PSYC 2050: Drugs and Behaviour
An Overview of Drug Use
Dr. Nicol www.drjnicol.weebly.com
PSYC 2050: Lecture 1 Dr. J. Nicol
General Principles of Drug Use
Important Terms
▪ Drug
▪ Any substance, natural or artificial, other than food,
that by its chemical nature alters structure or function
in a living organism
▪ Use is not abuse
▪ Every drug has multiple effects
▪ Illicit drug
▪ A drug that is unlawful to possess or use
▪ Amount matters
▪ Deviant drug use
▪ Drug use that is not common within a social group
▪ User’s history and expectations affect drugrelated effects
and is disapproved of by the majority
▪ Drug misuse
▪ Use of drugs or chemicals in greater amounts than, or
▪ Drugs are not good or bad
for purposes other than, those prescribed by a doctor
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Important Terms
Have Things Really Changed?
▪ Drug abuse
▪ Substance use in a manner, an amount, or
▪ Drug use is not new
in situations such that it causes social,
occupational, psychological, or physical
problems
▪ Drug dependence
▪ A more precise term than addiction
▪ A state in which an individual uses a drug
so frequently or consistently that it would
be difficult for the person to stop
▪ May be physiological and/or psychological
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▪ Throughout history, drugs have been used
for:
▪ Enhancing spiritual experiences
▪ Major economic roles
▪ Treatment for illnesses
▪ Developments in the past century
▪ Rise of legal pharmaceuticals
▪ Rise of the “war on drugs”
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Monitoring the Future
YouTube Video: Harlow’s Monkeys 4 min
Source: The Monitoring the Future Study, The University of Michigan.
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Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
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Correlates of Drug Use
Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health .
Demographics of Drug Use
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Antecedents of Drug Use
Gateway Substances
▪ Antecedent
▪ Gateway Drug
▪ One of the first drugs used by a typical drug
user
▪ Alcohol and tobacco are sometimes
considered gateway drugs
▪ a factor that occurs before an
event such as the initiation of
drug use
▪ Not necessarily causes of drug
use
▪ Examples of antecedents
▪ Gateway substances may not be the cause of
future drug use
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Aggressiveness
Conduct problems
Poor academic performance
Attachment to a drug-using peer
group
▪ Parental and community norms
that support drug use
▪ Gateway substances are perhaps best thought of
as early indicators of a basic pattern of deviant
behaviour resulting from a variety of risk factors
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Influences on Drug Use
Motives for Drug Use
▪ There are several influences of drug use
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Identification with a deviant subculture
Rebelliousness
Fads and cultural trends
Reinforcing properties of drugs
Desire to experience an altered state
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