Reflection Paper: Addiction and Theories
Ksir, C., Hart, C., Ray,O. Drugs, Society and Human Behavior, Twelfth Edition. McGraw Hill Publisher
Read Chapter 2 of the text, note the definitions and the major theories about how drug use leads to drug abuse/addiction.
What is your favorite theory(s) of Addiction?
Why do people become addicted to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD)?
Write a definition of addiction/dependency:
Nature of addiction/dependency – etiology: what happens to a person who is addicted/dependent on ATOD (See also chapter 1 “Drug Dependence” and “Stages of Drug Dependence”; Chapter 2 “The vicious Cycle of Drug Addiction)
Bio-Psycho-Social Model: write your favorite explanations of why someone might become addicted to AOD, based on specific theories in each of the following categories
Biological causes/factors of addiction/dependency
Psychological causes/factors of addiction/dependency
Social causes/factors of addiction/dependency
The Biopsychosocial Approach
The biopsychosocial approach was developed at Rochester decades ago by Drs. George Engel and John Romano. While traditional biomedical models of clinical medicine focus on pathophysiology and other biological approaches to disease, the biopsychosocial approach in our training programs emphasize the importance of understanding human health and illness in their fullest contexts. The biopsychosocial approach systematically considers biological, psychological, and social factors and their complex interactions in understanding health, illness, and health care delivery.
• Biological, psychological, and social factors exist along a continuum of natural systems, as depicted in the list here.
• Systematic consideration of psychological and social factors requires application of relevant social sciences, just as consideration of biological factors requires application of relevant natural sciences. Therefore, both the natural and social sciences are ‘basic’ to medical practice. In other words, psychological and social factors are not merely epiphenomena: they can be understood in scientific ways at their own levels as well as in regard to their biological correlates.
• Humanistic qualities are highly valued complements to the biopsychosocial approach, which involves the application of the scientific method to diverse biological, psychological, and social phenomena as related to human health.
• While the biomedical approach takes the reductionistic view that all phenomena are best understood at the lowest level of natural sy
