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Running head: SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELLING 1

Theory Comparison: Substance Abuse Counselling

Fahad Alanazi

Mississippi College

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELLING 2

Theory Comparison: Substance Abuse Counseling

Substance use is a common trend all across the globe; there are numerous kinds of drugs

and intoxicating substances available now. Regarding age groups at which drug use and abuse

begins now as compared to a little over 10 years ago, they have also changed. Children as young

as 13 and 14 are today open to these substances and active users of different kinds of drugs and

pills. Some teenagers are also known to be using hard drugs, which are not only easily accessible

on the streets, but are also known to be sold in schools through a chain of dealers. Over the

course of time, psychology as a science has tried to use different methods and theory-based

therapy to help individuals overcome their drug issues. In order to help deal with the problem,

there are theories that need to be examined to determine why people end up having addictions -

as it is only once the reason is known that a cure or prevention can be worked upon and applied

with success. This paper aims to study the behavioral theory and its take on drug abuse and

addiction in comparison to social cultural theories. In order to understand drug addiction and its

on-going vicious cycle, it is important to first explore the effects and victims of drug use and

abuse and then re-construct how it takes place and how an individual gets involved.

There are also a number of drug use- and abuse-related factors which significantly begin

their impact from the time an individual is a child. Those children who actually have a parent or

both parents, a sibling, or even any other kind of family members who actively abuse alcohol

and/or another substance are very often the most frequently forgotten and silent victims. Thus,

unpredictable outbursts and behavior, a lack of good and appropriate attention and care, and the

absence of structure to their home life is often the most common result of a substance use and

abuse case at home. For any child, this in itself can become and is a scary, deeply painful event

that leads to several problems in their studies and future. It is estimated that many children can

actually be prone and exposed to much violence, physical, and mental abuse, parental neglect,

suffering financial problems, and, at times, even suffering from malnourishment at a very ripe

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELLING 3 and young age; this is especially the case if the bread winning family member is addicted to any

kind of drug or is a user of alcohol.

Children may have to face painful separations, at times homelessness, get dragged

through parental divorce, and, in extreme cases, even deal with abandonment. Their main

abusers are the parent, who may become incarcerated due to something irresponsible done under

the influence or may end up being dead as a tragic result of an accident. They may have on their

account substance use and excessive abuse problems. These are the main issues that can all lead

to a very long-lasting and extremely negative impact on any child’s development and the future

of life choices they make for themselves. They, in turn, may themselves end up turning to using

alcohol and/or drugs on a regular basis as another way of understanding or coping with the

feelings or pain. Finally, it may be that they end up feeling that a particular substance abusing

kind of life style is exactly what they were born for and destined to accomplish.

In addition to this aspect, it is possible for children to feel that all the aggression,

violence, and unpredictability along with issues that are associated with drug and/or alcohol

abuse is actually their own fault. These people are very often not even aware that their parent or

close family member may be taking and using drugs or alcohol, and they may not even be able to

understand exactly what words ‘alcohol’ and ‘drugs’ actually mean. At times, a parent or even a

family member may tend to become angry and even act violently when put under the actual

influence of a particular drug, which is commonly methamphetamine; it then often results into

violence that could easily be directed towards and inflicted on a child. The end-result of that kind

of anger could only be a state of confusion, extreme sadness, or even deep-rooted fear.

Ultimately, the child would only begin to perceive and think that it was their behavior or actions

that had actually caused that kind of an emotional outburst by the parent or family member.

It is how children end up learning different kinds of abusive and violent behavior

patterns; and it is what the behavioral theory suggests about how people find themselves

experiencing drug addiction as they learn violent behavior from their parents. Thus, by observing

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELLING 4 the latter use different drugs and alcohol, they assume that it is the way of life which is normal,

hence getting involved. It is also easy to see that peer pressure has a similar effect when it comes

to teens and drug addiction. Substance abuse amongst teens related to commonly known and

prescription drugs is also known. Therein, an individual is dependent on legal (over the counter)

or illegal drugs and medication.

Nowadays, drugs are available in a lot of places and areas where anyone can go and

purchase a variety of pills. The latest way of buying drugs is on the Internet, a dark part that is so

well hidden that it is even invisible to Google. These web sites are just like any other shopping

sites except they provide lists and categories of all kinds of the commonly used drugs.

Prescription drugs work in such a way that they make an individual use them again to experience

the euphoric or pleasant feelings, whereas the lack of such a sensation in the body can only be

caused by these substances. Even in small degrees, these substances can cause teens a lot of

problems, mostly in family relationships and education. Even though drugs are dangerous, there

are many teens who develop drug addictions. The most common reasons are peer pressure and/or

depression. Some other factors are lack of parental supervision, lack of communication between

children and parents, negligence, lack of attention, abuse, and the fact that parents consume

drugs. An individual who is consuming drugs will have bloodshot eyes, laugh for no reason,

sleep excessively, be overly hungry, and get bad grades or miss school. Teens can get drugs from

friends, at parties, and on the Internet; especially teens are curious by nature and want to try new

things and are willing to experiment with drugs. The majority of those addicted do not think they

have a problem because it makes them feel good and escape their worries, for instance, when a

child is bullied or abused at home (Beauvais & Oetting, 1986).

Thus, a teen who is depressed will take drugs to feel good. Moreover, one who is in pain

will take drugs so that they do not feel it any longer. When confronted, they may become

aggressive because drugs make them overly sensitive. When thse young people then try drugs for

the first time, they do not believe they can become addicted; and by the time they realize it, they

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELLING 5 are fully dependent on the drug. The younger a person is when drug use starts, the more likely

are his or her addictions, something that causes behavioral problems and forces them to engage

in delinquent behaviors, especially steeling money to buy drugs. Teens who are new to taking

drugs or do not know how much it is appropriate to take can over-dose and find themselves in a

critical condition and can also die. Furthermore, instruments which are used to intake drugs can

cause many diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis among others. More so, injections can

cause scarring and collapsing of veins. In this instance, while teens may not need a particular

medicine, they will strive to get a prescription to be up to date with the trend being followed by

peers; and, as suggested by behavioral theories, it is a learned pattern, as shown and accepted by

a wider number of social groups (Doherty & Needle, 1991).

In contrast, another theory explored to understand drug addiction is the sociocultural

theory, which is closely linked to the idea presented by the behavioral theory, where by the

theory states that society and the surroundings of an individual will influence the user and lead to

addiction. According to many aspects of the sociocultural model, there are many cultural

standards of a people in a society; and those tend to have negative effects on culture and

individual behavior, which, in turn, does cause addiction. There are many cultural standards that

are quite direct and yet subtle, but their effect is extremely powerful nonetheless. For shedding

more light onto the problem, here is an example. Most people in the United States do not only

tolerate intoxication, but at certain points also consider it a bit humorous. Audiences in different

categories will find it rather entertaining when they see intoxication on television shows and in

sit-coms, in movies, and acted out by comedians who depict what characters under substance

impact can be like. Furthermore, it is interesting to see that in many states it is possible that the

police arrest one on accounts of drunk driving. Surprisingly, it can be done several times in a row

before any kind of severe consequence has to occur or punishment has to be faced (Fleming et

al., 2002). If it is compared with a hypothetical society, one that executes its citizens on even a

single instance or event of drunk driving, it would be seen as a very harsh and rather extreme

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELLING 6 kind of example which illustrates that addiction arises because a larger system in fact permits

and approves of it.

In summary, when discussing which of the approaches is better to help clients, it is

basically a matter of doing a back ground check and determining what triggered the actual case

of addiction in the first place. If it is based on an individual’s childhood and their past, then the

theory and therapy related behavioral theories will be applicable. On the other hand, if linked to

peer and social needs, the client would benefit from socio-cultural theories and subsequent

therapy practices. It may also be the case that one’s addiction starts based on his or her childhood

trauma but is being cultivated further through peer pressure or even sense of belonging to a

community, where the unifying factor is the drug, and the bonding factor is the time spent

together and the utensils used and shared to take drugs, such as tubes and syringes - which is

what the whole essence of bonding is about (Fleming et al., 2002). All in all, the goals of both

the sociocultural and that behavioral theory and subsequent therapy practices are to ensure that

the root cause of a person’s addiction and the factors aiding in the maintenance of the said

addiction are identified and slowly eradicated so that a person can be freed from them and begin

to develop a good, clean, and healthy life. In choosing between the two theories, it is solely

dependent on the type of addiction, its onset, and its current factors.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELLING 7

References

Beauvais, F., & E. R. Oetting (1986). Drug use in an alternative high school. Journal of Drug

Education, 16 (1), 43- 50.

Doherty, W., & R. Needle (1991). Psychological adjustment and substance use among

adolescents before and after a parental divorce. Child Development, 62(1), 328 – 337.

Fagan, A. & , J. Najman (2005). The relative contributions of parental and sibling substance use

to adolescent tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use. Journal of Drug Issues, 35 (4),

869– 883.

Fleming, C., Catalano, R., Oxford, M., & T. Harachi (2002). A test of the generalizability of the

social development model across gender and income groups with longitudinal data

from the elementary school development period. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 18

(4), 423 – 439.