Introduction
There are many attitudes to pharmacological treatment that can be offered to patients. Some people believe that only drugs can help to improve health, and some groups of people think that other approaches can also be effective. Many factors may influence drug efficacy, including social, physiological, and psychological ones. The article under analysis aims at gaining a profound understanding of people’s perceptions of substance use, identifying possible risks of drugs, and clarifying the most effective interventions with the help of which positive outcomes can be achieved.
Main body
The citizens of the United Arab Emirates are chosen as the main population of the study. Its sampling is improved and includes 13-18-year-old residents of Abu Dhabi. The authors of the article develop a qualitative study that is based on a focus group approach where subtle factors, gender roles, and religious issues may be taken into consideration (Alhyas et al., 2015). The participants are divided into six groups.
The goal of this method is to investigate the level of adolescents’ awareness of drug use and perceptions that young people may develop about the worth of drugs in their treatment. To support this study and its research method, the authors use statistical data taken from credible sources and discuss the protective factors and merits of drugs among young people (Frisher, Crome, Macleod, Bloor, & Hickman, 2007). A brief literature review is given in the introductory part to support a thesis and prove the urgency of the topic.
As soon as the method is described, the authors explain how they analyzed data and created the criteria for further evaluation. Three main themes are introduced. They cover the awareness of drug use and associated harm, gender roles, and factors that may affect drug efficacy (Alhyas et al., 2015). Psychological factors that may change the way of how drugs are treated and used are based on family relationships (the example that parents offer to their children), peer relationships (the information adolescents like to exchange), access to drugs (sometimes, people cannot find or buy the required drug and have to find other ways to achieve this goal), and religious aspects (in the UAE, people respect their religious beliefs).
For some people, the use of drugs is an ordinary thing that should not be discussed or challenged. However, it is wrong to neglect the presence of certain social and psychological factors. Risks and unexpected outcomes may occur, and people should be ready to deal with them.
Conclusion
In general, the article by Alhyas et al. (2015) contains a clear conclusion and an analysis of the work done. It is stated that adolescents’ awareness of drugs can be explored in several ways. People’s perceptions and expectations play an important role. However, one of the main decisions people should be ready to make is whether or not to take drugs in order to achieve certain goals, reduce pain, or improve health.
The article teaches that it is not enough to educate people and explain to them the worth of drugs. Patients should know how to combine their religions, gender roles, and family relations in order to take as many positive things as possible from drugs. The authors’ interpretation of the results is comprehensible and informative: people should think about the programs with the help of which drug learning can reduce the number of negative perceptions.
References
Alhyas, L., Al Ozaibi, N., Elarabi, H., El-Kashef, A., Wanigaratne, S., Almarzouqi, A.,… Al Ghaferi, H. (2015). Adolescents’ perception of substance use and factors influencing its use: A qualitative study in Abu Dhabi. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 6(2), 1-12. Web.
Frisher, M., Crome, I., Macleod, J., Bloor, R., & Hickman, M. (2007). Predictive factors for illicit drug use among young people: A literature review. Web.