Cultural Variations in the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Essay
Cultural Variations in the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Essay
The use of alcohol and drugs has long been a contentious issue in the world. The historical records reveal that human beings have long been using drugs and alcohol to alter their state of consciousness as soon as they discovered how to use their surrounding flora to achieve a different psychological status. The ancient civilizations all have some early record of the use of alcohol in their activities; examples of such civilizations include Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia. The use varied from one society to another, but the constant factor was that fruits and some plants were used to make alcohol through the process of introduction of some bacteria or yeast.
Drug use is also not a new phenomenon in human society. There are some societies that used the plants in their environments to alter their state of consciousness. For instance, the Native American tribes used some plants and drugs to get to a certain state of consciousness during their day to day activities or specific religious rituals and ceremonies. The strength of the effects of the drug determined how widely it was used in the society. The stronger drugs were designated as the senior spiritual leaders such as the shamans and healers. The mild drugs were circulated among the public for their use. Cultural Variations in the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Essay.
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The societies that used these drugs had systems that were effective in ensuring that the members of the society did not misuse the drugs. The plants with potent drugs were revered and honored for the effects they had on the user. The mechanisms for regulation were very effective. For instance, the kava drug that is popular in the South Pacific islands was used during religious ceremonies, and its use was strictly regulated so as to avoid misuse. However, when the missionaries were successful in their attempts to abolish the drug was now available to many people, and there was no formal setting for its use. The youth took up the use of the drug for recreation, and this has led to some serious problems in these communities. The misuse of the drug has increased the number of addicts to the drug.
In the modern society, there are some communities that are attributed to having a preference for some certain drugs. For instance, the African Americans and Hispanic Americans are known to have a liking to marijuana and the Chinese to opium. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean they are biologically tuned to like the drug and become misusers. There are social factors that contribute to the people using the drugs. For instance, if the drug is culturally accepted as being part of the customs in the community.
For instance, there are Native Indians in the Amazon who constantly use snuff in their day to day activities. In the American society, that community can be labeled as a community of misusers and addicts. However, in the eyes of the members of that community, they are just practicing a part of their culture, and there is nothing wrong with the practice. Drugs are used to put people in the social classes that exist. The high class will call their drunkenness social drinking and label the lower classes as people who drink to the excess.
In conclusion, the issue of drugs and alcohol use in the different communities is a wide topic that has not been fully exhausted. The use of a single standard to judge the use of drugs and alcohol in other communities might not be the best approach since each community has systems that work for it.
Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Trimble, Joseph E. Readings in psychology and culture. New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon, 2007. Print
Based on human and animal studies, women are more sensitive to the consumption and long-term effects of alcohol and drugs than men. From absorption to metabolic processes, women display more difficulty in physically managing the consequences of use. In general, with higher levels of alcohol and drugs in the system for longer periods of time, women are also more susceptible to alcohol- and drug-related diseases and organ damage.
This chapter provides an overview of the physiological impact of alcohol and drugs on women, with particular emphasis on the significant physiological differences and consequences of substance use in women. It begins with a general exploration of how gender differences affect the way alcohol and drugs are metabolized in the body and then highlights several biopsychosocial and cultural factors that can influence health issues associated with drugs and alcohol. Cultural Variations in the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Essay. The chapter goes on to explore the physiological effects of alcohol, drugs (both licit and illicit), and tobacco on the female body. A summary of key research on the impact of these substances when taken during pregnancy follows, and the chapter closes with a review of the effect that substance abuse has on women’s HIV/AIDS status. Counselors can use the information presented in this chapter to educate their female clients about the negative effects substances can have on their physical health. A sample patient lecture is included that highlights the physiological effects of heavy alcohol use.
Physiological Effects and Consequences of Substance Abuse in Women
Alcohol and drugs can take a heavy toll on the human body. The same general statements can be made for both men and women about their long-term effects—for example, both genders incur liver problems resulting from alcohol abuse, respiratory impairment and lung cancer as a consequence of smoking, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis from injection drug use, and memory difficulties associated with the use of marijuana. Yet women have different physical responses to substances and greater susceptibility to health-related issues. Women differ from men in the severity of the problems that develop from use of alcohol and drugs and in the amount of time between initial use and the development of physiological problems (Greenfield 1996; Mucha et al. 2006). For example, a consequence of excessive alcohol use is liver damage (such as cirrhosis) that often begins earlier in women consuming less alcohol over a shorter period of time. By and large, women who have substance use disorders have poorer quality of life than men on health-related issues.
In addition, women who abuse substances have physiological consequences, health issues, and medical needs related to gynecology (Peters et al. 2003). Specifically, drugs and alcohol affect women’s menstrual cycles, causing increased cramping and heavier or lighter periods. Women sometimes use illicit drugs and alcohol as medication for cramping, body aches, and other discomforts associated with menstruation (Stevens and Estrada 1999). On the other hand, women who use heroin and methadone can experience amenorrhea (absence of menstrual periods; Abs et al. 2000), leading them to believe that they are unable to conceive and misreading early signs of pregnancy as withdrawal symptoms. Subsequently, they are unaware that they are pregnant. Women’s substance use also poses risks to fetuses and nursing infants. Cultural Variations in the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Essay.
Limitations of Current Research on Gender Differences in Metabolism
In general, research on the unique physiological effects of alcohol and drugs in women is limited and sometimes inconclusive. Although the differences in the way women and men metabolize alcohol have been studied in some depth, research on differences in metabolism of illicit drugs is limited. For many years, much of the research on metabolism of substances either used male subjects exclusively or did not report on gender differences. Historically, women were omitted due to the potential risk of pregnancy and the possibility that hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle would wreak havoc on the drugs’ effects and subsequent results.
Available research is typically based on small sample sizes and has not been replicated. Race and ethnic background can affect metabolism and the psychological effects of alcohol and illicit drugs, as can the psychopharmaceuticals sometimes used in treatment (Rouse et al. 1995), but their effects have not been studied. Similar to men, few women abuse only one substance. Polysubstance use complicates the ability to study and understand the physiological effects of specific drugs on women, while increasing the risk associated with synergistic effects when substances are combined. Significant gaps in knowledge exist regarding physiological effects across the continuum of a woman’s life.
Physiological Effects: Factors of Influence
Ethnicity and Culture
The level of acculturation and cultural roles and expectations play a significant role in substance use patterns among women of color (Caetano et al. 2008). The prevalence of substance abuse among ethnic women typically coincides with higher levels of acculturation in the United States, thus leading to greater health issues. Literature suggests that women from ethnically diverse backgrounds who have substance use disorders possess greater risks for developing certain conditions and disorders, such as hypertension, high blood pressure, and HIV/AIDS (Centers for Disease Control [CDC] 2000a, b; Steffens et al. 2006; Vernon 2007). These health disparities arise from many sources, including difficulty in accessing affordable health care, delays in seeking treatment, limited socioeconomic resources, racism, and discrimination (Gee 2002; Mays et al. 2007; Williams 2002). In addition, mistrust of health care providers is a significant barrier to receiving appropriate screening, preventive care, timely interventions, and adequate treatment (Alegria et al. 2002). More recent studies have explored the role of gender in perceived discrimination and health, and some studies have noted differences in the type of stressors, reactions, and health consequences between men and women (Finch et al. 2000; Flores et al. 2008)Cultural Variations in the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Essay.. For example, the Black Women’s Health Study found that perceived experiences of racism were associated with an increased incidence of breast cancer (Taylor et al. 2007).
Sexual Orientation
Lesbian/bisexual women exhibit more prevalent use of alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, and tobacco than heterosexual women, and they are likely to consume alcohol more frequently and in greater amounts (Case et al. 2004; Cochran et al. 2001, 2004). Based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, researchers compared patterns of use between homosexual and heterosexual women and found that lesbians have greater alcohol-related morbidity (Cochran et al. 2001). Likewise, they are less likely to have health insurance and to use preventive screenings, including mammograms and pelvic examinations. With less utilization of routine screenings, lesbians and bisexual women may not be afforded the benefit of early detection across disorders, including substance use disorders, breast cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
Socioeconomic Status and Homelessness
Overall, lower socioeconomic status is associated with higher mortality rates and greater risks for cervical cancer, coronary heart disease, HIV/ AIDS, and other health conditions and medical disorders (Adler and Coriell 1997). More than ethnicity, socioeconomic status heavily influences the health risks associated with substance abuse. Research suggests that when the socioeconomic conditions of ethnically diverse populations are similar to those of the White population, consequences of substance use appear comparable (Jones-Webb et al. 1995). Among women, alcohol and drug-related morbidity and mortality are disproportionately higher in individuals of lower socioeconomic status, which is associated with insufficient healthcare services, difficulties in accessing treatment, lack of appropriate nutrition, and inadequate prenatal care. Subsequently, impoverished women who abuse substances often experience greater health consequences and poorer health outcomes.
Similarly, homelessness is associated with higher mortality rates for all life-threatening disorders, including greater risks for infectious diseases. With greater high-risk sexual behaviors and repeated exposure to overcrowded shelters, homeless women who use injection drugs are more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, including airborne infections such as tuberculosis, thereby leading to greater health consequences (for review, see Galea and Vlahov 2002). Cultural Variations in the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Essay.
Developmental Issues and Aging
Although little is known regarding the effect of alcohol and drugs on development across the lifespan, there is some evidence in alcohol-related research that there are different vulnerabilities at different ages for women. Even though developmental research on alcohol is not easily transferred to other drugs of abuse, it can give us a glimpse of the potential physiological issues associated with age and aging. For example, adolescent women are more likely than their male counterparts to experience cognitive impairment despite less alcohol consumption. Women of child-bearing age are more likely to experience infertility with heavier drinking (Tolstrup et al. 2003). Postmenopausal women are more likely to exhibit significant hormonal changes with heavy consumption of alcohol, leading to potentially higher risks for breast cancer, osteoporosis, and coronary heart disease (Weiderpass et al. 2001). Older women are more sensitive to alcohol and display a decrease in tolerance and alcohol metabolism (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment [CSAT] 1998d). While research has been more devoted to examining gender differences, limited data are available for other substances and less is known regarding the effect of these substances on development and aging.
Co-Occurring Disorders: A Bidirectional Influence
According to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report (Office of Applied Studies [OAS] 2004), women with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders are likely to experience serious physical health problems. Co-occurring disorders have a bidirectional relationship and often a synergistic effect on one another. As much as substance abuse can increase the risk of, exacerbate, or cause medical conditions, medical disorders can also increase substance abuse as a means of self-medicating symptoms or mental distress associated with the disorder. Similar to men, women who have mental disorders can have more difficulty adhering to health-related treatment recommendations, such as treatment attendance, diet restrictions, or medication compliance. Cultural Variations in the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Essay.
