Introduction
Pickard (2020) identifies addiction as a significant problem in the world and attributes it to the rapidly changing and growing substance use patterns. Sussman & Sussman (2011) define it as a hazardous community health concern affecting almost all communities and families in some way and contributing to ineffectiveness and inefficiencies in neighborhoods, households, and nations. It influences the social functioning of people and burdens the society. The associated problems play a role in mental and medical issues, accidental deaths, disabilities, and an increase in suicide rates. This paper will dig deeper into this issue and will identify what research says about its societal and personal costs, the types that are most difficult to treat, the populations that are most vulnerable to it, how to support people experiencing it, and the importance of this topic in social work practice.
What research says about the personal and societal costs of addiction
According to Kranzler & Li (2008), addiction has devastating, far-reaching, and significant impacts on individuals, households, and society at large. Among other things, on the personal level, it strains relationships with romantic partners, friends, and families through the erosion of trust, breakdown of communication, and the rise of conflicts owing to associated behaviors such as manipulation, emotional withdrawal, and lying. It can also result in physical health issues, examples being damage to the heart, brain, and liver, weakening of the immune systems, increased chronic disease risk, and even death. It also negatively impacts mental health and contributes to mental disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression. In addition, it subjects people to financial challenges as they end up spending their money on healthcare costs and substances, may interfere with career and educational goals due to performance issues and absenteeism, and may result into legal problems such as fines, arrests, incarceration, and probation.
Chassin et al. (2007), on the other hand, identify the societal costs of addiction to include significant burdens on healthcare systems as a result of the expenses of treating related overdoses, injuries, and illnesses, public safety concerns owing to related behaviors such as property crimes, driving under influence, and violence, and decreased economic output and efficiency due to high job turnover, presenteeism where an individual is at work but is not productive, and absenteeism. It also disrupts educational attainment through the impairing of academic performance, attendance, and cognitive function. As Pickard (2020) puts it, students facing addiction commonly experience challenges concentrating in class, and remaining engaged in school resulting into lower rates of graduation and reduced future success opportunities.
The types of addiction that are most difficult to treat
As noted by Weinberg (2011), some addictions are more difficult to treat as compared to others owing to factors such as their nature and the co-occurring mental disorders. In my opinion, the three types of addiction that are most difficult to treat are alcohol addiction, stimulant addiction, and opioid addiction. I think Opioid addiction, which refers to addiction to heroin and prescription painkillers, is difficult to treat as a result of the high addictive nature of the opioids and the high risk of withdrawal symptoms and physical dependence. The addiction also associates with co-occurring mental disorders, socio-economic factors that impede recovery and treatment efforts, and chronic pain conditions. The complexity of treating alcohol addiction, on the other hand, comes from its progressive nature, the wide availability of alcohol, its social acceptance, and the multi-dimensional interplay of psychological, environmental, biological, and genetic factors contributing to the dependence. Further, the difficulty of treating stimulant addiction can be attributed to its powerful effects on the reward system of the brain, the associated intense craving, and its forceful withdrawal symptoms. According to Robbins (2021), the addiction is usually characterized by recurring cycles of usage and withdrawal, making it hard for people to remain sober.
The populations most vulnerable to addiction
The factors that make particular populations more vulnerable to addiction include environmental influences, trauma, social health determinants, genetic predisposition, mental disorders, and socio-economic disparities. In this regard, the most vulnerable populations to developing addiction are young adults and adolescents owing to peer pressure, high exposure to socio-economic challenges, and substances experimentation, people suffering co-occurring mental disorders as the substances may help in self-medicating symptoms, people with family addiction histories owing to genetic vulnerabilities, and people facing trauma as it is likely to impact the development of brain, coping mechanisms, and emotional regulation.
How individuals experiencing addiction can be best supported
As indicated by Sussman & Sussman (2011), a compassionate and comprehensive approach is needed to address the social, practical, physical, and emotional needs of people experiencing addiction. In this regard, the individuals can be best supported through a non-judgmental attitude that encompasses empathy and understanding and that does not stigmatize, shame, and isolate them, facilitation of access to treatment services such as support groups, therapy, medication assisted treatment, and counseling, provision of holistic care that addresses the addiction’s social, physical, emotional and mental aspects, and fostering of supportive relationships with peers, healthcare providers, family members and friends who create a dependable support network. The issues that underlie the addiction, examples being unresolved grief, trauma, socio-economic challenges, and relationship problems should also be addressed. In addition, practical assistance with needs such as childcare, employment, financial management, and housing should be provided to reduce recovery barriers and stressors. This helps in maintaining long term recovery and preventing relapse.
Why the topic is important in social work practice
The topic of addiction is important in social work practice as it significantly impacts individuals, households, communities, and the society at large. It aligns with the commitment of social workers to improve the wellbeing of people and communities, and social work values namely empathy, compassion, and human dignity respect. Considering how its complexity and wide spread is affecting millions of people globally, social workers are needed to offer comprehensive advocacy and support. In addition, considering the stigma, marginalization, and discrimination that people facing addiction experience, social workers have a role to play advocating for the need and rights of the vulnerable populations, and to offer non-judgmental and inclusive support to the affected individuals.
According to Csiernik, Rowe & Novotna (2023), addiction usually co-occurs with other medical and mental conditions and needs holistic and integrated approaches to recovery and treatment. Considering the training that social workers receive in addressing the complex needs of people with dual diagnosis, they are well placed to offer coordinated care that not only addresses the substance abuse but also the underlying issues. Social workers are therefore well equipped to make meaningful contributions in addressing the multi-faceted challenges relating to addiction and promoting resilience, well-being, and recovery for individual and the society as a whole.
Conclusion
The issue of addiction has widespread and profound impacts on individuals, families, and societies at large. It is a multi-faceted and complex problem that can be attributed to the rapidly changing substance use patterns, and that contributes to significant personal and societal costs. Some populations are more vulnerable to it as compared to others, owing to factors such as environmental influences, trauma, social health determinants, genetic predisposition, mental disorders, and socio-economic disparities. Further, those experiencing it require compassionate and comprehensive care that is free from stigmatization and judgment. In addition, the topic is highly relevant to social work practice as a result of its alignment to the practice’s commitment to improving the well-being of people, their families, and communities at large.
References
Chassin, L., Presson, C. C., Rose, J., & Sherman, S. J. (2007). What is addiction? Age-related differences in the meaning of addiction. Drug and alcohol dependence, 87(1), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2006.07.006
Csiernik, R., Rowe, W., & Novotna, G. (Eds.). (2023). Responding to the oppression of addiction: Canadian social work perspectives. Canadian Scholars. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GH-sEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=responding+to+the+oppression+of+addiction&ots=iNcxg84QiG&sig=ZPfyukbCQludEvd6-xTCuCp9RNk
Kranzler, H. R., & Li, T. K. (2008). What is addiction?. Alcohol Research & Health, 31(2), 93. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3860451/
Pickard, H. (2020). What we’re not talking about when we talk about addiction. Hastings center report, 50(4), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.1172
Robbins, T. W. (2021). Neurocognition in stimulant addiction: commentary on Kendrick et al (2021). Psychoradiology, 1(2), 88-90.
Sussman, S., & Sussman, A. N. (2011). Considering the definition of addiction. International journal of environmental research and public health, 8(10), 4025-4038. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8104025
Weinberg, D. (2011). Sociological perspectives on addiction. Sociology Compass, 5(4), 298-310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2011.00363.x
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