Drug Addiction: Causes and Risk Factors
Causes of Drug Addiction
It is a popular myth that drug addiction is due to an individual’s weakness or a defect of character. And by extension, if a person really wanted to stop using, he or she could. The American Medical Association has categorized drug addiction as a chronic disease of the brain and the body. “Onset for most drug dependencies (ages 12-25) is similar to the age of onset for many mental illnesses.” (Report from NIMH 07)
The exact causes of drug addiction have not been identified. “Multiple interacting factors influence drug-using behavior and the loss of flexibility with respect to decisions about using a given drug.”
(Synopsis of Psychiatry, 10th Edition,
p. 385)
Clearly, the initial decision to start using drugs is based upon a variety of psychosocial factors. However, once drugs have entered the body, alterations to the brain and nervous system begin. Tolerance for the drugs quickly increases, and the choice to use or not use may no longer be so simple.
The psychodynamic factors involved in drug addiction are often tied to pre-existing mental health states: depression, anxiety, or a “disturbed ego.” In teens and adolescents there can be added environmental factors such as peer pressure and the influences of the media. Issues relating to stress, low self-esteem, and problematic relationships all have a serious impact upon a person’s decision to use drugs.
Studies have demonstrated that children raised in homes with active addicts are at greater risk of becoming drug addicts themselves, and definitive evidence linking drug addiction to the presence of hereditary genes has been found. Such genes would provide a pre-disposition for drug addiction, similar to the polygenes found in alcoholics. Some other indicators that are considered to be significant are parental involvement, gender (males are twice as likely to become addicted to drugs as females), mental health issues, and peer pressure.
Risks Associated with Drug Addiction
Once the drug has altered brain chemistry and function, the need to use the drug is a reality. Those alterations manifest in several ways:
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Confusion or altered reality
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Difficulty with cognitive functioning
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Motor skills and coordination are compromised
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Episodes of violence
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Loss of choice to continue to use a drug or stop
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Loss of sleep
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Loss of energy
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Loss of self-directed behavior
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Isolation
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Secretive behavior
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Lack of concern for personal hygiene
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Missing work or school or a decrease in performance
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Making excuses to take drugs
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Hostility when confronted about taking drugs
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Unsafe sexual practices
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Drug overdose
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Increased rates of cancer
(source: MedlinePlus)
Violence and Drug Addiction
Drugs are a significant factor in the commission of violent crimes. While drugs may not be the sole determining factor, the relationship between the two cannot be ignored or diminished.
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Drugs/crime relationship
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Definition
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Examples
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Drug-defined offenses
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Violations of laws prohibiting or regulating the possession, use, distribution, or manufacture of illegal drugs.
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Drug possession or use. Marijuana cultivation. Methamphetamine production. Cocaine, heroin, or marijuana sales.
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Drug-related offenses
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Offenses to which a drug's pharmacologic effects contribute; offenses motivated by the user's need for money to support continued use; and offenses connected to drug distribution itself.
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Violent behavior resulting from drug effects. Stealing to get money to buy drugs. Violence against rival drug dealers and violence against family members.
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Drug-using lifestyle
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A lifestyle in which the likelihood and frequency of involvement in illegal activity are increased because drug users may not participate in the legitimate economy and are exposed to situations that encourage crime.
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A life orientation with an emphasis on short-term goals supported by illegal activities. Opportunities to offend (commit criminal acts) resulting from contacts with offenders and illegal markets. Criminal skills learned from other offenders
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“The evidence indicates that drug users are more likely than non-users to commit crime, that arrestees frequently were under the influence of a drug at the time they committed their offense, and that drugs generate violence.” (Office of National Drug Control Policy, Fact Sheet, March 2000)
In 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice found that 61% of domestic violence offenders had substance abuse problems and 36% of victims of domestic violence had substance abuse problems.
While alcohol and substance abuse are often used to mitigate negative feelings and provide relief, when combined with other psychosocial factors and the neurological influences of substances, angry feelings can be intensified. Normal decision-making processes, which inhibit violent behavior, are thereby eliminated.
Without addiction treatment that includes therapy and other interventions, long-term abstinence could be unsustainable.
