1. Motivations for Drug Use
Chapter 3
Motivations for Drug Use

2. Reasons for Drug Use Experimentation: Curiosity to try a drug
Pleasure/Escape from Boredom: User enjoys the effects of the drug or the use of the drug relieves boredom.
-Drugs that are used to increase pleasure or reduce boredom are reinforcing

3. Peer Influence: Young people in particular use drugs to gain peer acceptance or approval
Spiritual Purposes: Use of drugs to seek out or communicate with something or someone greater than themselves.
Self-Discovery: Use of drugs to fill a void in one’s life

4. Social Interaction: Use of drugs to facilitate interactions with others.
Rebelliousness: Use of drugs because they are told not to. One of the best predictors of increased drug use among adolescents.

5. Drug Dependency vs. Drug Addiction
Drug dependency: Recurring desire for drugs based on a psychic or a physical need
Drug dependency: Continuing desire for drugs based on a physical need.

6. Both drug dependency and drug addiction connote a compulsive need to use a drug and an inability to cease even if serious consequences ensue.

7. Theories of Drug Addiction
Personality Theories
Reinforcement Theory
Biological Theory
Social Theories

8. Personality Theory
Specific traits that are related to drug dependence. These traits can include:
-Low self-esteem
-Poor interpersonal skills
-Need for immediate gratification
-Defiant feelings toward authority
-Little tolerance for anxiety
-Impulsivity, Risk taking, Low regard for personal health

9. Reinforcement Theory
Reinforcers are stimuli or events that increase the likelihood of a particular behavior.
Primary Reinforcers: reduce physiological needs or are inherently pleasurable (food, water, sex)
Secondary Reinforcers: signals for increased probability of obtaining primary reinforcers (money)

10. Biological Theories
Theories focus on genetic determination and metabolic imbalances
-Genetic determination: postulates that a person is predisposed to drug addiction because of heredity influence.
-Metabolic influence: attributed to a metabolic disorder

11. Social Theories
Premise is that cultural and social influences contribute to drug abuse. Further, drug abuse is socially learned and benefits the individual by group acceptance.

12. Mass Media and Drugs
The impact of the media on drug use is hard to determine
More than $2.5 billion was recently spent on advertising for prescription drugs.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest over $740 million was spent on beer advertisements, $280 on liquor advertisements, and $92 million on wine advertisements.

13. Advertisement for drugs reinforce the message that drug-taking is acceptable and is the norm
Billboards, television, music, and celebrities can all be forms of media that can potentially influence drug behavior

14. Performance-Enhancing Drugs
Performance-enhancing drugs are also known as ergogenic aids.
Ergogenic aids are used to gain a competitive advantage. This notion is not new and dates back to as early as 300 B.C. when some Greek athletes ate mushrooms to enhance their performance

15. Common performance-enhancing drugs include anabolic steroids, human growth hormones, creatine, tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), Androstenedione (Andro), stimulants, and depressants.

16. Anabolic Steroids
Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances similar to testosterone and are used to build muscle
Taken during puberty augments muscle mass
Users experience a stimulant-like high and feelings of aggressiveness
“Stacking” is a term used to describe taking several steroids at one time

17. Problems with Anabolic Steroids
-Liver and kidney tumors
-Acne
-Increased susceptibility to infections
-Abrupt mood changes
-Hypertension
-Stunted Growth

18. Gender Specific Problems with Anabolic Steroid Use
Men: atrophied testicles, enlarged
breasts, enlarged prostate, infertility,
baldness

19. Women: baldness, decreased breast size, increased facial hair, menstrual irregularities, deepened voice

20. Human Growth Hormones (HGH) and Erythropoietin (EPO)
Human Growth Hormones (HGH) stimulate protein synthesis.
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone that increases red blood cell production and improves endurance.
-Side effects can include blood clots, increased bone growth in jaw, forehead, feet and hands.

21. Creatine
Creatine monohydrate is an over-the-counter substance marketed as a nutritional supplement.
Creatine is believed to increase water content in muscles adding to their size.
Because creatine is a nutritional supplement it is not scrutinized by the FDA

22. Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG)
Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) is a synthetic hormone gaining in popularity. There is some speculation that the side effects are similar to other steroids

23. Androstenedione (Andro)
Androstenedione is a precursor molecule that is one molecular step away from testerone and is available over-the-counter.
Androstenedione is classified as a nutritional supplement and made famous by Mark McGuire

24. Stimulants
Numerous stimulants ranging from caffeine to cocaine have been used to increase endurance and subsequently increase performance

25. Depressants
Depressants can reduce tremors and can potentially influence performance

26. Summary People sometimes turn to drugs to cope
Drugs are easy to use, work quickly and are transported easily
Drug dependency and addiction are different
To determine the effects of the mass media on drug use is difficult

27. Current studies show that public service announcements reduce drug use
Drugs are used by many to increase performance