Substance Abuse


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What is a stimulant and what is an example of one?
Adrug that speeds up or 'excites' the central nervous system, causing happiness, euphoria and alertness. Examples include: nicotine, cocaine and poppers
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What category of drug contains substances such as: alcohol, heroin, morphine, codeine, tranquilisers and barbiturates (sleeping pills)?
Depressant
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What do depressants do?
Slow down activity of the central nervous system, causing calmness and relaxation
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What is a hallucinogen and what are two examples of it?
A substance that distorts or alters a persons perception of reality, causing hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking. Examples are ecstasy and LSD
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What was Olds and Milner's (1954) research into and what did it suggest?
Addiction. Stimulation of the septal area is pleasureable and may contribute to addiction
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What was Siegal et al's (1992) reasearch into and what did it suggest?
Tolerance. Tolerance may be situationally dependent (e.g. someone may have a higher tolerance to alcohol when they drink in the UK, than when they drink on holiday abroad)
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What is addiction and what are three common characteristics of it?
Compusive behaviour to seek pleasure. Characteristics of addiction include: becomes centre of life, hostile relationships with family/friends and physical or psychological dependence
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What is physical dependence?
Taking the substance to prevent painful withdrawal effects
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What is psychological dependence?
Person feels that they need the drug to cope socially and emotionally
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What is tolerance?
A state of progressively decreasing responsiveness to a frequently used drug
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What is withdrawal and what are some symptoms of it?
Painful physical and psychological side effects that occur in the complete cessation of a frequently used drug .e.g. shaking, sweating, stomach cramps
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What are the positives and negative effects of alcohol?
Positive- reduces coronary heart disease by protecting bllod vessels from the build up of cholesterol. Negative- cirrhosis of liver, cancer, memory deficits (kosakoffs syndrome), poor motor co-ordination
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According to Winger et al. (1992), what are the three stages of alcohol withrawal?
1) within 4-6 hours of withdrawal- shaking, sweating, anxiety, nausea, stomach cramps 2) up to a day of withdrawal- convulsions and seizures 3) up to 2-3 days of withdrawal- hallucinations, delirium tremmens, fever, irregular heartbeat
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What are carcinogens and how many are in a single cigarette?
Cancer causing agents. There are around 4000 in one cigarette.
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What is the main social explanation for substance abusing?
Observing someone taking substance + being rewarded in some way = imitation of behaviour
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In the Observer (2008), what was found to be the no.1 reason people identified for starting to take a substance?
Curiosity (75%). This was above peer pressure at 22%
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How does the UK differ from other cultures in terms of drinking habits?
UK- heavy drinking, associated with aggression,violence France and Italy- drinking small amounts from a young age leads to pleasant relaxation Muslim cultures- alcohol is forbidden
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What did Bricker find in relation to substance abuse?
Peer influence causes someone to initially take the substance but substance use is maintained through parental influence
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What did Perkins et al find in relation to social explanations of substance abuse?
People often overestimate how much of a substance their friends/peers are taking
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What category of drug contains substances such as: alcohol, heroin, morphine, codeine, tranquilisers and barbiturates (sleeping pills)?

Back

Depressant

Card 3

Front

What do depressants do?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is a hallucinogen and what are two examples of it?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What was Olds and Milner's (1954) research into and what did it suggest?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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