The individuals socioeconomic status has a little interrelation with his or her propensity to addiction. This stereotype was formed due to the fact that substance abuse is more common among lower economic status individuals or those living in poverty. Nevertheless, the position that these two factors are directly linked and reflect the cause and effect is arguable. On the contrary, substance abuse is a side effect of the lifestyle led by individuals of lower-income. Therefore, limited financial means or poverty are not the sole reason for substance abuse. There are many other contributing factors and indirect links like, for instance, environmental and genetic influence. These factors are likely to be experienced by both wealthy and poor people, although psychological traumas are more likely to occur in households living in poverty. Therefore, in essence, the predisposing to addiction and substance abuse risk factors prevail in lower economic families and areas.
The Problem and Demography of Substance Abuse
Statistics of Substance Abuse
As reported in 2017, the statistics of substance abuse was as follows. The cocaine use among Americans over 12 years old reached over 950,000 people (Scot, 2020). Only 637,000 of them received the appropriate treatment trying to stay in rehabilitation (Scot, 2020). Heroin addicts encountered around 650,000 people aged over 12 (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). As per the report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over the past two decades, heroin abuse increased in most demographic groups in the U.S (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). It is noteworthy that people addicted to alcohol have two times more chances to become heroin-addicted (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). The same statistics for individuals addicted to marijuana raises to three times more. Cocaine abusers become heroin-addicted fifteen times more, whereas people with addiction to prescription drugs are forty times more likely to shift to heroin abuse (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). The same source emphasizes that non-Hispanic white male population of the large cities aged between 18-25 are the highest at-risk individuals for heroin addiction.
Among prescription drugs in 2017, tranquillizers, sedatives, pain relievers, and stimulants are the most commonly abused ones. The abuse rate of pain relievers for population age over 12 was over 1,5 million people or more than 0,6% of those individuals (“Misuse of prescription,” n.d.). Women more rapidly become prescription pain relievers dependent than men. Moreover, they are more subject to chronic pain and, hence, being prescribed higher doses of painkillers. When it comes to marijuana, in 2017, over four million Americans aged over 12 had a marijuana use disorder (“Marijuana,” n.d.). The vast majority of these people are aged between 16 and 25. In 2014, around 5% of college students in the U.S. smoked marijuana daily, whereas, in 1994, their number was three times less.
Finally, the alcohol use disorder was a problem of more than fourteen million people in America which is over 5% of the population aged 12 and older (Scot, 2020). A family history of over half of American adults includes people with alcohol addiction. Over 10% of U.S. children live in families with a least one drinking parent (Scot, 2020). Alcohol causes around 90,000 deaths annually, being the third among the leading causes of preventable death in 2017 (Scot, 2020). In 2015, alcohol was the reason for about half of liver diseases (Scot, 2020).
The Biological Pathway and the Major Behavioral Factors Influencing Substance Abuse
Regardless of societys opinion, genetics role is as strong as the environments one relatively to substance abuse. Their responsibility in terms of predisposition to substance abuse varies between forty and sixty percent. Nevertheless, economic status matters, as well as education level, whereas the higher is a family income, the more are their childrens chances to attend colleges. According to the twin, adoption, and family studies, genetic factors play a particular role in addictions development. Hallucinogens have the lowest heritability, whereas cocaine, on the contrary, has the highest one. It is noteworthy that the estimates of heritability for addiction usually are higher than those for substance use (Ducci & Goldman, 2012). Genetic influences also matter in the initiation, as the initiation of use and the absence of pathologic drug use are also proved to be heritable.
In frames of environment, the individuals development is contributed mainly by some of his or her early interactions. Therefore, as a person grows up, his family and environment influence his or her potential use of alcohol and drugs (Stoil & Hill, 2013). If specific factors like trauma and others disrupt a home, children have higher chances to become addicted in their elder life. Other factors include, but are not limited to domestic violence, neglect, behavioral and mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, divorce, criminal behavior, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse, and others (“Economic status,” n.d.). As such household disruptions increase stress, they are likely to make its family members try alcohol and drugs. Additionally, living in a family with any kind of abuse, a child normalizes this behavior, often learning to use the same substances to cope. Hence, substance abuse among teenagers is usually based on a lack of healthy family relationships and happiness (Giovanelli, et al., 2016).
Low-Income Population and Substance Abuse
The society believes that there is a strong interrelation between poverty and substance addiction. On the other hand, logically, an unemployed person is not likely to be able to afford the expenses of abuse. Therefore, the more often situation witnessed by society is the poverty caused by addiction. Nevertheless, the roots of the connection between substance abuse and poverty are much more in-depth. For example, one of the most crucial problems of low-income communities is less access to treatment and rehabilitation centers due to their limited financial ability.
Poverty embitters people and exhausts them psychologically; hence, all kinds of abuse and violence are more likely to occur in families with low income (Santiago, et al., 2013). The surveys revealed that about one-fifth of people on welfare in the U.S. use illicit drugs at least once a year. An individual with an annual income lower than $20,000 has three times less opportunity to recover from, for instance, cocaine addiction than a person with over $70,000 profit per year (Scot, 2020). The likelihood of substance abuse is also affected by employment status. Again, taking cocaine as an example, around 23% of unemployed individuals used it at least once versus less than 20% of full-time employed and about 15% of part-time employees (Scot, 2020).
Another valid reason associated with substance abuse is homelessness. Currently, it is difficult to define the extent of their reciprocal dependence, as both homelessness might be a result of abuse and addiction to alcohol and drugs can be formed because of homelessness. People without the place to live often seek the way out in substance abuse when dealing with their life problems and aggravated feelings. It is noteworthy that when it comes to children, poverty is a crucial reason for trying alcohol and drugs. Living in a poverty household, a child is likely to smoke cigarettes from an early age, whereas the wealthier children are more likely to be addicted to drinking as well as the adults (Collins, 2016).
Demographic Data
There are specific disparities in different population groups, as reported in 2017 (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). For example, the rate of illicit drug and alcohol use was the lowest for Asian adolescents – about 7%. Individuals identifying more than one race showed more than twice rate – over 16%, non-Hispanic adolescents – around 15%, American Indian and Alaska Native population – more than 14% (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). For Latino and Hispanic people, the rate was nearly 12% as well as for non-Hispanic black individuals, Pacific Islander population, and Native Hawaiian (“Substance abuse,” n.d.).
In turn, the age demography of substance abuse is as follows. Teenagers aged about 12-14 years had the rate of illicit drug or alcohol use about 3% (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). With the age increase, the prices of substance abuse also raised. For the youth aged 15, the rate reached around 11,5%, whereas young adolescents aged 16-17 years had the 25% rate (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). If compared to the 8% rate of abuse and addiction of non-U.S. population aged 12-17 years, the American adolescents rate was over 14&% (“Substance abuse,” n.d.).
Cultural and Social Grounds of Substance Abuse
Again, one of the most crucial issues of low-income community with substance use problems is low access to recovery and rehabilitation. People without relative financial stability cannot afford themselves these services, therefore, being at higher risk of overdosing, losing control, and staying addicted until the end of their lives. The current situation with the illicit drugs in America can be considered an epidemic (Winkelman et. al., 2018). Moreover, the low-income population more often get involved in the drug trade, considering it one of the easiest and most rapid ways to earn additional money.
Although the origin of addiction is usually psychological, there is a variety of social and cultural factors which might be considered the cultivation of substance abuse and addiction. Among todays youth, socializing stress might be regarded as a significant factor pushing them to turn to substances – one of the most frequently used content in frames of socializing and overcoming bonds. Bars became a commonplace for meeting among teenagers, as their interaction increases and becomes relaxed under the alcohol undermining worries about potential rejection (“Substance abuse,” n.d.). Marijuana has a similar effect, although carrying the risks of paranoia increase, lethargy, and getting lost in thoughts (“Marijuana,” n.d.).
Another factor of substance abuse is relief from stress in daily life. In other words, drugs and alcohol help people escape reality. A strain is often used as a justification for various substance use. Managing everyday stress caused by the financial instability and the related problems make low-income community turn to drugs and alcohol instead of relaxation, yoga, meditations, and other methods as they require more time and efforts.
The use of drugs, especially marijuana, heroin, and cocaine is often a peer group factor caused by the sense of community. The individual social terms like homelessness and natural adverse conditions are also the primary contributors to becoming addicted. The tendency of alcohol and drugs abuse is often grounded by group solidarity and community belonging feelings (Carruth, et. al., 2014, p. 69). Hence, social influence is the most consistent factor causing substance abuse within a low-income community due to the lack of positive peer groups with strong interests and backgrounds.
Finally, another social background for substance abuse among the low-income population is the lifestyle appeal. Sometimes the drug and alcohol abuse is thought of like something glamorous, appealing to a wealthy life. Individuals living in poverty notice the ways the wealthier substance abusers live, dress, behave, have fun, and their attitude to responsibility and structure, failing to see the adverse outcomes of this lifestyle. They include frequent job changes, decreasing salary, family disruptions, inability to build strong relationships, and absence of logic in thoughts and actions. Hence, biological factors, along with the cultural and social contributors, are highly influential in gaining substance abuse disorders.
Conclusion
Stable housing is one of the essential criteria in recovery from substance abuse. If an individual is unable to pay the rent or experiences a threat of losing his or her housing, the situation might lead to stress becoming a trigger for substance misuse and addiction. Homeless people suffering from substance abuse disorders typically cannot cope with their addiction without a safe living, as alcohol and drugs help them to escape from the feeling of the danger of street life and other relevant stresses.
Due to the cultural and social peculiarities within low-income communities, substance abuse among this population is significantly growing. Moreover, the efficiency and quality of treatment options available to the low-income addicts of low economic status differ from the same for the wealthier population. Additionally, there is no unified legislative regulation of the prices for substance abuse treatment in different facilities. Therefore, it is unlikely that a high-level treatment will be a realistic option for minimum wage employees, unemployed individuals, and homeless people.
Several policy implications might play a crucial role in improving the current situation. Firstly, drug users should be surveyed to illuminate the best policies and relevant responses to them. For instance, if the government focuses on drug-using parents, this may result in overlooking another family and child concerns like alcohol misuse. Additionally, social problems and issues clustering should be avoided by means of an increase in council and public provisions consideration.
It is substantial to shift away from welfare benefits measured by financial opportunities stigmatizing the currently unemployed individuals. Another factor to be analyzed and reconsidered is the relationship between drugs and crime. It requires a sophisticated approach and involving changes in the housing policy, measures towards local drugs markets, coping with long-term unemployment and low-income levels. It is also crucial to improve the collection of data on the welfare claimant for people with substance abuse disorders. The present acting links between NHS services and the Department of Work and Pensions might require improvement due to the Hepatitis C unfolding epidemic from a perspective of being fit for work.
There is also a need for reconsidering the issue of kinship fiduciaries, for example, parents caring for their children, and others. The policy of financial support for this group of population is needed to contribute to the abusers recovery. Reducing the income inequalities can take the damaging substance abuse under control among the low-income communities. New policies might consider different concepts like citizens underlying income. Finally, the realistic boundaries should be established for social care, criminal justice response, and health to individuals in terms of policies focused on reducing poverty, inequalities, and exclusion.
References
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