Sexual Abuse And Substance Abuse Disorders Essay

Substance abuse as well as addiction is a topic many people choose to ignore or tend to believe that it does not affect them. Addiction itself does not seek out certain types of people but can affect anyone, at any time, for any reason. Stress, per pressure, financial trouble, even genetics all play a role in substance abuse and addiction. Unlike others, I don’t see substance abusers as weak willed but instead in need of guidance and someone to talk to about their problems. That is why, when I decided to go to school I was very interested in becoming an Addiction Counselor. I am one of those types of people who really enjoy learning new things and coming up with solutions for myself or others. The biggest reason that I decided to go to college was to find a job that I was actually fascinated with and wouldn’t dread going to work day in and day out. The biggest concern I have for my future job is stability and job availability. One area that I don’t really find high on my priority list is the money. I want to be able to make enough that I can survive and even thrive at times but I’m not looking for a job just for the financial gain. If I’m going to spend my life in a working profession it might as well be doing something I love.

Substance abuse is difficult to treat no matter the background someone comes from, but adding sociocultural influences from diverse cultures can add an even more difficult element when it comes to effective prevention and intervention strategies. The United States is a melting pot of diverse cultures, with the Hispanic population accounting for “one-half of the nation’s growth” (Steven & Smith, 2013, p. 328). When it comes to treating Hispanic individuals for substance abuse issues, one needs to be aware of the cultural differences and acculturation issues that are characteristic of this culture. Clinicians who work with the Hispanic population need to understand their cultural values and respect their diversity so that barriers to treatment can be overcome.

Drinking alcohol is a behavior that diverse ethnicities and cultures have adapted as a form of leisure, celebration, socialization, or cultural practice. Mexican American males have engaged in drinking alcohol for all of these reasons. It is important to analyze the process of acculturation Mexican American experience and how it affects their ability to persuade and control their alcohol consumption. The stress of adjusting to a new place than the one they have been accustomed to and have already been accepted in, can lead males to drink alcohol to help them in coping with their issues. The gravity of extreme alcohol drinking is also

Growing up in the household under substances influence can cause severe damage to the child. Parental substance abuse has a significant impact on family function, and it may also contribute to child maltreatment. It heightens the risks to both of the physical and emotional safety of the children, and it generates children’s problematic outcomes. Children who grow up in such families may also experience mental health issues, social isolation, financial difficulties, and exposure to stressful life events and so on.

A Youth Behavior Survey that was completed in 2015 from high schools all around the nation reported that New Mexico was ranked second in the use of cocaine, ecstasy, fifth for methamphetamine and highest for heroin. In the article they included that there is a lack of treatment options for young teens and the availability of these drugs is usually in their own homes. From these statistics, it shows that the society of New Mexico is beginning the use of drugs at a young age. With beginning to take drugs as a teen, it can become a gateway to worse drugs in the future, and just goes to show why there are so many deaths from drug overdose. In the article it states “advocates for addicts point to an abundance of illegal drugs in New Mexico, and a shortage of addiction treatment options.” (Uyttebrouck) For teens to get on a better track, rehab programs and the health department should be educating these teens on the many problems that can come from bad habits of taking drugs so they can have a better society.

Substance abuse disorders are common in our society. It is a disorder that each one of us will most likely experience through a family member, friend, or our self. I felt very drawn to this topic due to the fact that I have a family that has background of substance abuse and I myself have battle the demon. Not until I struggled with my own addiction did I become more tolerable and understanding to those that have a substance abuse disorder. Substance abuse is not something anyone wants to have; it is a disorder that takes control of a person’s life. It is a beast that tears a person apart; from their being to the lives of their loved ones. This disorder is not biased in anyway; rich or poor, male or female, employed or unemployed, young or

Liz Robbins’ article, Heroin and Pill Overdoses Claim Immigrant Victims, Catching Families Off Guard, emphasizes the danger immigrant parents face with their children coping with the American ways, specifically the abuse of drugs. The article focuses on stories of several young immigrants in New York City that fell victim to the ropes of drugs. Some of them overcome the abuse, others are not so fortunate.

Immigrants who have moved from their origin of birth have changes their set of cultural norms and values. This is seen in Hispanics who have moved to the United States. Most of the women who are sensitive to changes are Cuban American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican American women. They state their drinking behavior has increased because of the dominant society. Washington State conducted a study that showed an accelerated abuse of alcohol and use of illegal drugs within the Hispanic culture. The increase was 7.2%, which was compared with less than 1% of others and 6.4% of whites (Abbott, 2008).

Asian Americans are always shown to have a relatively low rate of substance abuse among all the ethnic groups in the US (Kim, Ziedonis, & Chen, 2007). In fact, studies suggest that Asian American youth are more vulnerable for emotional and social difficulties than youth of other races or ethnicities (Wong et al. 1998). As a group of immigrants, Asian American youth often face acculturation stressors like low self-esteem, high depression and anxiety and social isolation, and more and more studies have reported various behavior problems among Asian American youth, like gang activities (Zhang, 2002), a rapid increase in juvenile crime (Le, 2002) and a significant increase in violence.

Whitebeck, L. B., McMorris, B. J., Chen, X., & Stubben, J. D. (2001). Perceived discrimination and early substance abuse among american indian children. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42(4), 405-24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/201656961?accountid=34899

Since the drug problem appears to be affecting communities and including the children of immigrants. The Obama Administration’s inaugural National Drug Control Strategy, published in 2001, charted a new course in in efforts to reduce illicit drug use and its consequences in the United States-an approach that rejects the false choice between an enforcement-centric “war on drugs” and drug legalization (The White House , 2014). Part of the policy includes to prevent drug abuse through education, to reform the criminal justice system, and to open rehabilitative programs for drug abusers. Furthermore, the Federal Government has spent more than $31 million on drug control (The White House , 2014). These amount has benefited those who have been drug abused and prevented drug traffickers from crossing the border.

Substance abuse complicates almost every aspect of care for the person with a mental disorder. When drugs enter the brain, they can interrupt the work and actually change how the brain performs its jobs; these changes are what lead to compulsive drug use. Drug abuse plays a major role when concerning mental health. It is very difficult for these individuals to engage in treatment. Diagnosis for a treatment is difficult because it takes time to disengage the interacting effects of substance abuse and the mental illness. It may also be difficult for substance abusers to be accommodated at home and it may not be tolerated in the community of residents of rehabilitation programs. The author states, that they end up losing their support systems

Prevention methods for substance abuse are taught to children as early in their kindergarten years and follow throughout their lifetime. Current programs available are school-based programs, parent and family, work programs and community and public media campaigns.

In this paper I will be addressing the correlation that is between substance abuse and domestic violence. There are many factors that play a role in why domestic violence occurs in a home; this paper will be focusing on the factor of drug abuse in particularly. Early on in the course we learned that domestic violence does not only pertain to intimate partner violence but also to child abuse, elder abuse, and any other abuse of a person that occurs with inside the home. I will be providing research from scholarly journals that support the findings that substance abuse is related to domestic violence on all levels (intimate partner violence, child abuse, and elderly abuse).

We learn from the book that the number of drug dealers has a correlation with the loss of jobs of East Harlem residents. Losing jobs prevents people from providing basic needs to themselves and their family. Most of the residents who live in El Barrio are Latino such as Porto Ricans, Mexicans, and Dominicans. Latina/os are a key population in which to study substance abuse. Given their levels of poverty, minority status, and residential concentration in areas with wide drug and alcohol distribution, Latina/os are considered at risk for substance abuse (Verissimo, Gee, Ford & Iguchi, 2014). As stated by Philippe, the main point of this book is not about substance abuse, it is about his first hand experiences with the culture and poverty of East Harlem. It is about the struggles that people there have to go through in order to survive in an extremely poor area of one of the riches city in the world..