33%, expect that they can get rid of drug abuse with the help of the rehabilitation centers by a greater extent. In this context, 27% and 25% of the respondents expect that they can mitigate health or moral issues and also can lead a better life taking their regular sessions in the rehabilitation centers respectively. Only 15% of them expect that they can provide active support to their family from the rehabilitation centers. In this regard, the data which were obtained can be well observed from the graphical representation below. Fig.4: Hopes of the drug abusers from rehabilitation centers The responses that have been obtained from question number 11 (refer to Appendix), revealed that a majority of the respondents, i.e. 28%, have been engaged in their respective rehabilitation centers for more than two years and 27% of them received the assistance for two years only. While, the other respondents, i.e. 25%, were recorded to be engaged in the rehabilitation centers for one year and 20% for six months only. The data which were obtained can be well observed from the graphical representation below. Fig.5: Terms of engagement of the drug abusers in the rehabilitation centers In relation to question number 12 (refer to appendix), it has been observed that the majority of the respondents had observed significant changes in their personalities. In this regard, 37% of the respondents observed to have decreased their dosage of regular drug intakes while 29% of them viewed that their behavioral attitudes have enhanced at large. Moreover, 15% of the respondents observed increased family care and 19% of the respondents viewed to maintain a drug-free lifestyle. The diagrammatical representation regarding this issue has been provided below for a better comprehension. Fig.6: Changes observed by the drug abusers According to the responses obtained from the last question, it has been noted that almost every respondent wishes to live their lifestyle in a better manner in future. They desire to lead their life as a socially responsible individual providing active support to their family. Chapter 6: Analysis and discussion of results 6.1. Main gaps in the current literature The research was intended to be conducted from a broader view based on an in-depth analysis of the participation of rehabilitation centers in mitigating the social issue of drug abuse. Addressal of this research issue deciphers the inclusion of responses from overall populaces including the drug addicts who were being treated in the rehabilitation centers as well as those who tend to exclude themselves from availing the assistance of rehabilitation centers. This could have rendered a critical view to the research problem identified in this study. However, the drug addicts who are not being treated in the rehabilitation centers were observed to be inaccessible in a substantial number to satisfy the sample size requirements. Therefore, interview for the purpose of this study was conducted only with those drug addicted people being treated in the rehabilitation centers which can be identified as one of the main gaps in the current literature study. As can be observed from the findings obtained from this research study, a significant portion of the young people, who are recorded to belong from an age group of 21 years – 25 years possessing the education level of secondary as well as post-secondary schooling, are the common victims and face greater tendency to grow addicted towards drugs. Moreover, it has also been observed that the young people use more than one drug at a time which is fundamentally motivated by their personal experiences of the problems such as unemployment and family pressures among others. A majority of the respondents, i.e. the drug abusers involved in this current research study revealed a positive feel stating that they can get rid of drug addiction with the assistance of the rehabilitation centers. In this connection, these respondents expected that they can mitigate health or moral issues and can also lead a better life with the assistance of the rehabilitation centers. These respondents have been engaged for at least one year on an average in their respective rehabilitation centers. During this period, they observed significant transformations in their behavioral attitudes as well as personalities. Moreover, the respondents strongly realized that they had decreased the frequency and/or the consumption amount or dosage of drugs along with deciphering increased family care attitude and inclination towards maintaining a drug-free lifestyle after their involvement in the respective rehabilitation centers. According to the responses that have been obtained from the drug abusers as respondents considered for this research study, it has been noted that the addicted young people generally wish to lead a better lifestyle in their future. They also intend to lead their life as a socially responsible individual delivering active as well as greater support to their families. Contextually, it can be stated that the different rehabilitation centers play a decisive role in altering the behavioral attitudes of the drug addicts and most importantly in beating the critical concern of drug addiction successfully from the societal context. As a matter of fact, there lay the existence of various ways through which the vital problem of drug addiction can be beaten or decreased. In this similar context, the ways include educating the drug abusers regarding the negative consequences of such habits, increasing awareness, especially among the parents who require discussing about the adverse effects of drug abuse to their children and making them aware about the mental as well as physical outcomes of drug addiction. Besides, apart from the aforementioned ways, encouraging the drug abusers to visit rehabilitation centers can be regarded as the other imperative way towards beating drug addiction successfully. It has been apparently observed in this context that the rehabilitation centers actively support the drug abusers to modify their behavioral attitudes and most importantly encourage them to lead a better life in future. Furthermore, these centers attempt to periodically introduce as well as develop different effectual rehabilitation based programs with the intention of delivering active support to the drug abusers by making considerable alteration in their character traits along with behavioral attitudes. The different rehabilitation programs aim towards the assessment of the vocational requirements of individual drug abusers, and subsequently rendering them counseling facilities, skills training and job placements assisting them towards obtaining a better lifestyle (NTA, 2012). Even though the research study concentrates on revealing the participation of rehabilitation centers in beating drug addiction successfully from a broader perspective, primary significance has been provided to the trend witnessed among young drug addicted people. This particular aspect can be considered as one of the main gaps in this current research literature. The other gap that has been recognized in this current literature is regarding its scope. As the respondents have been considered from the overall populaces instead of focusing especially upon the young people, the scope of this research study eventually became quite narrowed. Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be stated that rehabilitation centers play a dominant role in encouraging healthy lifestyle of the drug abusers by encouraging them to mitigate or deal with different sorts of health or community related issues in their daily life. However, as mentioned above, the main gaps that have been identified in this current research literature may limit the scope of further exploring the research study by rendering greater significance towards all populaces who are addicted to drugs irrespective of their age-group diversity to obtain a broader perspective of the phenomenon. 6.2. Future Areas of Research The findings obtained through this study can be quite beneficial for rehabilitation centers in addressing the actual needs of the drug addicts, especially those who belong to the young age-group. The research study has been concerning the role played by rehabilitation centers in successfully beating drug addiction with the introduction as well as the development of rehabilitation programs. In this similar context, one of the areas that need to be researched in future is assessing the trends of drug usage in order to determine any sort of external, internal as well as developmental factors for the enhancement of different drug-prevention programs. Another area that requires being researched in future relating to this study can be identified in terms of evaluating the efficiencies of the rehabilitation programs that are designed by the different centers in order to change the behavioral attitudes, develop the lifestyle and encourage the drug abusers to cope up with any sort of health or community related issues. The investigation concerning the different sources of drugs which tend to influence the habits of the addicted individuals can be considered as the other future area of research that needs to be considered. The identification of the various drug sources would eventually support the rehabilitation centers to effectively design their preventive and curative programs in accordance with the issues that are commonly faced by the drug abusers, especially the young people. Notably, such initiatives can further address the influence of societal rudiments, parental guidance and other factors to actively mitigate such issues from the society. Thus, it can be concluded that the aforementioned indentified future research areas can ultimately aid the research study to fulfill its expected targets and to respond in a better way at large. References Abadinsky, H. (2010). Drug use and abuse: a comprehensive introduction. United Kingdom: Cengage Learning. Botvin, G. J. (1997). The etiology and prevention of drug abuse among minority youth. United Kingdom: Routledge. Hanson, G., Venturelli, P., & Fleckenstein, A. (2011). Drugs and society. United States: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. McCaffrey, B. (1997). Global issues. Electronic Journal of the U.S. Information Agency 2(3), pp.1-44. Moal, M. L. & Koob, G. F. (2007). Drug addiction: Pathways to the disease and pathophysiological perspectives. European Neuropsychopharmacology 17, pp.377-393. Narconon London. (2011). What causes drug addiction and alcoholism? Retrieved from http://www.drugrehab.co.uk/downloads/TheCycleofAddiction.pdf Niraula, S. R., Chhetry, D. B., Singh, G. K., Nagesh, S., & Shyangwa, P. M. (2006). Role of rehabilitation centers in reducing drug abuse problem in a town of Eastern Nepal. Kathmandu University Medical Journal 4(4), pp.448-454. NIH. (2011). Drug Facts: understanding drug abuse and addiction. Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-abuse-addiction NTA. (2012). The role of residential rehabilitation in an integrated treatment system. Retrieved from http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/roleofresi-rehab.pdf Robbins, T. W., & Everitt, B. J. (1999). Drug addiction: bad habits add up. Nature 398, pp.567-570. Possi, M. K. (1996). Effects of drug abuse on cognitive and social behaviors: a potential problem among youth in Tanzania. UTAFITI (New Series) 3(1), pp.111-128. Platt, J. J. (1995). Vocational rehabilitation of drug abusers. Psychological Bulletin 117(3), pp.416-433. Transformations Treatment Center. (n.d.). A brief guide to understanding alcoholism and drug addiction. Retrieved from http://transformationstreatment.com/TTC-A%20Brief%20Guide%20to%20Understanding%20Alcoholism%20and%20Drug%20Addiction.pdf UNODC. (n.d.). Economic and social consequences of drug abuse and illicit trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.unodc.org/pdf/technical_series_1998-01-01_1.pdf United Nations. (2003). Drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation: a practical planning and implementation guide. Retrieved from http://www.unodc.org/docs/treatment/Guide_E.pdf U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d.). Recognizing the drug abuser. Retrieved from http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/brochures/pdfs/recognizing_drug_abuser_trifold.pdf WeDoRecover, 2013. Articles. Retrieved from http://wedorecover.com/articles/article/after-detox-how-do-i-beat-drug-and-alcohol-addition.html Bibliography Dasgupta, A. (2010). Beating drug tests and defending positive results: a toxicologists perspective. United States: Springer. Mazerolle, L. G., & Roehl, J. (1999). Controlling drug and disorder problems: Oakland’s beat health program. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/175051.pdf Narconon International. (2013). Centers. Retrieved from http://www.narconon.org/drug-rehab/centers/narconon-trois-rivieres.html Appendix PART A: Personal Details (Please place “✓” in the boxes where appropriate) 1. Age: Below 20 21 - 25 26 - 30 Above 31 2. Gender: Male Female 3. Level of Education attained: Primary school Secondary School Post-Secondary School Tertiray or above 4. Family Structure Two Biological Parents Step-Parents Single Parents Orphan 5. Household Income Below US$ 5,000 US$ 5,000-US$ 10,000 US$ 10,000-US$ 15,000 US$ 20,00 or above 6. Causes of Drug Addiction Desire to Become Sophistcated or Adult-like Family Pressures Family Socialization Unemployment PART B: Opinion on Beating Drug Addiction (Please place “✓” in the boxes where appropriate) 7. Do you use more than one drug at a time? Yes No 8. Have you had medical or health problems as a result of your drug abuse? Yes No 9. Have you experienced withdrawal symptoms (felt sick) when stopped taking drugs? Yes No 10. What was your expectations from this rehab? Get rid of drug abuse Family support Mitigate health or moral issues Lead a better social life 11. How long have you have been engaged in this rehab? Six Months One year Two Years More than two years 12. Do you observe any changes? Enhancement in behavioural attitudes Decreased dosage of drugs Maintain drug-free lifestyle Increased family care 13. How do you wish to live your lifestyle in future? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Read More