Drug Abuse and Research Teams
Stereotypes Associated with Drug Abusers and Research Teams
Drug addiction is an important public health concern, which necessitates the need to have extensive research on the issue to help millions of affected individuals. However, there is an assumption that people experiencing substance misuse issues are not part of the research team. This presumption hinges on the different stereotypes associated with drug addiction. For instance, one of the assumptions is that individuals with known substance abuse tendencies cannot function properly. This stereotype contributes to the exclusion of such people from being part of the research team. However, a study by Souleymanov et al. (2016) concluded that some drug addicts are successful people in different life aspects such as career and family. In most cases, individuals turn to drug use and abuse as a coping mechanism of dealing with personal or societal pressures. Therefore, the problem of excluding drug addicts from being part of the research team should be addressed conclusively.
Ways of Addressing the Issue
One of the ways to solve this problem is by accepting that people with substance abuse issues can function normally. Consequently, these individuals will be viewed as part of the research team, and their contribution will play an important role in addressing study objectives. Secondly, people with substance misuse problems have lived experiences of drug abuse. As such, they provide a rich source of primary data that may not be available elsewhere. Therefore, these individuals should be seen as part of the research team by acknowledging the role that they play in data collection. Finally, this problem can be addressed by redefining the term “research team members” and their roles. Consequently, people with substance misuse issues will become part of the research team because they are the subjects of the study.
Drug Abuse among Teenagers and Adult African Americans
Main Addiction within these Groups
The main substance abused among teenagers is marijuana. In 2017, the use of marijuana increased with 1 out of every 16 high school seniors using the drug daily (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2017). On the other hand, alcohol and marijuana are the drugs of choice among adult African Americans. The use of these drugs remained steady in 2017, and 75 percent of African Americans seeking addiction-related treatment abused one of these substances (Guarnotta, 2018).
Unique Sociocultural Challenges
One unique social challenge with substance abuse among teenagers is that they want to experiment with different drugs. Additionally, this social group is highly vulnerable to peer pressure, which contributes significantly to drug abuse. In the African American community, the main cultural challenge is that these individuals resort to drug abuse as a mechanism for coping with socio-economic disparities in society.
Barriers to Intervention and Prevention
The main barrier to intervention and prevention of substance misuse among teenagers and adult African Americans is the failure to recognize the problem. Therefore, individuals addicted to alcohol and marijuana will not acknowledge the need to seek treatment or any form of help.
Limitations to Research
One of the limitations to research in group addictions and addictive behaviors is the reliance on self-reported data. While this form of information can be useful, it is most subject to personal biases. Secondly, most individuals do not acknowledge that they have substance misuse problems, and thus getting a large sample size for research becomes a limitation.
Challenges of Service Providers
Drug abuse is associated with different socio-cultural issues that can only be understood by someone from the inside. For instance, a service provider from another ethnic background may not appreciate or identify with the underlying issues that lead to drug abuse among African Americans. Similarly, teenagers may not open up to adult service providers due to the perception that older people do not understand issues affecting youth.
References
Guarnotta, E. (2018). A guide to addiction and recovery for African Americans. Web.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2017).Monitoring the future survey: High school and youth trends.Web.
Souleymanov, R., Kuzmanović, D., Marshall, Z., Scheim, A. I., Mikiki, M., Worthington,
C., & Millson, M. P. (2016). The ethics of community-based research with people who use drugs: Results of a scoping review. BMC Medical Ethics, 17(25), 1-13. Web.