What Are the Reasons for Substance Abuse?

Substance abuse is a serious and costly health problem that affects society on many levels. According to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, substance abuse is more costly in dollars to Americans than either cancer or diabetes, costing our nation a total of $484 billion dollars each year. In addition to the financial cost of substance abuse, it brings physical, emotional, legal and relationship costs as well. People abuse drugs and alcohol in spite of the personal and societal cost. Some reasons for substance abuse are listed below.

Initial Low-Level Involvement

• People usually begin using drugs as pre-teens or during their teen years, and use initially is due to curiosity, peer pressure or the availability of a particular drug.

Family and Community Values

• Young people belonging to families that abuse drugs or alcohol are more likely to experiment with alcohol and drugs at a young age and later become drug abusers. Young people learn from example; however, genetic and biological factors also may be inherited from one generation to the next to make drug abuse more likely.

Biological & Genetic Susceptibility

• According to The National Association on Substance Abuse, people may inherit a predisposition for substance-abuse problems, and this inheritance may include psychological traits or psychiatric conditions, many of which may also be inherited.

Characteristics of the Individual

• According to the National Association of Substance Abuse, recent research has indicated that characteristics of the individual, rather than the particular drug used, may play a large part in his or her vulnerability to substance abuse.

Prescription-Drug Abuse

• Prescription-drug abuse or misuse is the most common form of drug problem found among elderly populations that have no prior drug-abuse experience. Also, many who suffer from extreme pain begin using prescription drugs as pain killers, but eventually become addicted to the pleasure-producing affects of the medications.