Perspective and motivation of people with drug addiction problems
Trying to elucidate the origins of the use of psychoactive substances in humanity and the reasons that lead to the general use of these is a task of vital importance to understand the current social dynamics both in the youth population and in adulthood. According to Antonio Caballero (2001), the use of hallucinogenic substances is closely linked to culture as an atavistic factor that even permeates the religious sphere, from the Yahé rituals in the Amazon tribes to the use of wine in the Judeo -Christian tradition asDivine Evangelization and Communion Mechanism.
The first approaches to the study of drug addiction described the consumer as a being without moral awaregiving way to the creation of social stereotypes that would culminate in social exclusion. In 1975, Kramer and Cameron made a report for WHO where a taxonomy of basic concepts is established when talking about drug addiction, terminology that has been a meeting point for the investigation of the phenomenon in order to obtain a greater understanding of thesame. We find in this manual the useful distinction between what is a drug, the pharmacodependence and a drug cause of dependence. The first refers to a substance that can alter the functioning of an organism after being introduced into the body, the second is a state of psychic or physical dependence on a drug that leads to the constant need to experience its stimulating effects, finally, reference is made to the drug that can cause both psychic and physical, medical use or outside this.
At present, thanks to scientific and technological contributions, there is more clarity about what happens at the cognitive, neurological and behavioral level in the drug consumer, on the other hand, social and human sciences have advanced in the understanding of the factorsAssociated with the problem in question, revealing as environmental influences, group dynamics, material conditions of existence, family nucleus and personal motivation, can be trigger elements in terms of initiation or avoidance. Each research in the area has allowed to generate a change in social construction from the very perception of the problem, abandoning volitional and moral connotation until it becomes what is now called in government policies "a matter of public health" in the casea medical disorder that drastically alters the behavior of the pharmacodependent. In the DSM-V addiction is defined as a chronic and recurring disorder characterized by the compulsive search and consumption of drugs despite its negative consequences.
In our national context, studies numbers have shown that drug use has increased considerably in recent years, and it has been speculated that in this problem a variety of motivational factors associated with addictive behavior involved. What is motivation and why does an indispensable role in human behavior play?
The motivation is approached at different times of history by different authors, which is why a general concept for motivation is not delimited and defined;Etymologically this word is from the Latin Motus that can be interpreted as “what mobilizes the person to execute an activity” (Trechera, 2005).
Ajello points out that motivation is “the plot that sustains the development of those activities that are significant for the person and in which it takes part” (Ajello, 2003);It is also understood as the process by which individuals propose an objective and for the fulfillment of this use the resources that they believe appropriate maintaining specific behavior (Naranjo Pereira, 2009).
In 2000, Bisquerra proposes motivation as a hypothetical theoretical construct, which is a complex process causing behavior;It also states that it has various variables (biological or acquired) that influence the behavior that the subject will adopt to meet the established goals (Bisquerra, 2000);One of the main characteristics of motivation (in what most authors agree) is that it is one of the main explanatory factors to understand human behavior and why their behavior (Herrera, Ramírez, Roa, & Herrera, 2004).
Since the motivation is what drives decision -making, it is closely related to substance consumption, various stimuli (external or internal) guide the decision to consume for the first time and if these stimuli generate a satisfactory state they cause behavior.of frequent consumption.
Society plays a fundamental role in the use of substances as in the perception of consumers, since from the behavior, needs and logic in general in the consumer practice, a concept is created, a representation that defines thesocial role under which the addict will be framed. It is at this point that it is necessary to expose what is meant by social construction. Social construction can see its beginnings with the concept of social imaginary given by Cornelius Castoriadis, in an article made by Miranda Ospino, where it is detailed that the social imaginary for Cornelius “is a historical socio -construction that covers the set of institutions, norms and norms andsymbols that share a certain social group ”(Ospino, 2014);Cornelius creates this concept in order to make a difference between Karl Marx’s determinism, and the hegemony of structuralism, in this way, Cornelius intends to “rethink Marx’s theory to give ideas a greater weight to ideas as a source of creation and modificationof reality ”(Ospino, 2014)
Social construction can also be addressed from the perspective of Berger and Luckmann, these authors, propose that social construction is based on a reality, or realities that affect our behavior, which makes knowledge individual and particular (Berger, 1968), In other words, each person has a perception and a point of view of things differently, thus creating multiple realities in the world.
Due to Berger and Luckmann’s proposal, the following question could be raised, if we all have a different and individual reality, how do we reach a common point of view? (Arriagada, 2002) Berger and Luckmann talk about how language answers this question. Since there are multiple points of view and realities, we seek to share the knowledge that each individual has of their reality, the use of language together with signs, signs and codes make them understand each other.
Berger and Luckmann talk about another perspective that is linked to the previous ones:
Continuing with the ideas of Berger and Luckmann, they postulate that the activity of the human being tends to become common and is raised as an objective reality through the operation of mechanisms such as institutionalization and legitimation;In parallel and inevitably, a series of complex expected behavior systems are associated with these processes – in virtue of traditions and conventions that define social roles in an organized and plausible whole (Arriagada, 2002).
To understand more this point of view, it can be defined in how people’s realities begin to group, and create a categorization of common knowledge, in this way, a custom or tradition can be considered when institutionalized in the general reality in the general realityof people.
Within the social imaginary are stereotypes, which can be defined as a set of convictions that a group shares. This refers to “any attribute of a person (physical, personality, behavior, role, etc.);and that are applied to group members, socially perceived as belonging to the same category ”(Moya, 1996)
The first conceptualization of stereotypes in social sciences is given by Lippmann, who transmits the idea of stereotypes as something rigid, repetitive, mechanically applied, and with a cognitive function, or in the author’s terminology, it would be preconceptions that governThe perception, which imposes a certain character to the data before they reach intelligence (Lippmann, 2017).
Stereotypes can be used as an interior defesa mechanism of the individual, to protect their personal interests, defend their social status and justify certain hostile behaviors towards other groups, they are a result of the consequence of human thought that serve to facilitate the entry of informationSocial (Berinsky, 2005).
The function of stereotypes took weight from Tajfel’s work on cognitive categorization processes, states that perception distortion occurs so that intragroup similarities and intergroup differences are accentuated according to stereotypes, they tendto favor evolutionary and behaviorally to the group itself (endogroup) against the exogroup (Tajfel, 1969).
The stereotypes are social and fulfill functions in certain groups, are supplied by culture and remain when they are accepted and followed by several members of a certain culture, in relation to the formation of stereotypes is self – esteem, personality and the values system of the values of the values of theindividual. The theory of the categorization of the self considers stereotypy as a rational and valid phenomenon where all perception implies categorizing (Turner, 1990).
However, in terms of social stereotypes that report as is conceived by the other members of a drug addict, there is a wide variety of pre -established and generalized ideas that describe a negative image of the subject in question. An example of stereotype associated with the practice of consumption very rooted in people, is that the standardized and repeated use of drugs is only seen in the lowest socioeconomic strata. Another example is the tendency to think of them as criminals, capable of assaulting and assassinating without any repair, arguing that they have no moral principles or understanding of the established codes of conduct. It is also frequent that they are described as people without future, without motivations and life expectations, without autonomy and with low work or academic performance. It is interesting to mention that many of these imaginary or social representations operate under a dehumanizing logic of the drug addict, tend to "monstrify" as a mechanism of justification of the campaigns of the so -called "social cleaning". When the human attributes are taken from the addict, when treated and considered as hostile beings, little civilized and that produce a discomfort in culture, their disappearance is justified according to the security and tranquility of others.
Finally, and giving way to this article to the consequences of excessive drug use in the addicted population, we can find multiple repercussions on physical and psychological health. Cognitive deterioration is one of the many consequences of drugs, these are clearly negative in that they affect the functioning of the brain, frequent and intense drug consumption produces an impact on the body for which it is not prepared.
According to the article, cognitive impairment associated with drug use (Pérez, 2018), abusive drug consumption can generate morphological alterations in the structure of the brain as loss of brain volume, reductions in the percentage of gray matter, reductions in the volume of the brain fluidventricular, widening of pericortical space and both lateral ventricles, decreased neuron size, neuronal death and cerebral atrophy.
Drug use is a real concern in society and the drug with youth and crime is usually associated. This creates first -order health problems, in addition to being the motivator of many crimes and the breeding ground by which many families end. Among adolescents is presented as one of the risk behaviors with more devastating effects on the development of the individual, since at this stage they are more vulnerable to substance consumption due to an identity in training and a psychosocial adjustment in development, (A.Rodriguez-Fernandez, 2016) All this, together with the fluctuation of moods (M.C. Pérez-Fuentes J. G., 2015) and the tendency towards the search for sensations, (M.C. Pérez-Fuentes m. M., 2016) makes them more receptive to the beginning of experimental consumption and maintenance supported by the recreational function of substances, among these. Addiction depends on social and psychological factors, but genetic contribution is very important. Our genes can make us vulnerable to drug use, since some polymorphisms of various genes can make us sensitive to addiction or even hinder the efficiency of rehabilitation -oriented treatments. One of the most studied polymorphisms is that of liver enzymes (CYP450), associated with vulnerability for tobacco addiction, alcohol and heroin. Additionally, we must consider that our genetic material responds to environmental stimuli (epigenesis), in such a way that inappropriate environmental conditions, and poor maternal care, can change our behavior (low response to stress) and become vulnerable to addiction (Ruiz Contreras).
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