Drug Abuse Among Adults

America is a drug-taking culture; from 70 to 90% Americans 15 to 40 years of age are estimated to have used mood-altering chemicals (Little, B., L. Gilstrap, & F. Cunningham 1989). Using a series of open-ended interviews with young adults, a variety of processes were defined and delineated in order to reveal the multidimensional nature of participants' private perception of their 'health' behavior and that of their peers. The findings reported that they "invest meanings in 'health' choices, which are closely related to the everyday contexts of consumption. What people consume, and their representations of what they consume, are not only about health consciousness, but also about self-image, socialization and an active stylization of life. This is not to suggest that health consciousness is irrelevant to choic

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on; findings supported the hypothesis that extreme stress induces high levels of anxiety, fear and stress that will increase the likelihood that these individuals would turn to a form of substance abuse for relief. Mayer (1993) cites studies finding that individuals who use mood-altering substances on a regular basis have lower self-esteem and fewer coping resources at their disposal. They typically use many types of mood-altering substances including drugs, cigarettes and alcohol as a form of stress management, which may lead to addiction or repeated use of increasingly addictive/dangerous drugs. Cocaine and other drug abuse can destroy lives; the consequences of extended use are often reflected in the individual's family life, health, social life, ability to work and cope with stress. In spite of escalating problems linked with their substance abuse, the individual is frequently unable to quit on their own volition and the use continues or escalates with personal and social implications. For some people, drug, alcohol, and especially cocaine abuse is like being caught in a spider's web and represents the ultimate self-perpetuating situation: they turn to substance abuse because they are in pain, the abuse manipulates th
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Approximate Word count = 3048
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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