Substance Abuse

What is a stimulant and what is an example of one?

Adrug that speeds up or 'excites' the central nervous system, causing happiness, euphoria and alertness. Examples include: nicotine, cocaine and poppers

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What category of drug contains substances such as: alcohol, heroin, morphine, codeine, tranquilisers and barbiturates (sleeping pills)?

Depressant

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What do depressants do?

Slow down activity of the central nervous system, causing calmness and relaxation

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What is a hallucinogen and what are two examples of it?

A substance that distorts or alters a persons perception of reality, causing hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking. Examples are ecstasy and LSD

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What was Olds and Milner's (1954) research into and what did it suggest?

Addiction. Stimulation of the septal area is pleasureable and may contribute to addiction

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What was Siegal et al's (1992) reasearch into and what did it suggest?

Tolerance. Tolerance may be situationally dependent (e.g. someone may have a higher tolerance to alcohol when they drink in the UK, than when they drink on holiday abroad)

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What is addiction and what are three common characteristics of it?

Compusive behaviour to seek pleasure. Characteristics of addiction include: becomes centre of life, hostile relationships with family/friends and physical or psychological dependence

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What is physical dependence?

Taking the substance to prevent painful withdrawal effects

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What is psychological dependence?

Person feels that they need the drug to cope socially and emotionally

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What is tolerance?

A state of progressively decreasing responsiveness to a frequently used drug

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What is withdrawal and what are some symptoms of it?

Painful physical and psychological side effects that occur in the complete cessation of a frequently used drug .e.g. shaking, sweating, stomach cramps

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What are the positives and negative effects of alcohol?

Positive- reduces coronary heart disease by protecting bllod vessels from the build up of cholesterol. Negative- cirrhosis of liver, cancer, memory deficits (kosakoffs syndrome), poor motor co-ordination

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According to Winger et al. (1992), what are the three stages of alcohol withrawal?

1) within 4-6 hours of withdrawal- shaking, sweating, anxiety, nausea, stomach cramps 2) up to a day of withdrawal- convulsions and seizures 3) up to 2-3 days of withdrawal- hallucinations, delirium tremmens, fever, irregular heartbeat

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What are carcinogens and how many are in a single cigarette?

Cancer causing agents. There are around 4000 in one cigarette.

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What is the main social explanation for substance abusing?

Observing someone taking substance + being rewarded in some way = imitation of behaviour

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In the Observer (2008), what was found to be the no.1 reason people identified for starting to take a substance?

Curiosity (75%). This was above peer pressure at 22%

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How does the UK differ from other cultures in terms of drinking habits?

UK- heavy drinking, associated with aggression,violence France and Italy- drinking small amounts from a young age leads to pleasant relaxation Muslim cultures- alcohol is forbidden

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What did Bricker find in relation to substance abuse?

Peer influence causes someone to initially take the substance but substance use is maintained through parental influence

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What did Perkins et al find in relation to social explanations of substance abuse?

People often overestimate how much of a substance their friends/peers are taking

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Substance Abuse

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