Posts tagged with ‘substance abuse’

Substance abuse refers to the overindulgence in and dependence on a drug or other chemical leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual’s physical and mental health or the welfare of others. Substance abuse may lead to addiction or substance dependence.

How Do Public Health Officials Track Substance Use and Substance-Related Problems?

How Do Public Health Officials Track Substance Use and Substance-Related Problems?Public health officials and the general public have a vital interest in tracking how many teens and adults use substances of abuse, as well as how many substance users develop serious problems with abuse or addiction. In the U.S., the most broad-based statistics on these topics commonly come from three ongoing, nationwide federal projects called Monitoring the Future, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Monitoring the Future tracks information on middle school and high school students enrolled in three specific grades, while the Youth Risk Behavior Survey tracks information on students in all four grades of high school. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health tracks information on all American adults, as well as on children age 12 or older. Full Story

Middle School Pupils at Highest Risk for Inhalant Use

Inhalants are a diverse range of household, industrial and medicinal chemicals that sometimes get adapted as drugs of abuse. Young people have especially high chances of beginning inhalant use, at least partly because they have less access to legal intoxicants than adults.

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Is it Time to Talk with Your Teen About Substance Abuse?

There are conversations which parents know they should have with their teen but they’re intimidated nonetheless, and bringing up the subject of alcohol and drugs can be the hardest. It doesn’t have to be like that, however. Healthy discussions on the issue of substance abuse hinge on just a couple of things: information and attitude.

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Having a Half-Sibling May Increase Likelihood of Teen Drug Use

A study by researchers at Bowling Green State University and Iowa State University shows that half-siblings with a different father are significantly more likely to try drugs and sex before the age of 15 when compared with other teens that have only full siblings.
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Reaching Bottom: The Process of Addiction

The beginning of addiction often seems innocent: a couple of drinks after work to decompress, an extra pain pill to take the edge off, trying a narcotic just once to see how it feels. Once you have hit rock bottom, you may ask yourself how on earth you got there. If you are the loved one watching someone get to the bottom of the downward spiral of addiction, clarity may also be elusive. Denial is not restricted to the addict. It can be difficult for onlookers to see the process of addiction occurring as well. To help you better understand the disease in yourself or someone else, take a look at how addiction begins, progresses, and reaches the bottom. Full Story

Long Hours at Work and Alcohol Consumption

A long work week is typically associated with a high level of stress. However, some people claim to thrive on this type of schedule, working from early in the morning until late at night, and then toting a laptop home to finish up more assignments. Full Story

Alcohol and Anxiety Can Be a Dangerous Mix

Some things go together well: summer and baseball, good books and armchairs, cookies and milk. Other things don’t pair up so successfully. For people who experience high levels of anxiety in social situations, downing wine with dinner or a couple of beers to calm the nerves could prove to be a bad match.

Comorbidities are illnesses which co-exist. Understanding what connects two conditions for patients could prove instrumental in not only treating those conditions but in the development of new preventative measures and interventions.

Anxiety Linked to Substance Abuse

In a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, a Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers sought to untangle the connection between self-medication for anxiety and future instances of substance abuse. The study involved 34,653 adult Americans considered to be representative of the general population. The study was conducted over a period of three years with an initial reporting in 2001/02 and the follow-up reporting taking place in 2004/05.

Participants in the study were divided into three categories:

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Study Explores Why People Respond Differently to Environmental Drug Cues

A new study has found that differences in people’s responses to environmental cues can change chemical responses in the brain. This finding could help researchers develop new treatments for substance abuse, compulsive gambling, sexual addiction, and other compulsive behaviors. 

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School-Based Intervention can Help Prevent Teen Substance Abuse

Research shows that over the last 10 years, underage drinking has doubled in the United Kingdom. Researchers at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry conducted a study that suggests that a personality-based intervention held by teachers can help prevent substance abuse among adolescents.

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Educating Children About Marketing Messages Can Help Prevent Substance Abuse

Media Detective is an activity-based program used to help prevent alcohol and tobacco use among children, helping them understand the intentions of marketers and advertising. A new study suggests that teaching children as young as eight or nine to be more skeptical of marketing tactics can help prevent substance abuse.

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