research on addiction

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Illicit drug problem is one of the most worrying issues of the presenet century in all countries and anti-drug addiction programs are included in the agenda of all governments and international community. Drug abuse/addiction in Iran has been one of the most important social and economical problems for several years and the number and percentage of drug users/addicts are growing. Campaign against this phenomenon needs in-depth recognition of all aspects (economic, social and political) of this problem. So, such programs will be successful in fighting against illicit drugs and drug addiction if they are developed and implemented through a realistic recognition. One can not hope the success of anti-drug programs if they are not planned on the basis of researches. Therefore, reviewing the economical aspect of illicit drugs via usrers’ viewpoints will help to undrestand illicit drug addiction phenomenon. In this article, the behaviour of drug usres is studied on the basis of micro-economic traditional assumptions. The relation between deman and prices of illicit drugs, the relation between tendency to drug consumption and the amount of drug consumption and the relaion between drug consumption and criminal acts are among the discussed issues of this article. Finally, a summary of the situation of illicit drug consumption is presented.

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The present article addresses the relationshop between social anomie and drug addiction and tries to show that how we can apply anomie theory to clarify the aspects of this social problem in our society. By reviewing Durkheim’s and Merton’s anomie theories and Agnew’s mental-social theory، this article attempts to show that despite of fundamental differences in these two theories، Iranian Society has an anomic situation and this situation has a high poteniality for tendency toward drug addiction/abuse.

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In this article which is a review of sociological ideas and studies of drug abusers in social situation, drug addiction steps (particularly alcohol, heroin and cocaine consumption) are revised and some explanations are made. Also, the role of some sociological ideas in drug addiction is considered in which Anomie Theory reads: "because of such duality, the individuals who are not satisfied with their role are in hurt." According to this theory, drug users choose seclusion and neglecting usual social aims as well as competitive situations. Association of Differentiation Theory claims that drug use behavior is a learned behavior and the first learning occurs in a friendly small group (i.e. youngsters). Social Control theory believes that one can predict normal and abnormal behaviors through the rate of individuals' social commitments. Internal and external controls also determine commitment rate. Micro-cultural theory considers drug use as a compatibility with abnormal micro-culture rules. Symbolic Mutual Action Believes that the etiquettes which society attribute to individuals/behaviors determine their acquired social reactions rather than any inherited acquisition.

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Addicts to alcohol and other substances changing the mood and behavior attempt to stop their addiction and avoid its relapse because they suffer mental and physical problems, they are under the pressure of family members, employer and other individuals who influence over their life as well as negative effects of drug addiction on their performance in family, work and social relations. Since drug addicts experience physical pain when they are not using drugs, they refer, at first, to physicians and then to psychiatrists. Although emerging and applying non-medical and non-pharmaceutical approaches models is not too old, arising various addictive drugs and increasing the number of drug addicts as well as individual/social destructive consequences of drug addiction have caused that psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers to represent various non-pharmaceutical theories, models, methods and guidelines based on the conditions of their clients and their clinical experiences. The present article attempts to identify the reasons of drug addiction tendency, consumption patterns, models, theories of addiction to substances changing the mood and behavior, various methods of drug treatment, effective methods in drug addiction counseling and non-medical and non-pharmaceutical methods to give up drug addiction by using recent research findings. On this basis, the most effective methods to help those who suffer from alcohol and other drugs abuse and dependency are studied.

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Objectives: Identifying personality factors of tendency to drugs can be helpful in better recognition and treatment of drug-dependency and also by providing consulting and psychological services can relatively prevents from vulnerable people to be addicted. This research therefore aims to investigate personality profile of substance dependent by using personality models of Cloninger and Eysenck. Methods: 100 substance-dependent and 100 normal men selected by available sampling method and completed Temperament and Character Inventory of Cloninger (TCI) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire _ Revised (EPQ-R). Also, some democratic information regarding substance- dependents collected. Research data were analyzed by inferential and descriptive statistics. Findings: This research showed that there are significant differences in temperament dimensions of novelty seeking and harm avoidance and character dimensions of self-direction and cooperativeness of Cloninger model and neuroticism and psychosis dimensions of Eysenck model between substance- dependent men and normal men. Results: Comparing in normal men, substance dependent men gained higher scores at novelty seeking and neuroticism and psychosis, and lower scores at self-direction and cooperativeness.

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Objective: The present study was an attempt to assess a model of important antecedents of attitude towards drug addiction in order to gain a more complete understanding of this construct. This model examines the role of family cohesion, personality traits, peer attachment, altruism, and social support in attitudes towards drug addiction. Method: The study sample included 570 people from Tehran University students selected through convenient sampling. The research instruments included NEO-Personality Inventory (Short Form), Social Support Scale, Family Scale, New Friendship Scale, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. The proposed model was evaluated by using Structural equation modeling. Results: Based on the results, the indexes enjoyed acceptable goodness of fits. Family cohesion and personality traits had direct and indirect effects on attitudes towards drug addiction while peer attachment, altruism, and social support had a significant direct effect on attitudes towards drug addiction. Conclusion: These findings were consonant with those of the previous research and could explain attitudes towards drug addiction.

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Objective: One of the main tasks of education is to increase students' knowledge about the dangers of drug addiction. The present study seeks to investigate the content of drug addiction in book of Social Studies. Method: A mixed method was used in this study to identify the components of drug addiction via descriptive analysis and then to evaluate and analyze the social studies curriculum through content analysis. The content of the book of Social Studies in the eighth grade of junior high school published in 2014 was the statistical population of this study and the sampling was done in a purposive method. The Inventory of Textbook Content Analysis, Inventory of Activity Analysis, Worksheets, and Inventory of Picture Analysis Drafts were used as data collection tools. Following the study of theoretical foundations and legal framework, the proposal was developed and its validity was determined by Educational Sciences experts and other relevant experts. This book consists of 12 chapters and 190 pages and was analyzed based on the analysis unit of sentence. The sentences in the textbook, the text of activities, and also the images in the course books constituted the analysis units. Results: In total, 18%, 28%, 17%, and 36% of the content in Social Studies curriculum of the eighth grade pertain to concepts related to drugs, the variety of injuries, causes of tendency to drug use, and methods of drug use prevention, respectively. Conclusion: According to the results, less attention has been paid to the causes of tendency to use drug and the variety of narcotic drugs in this textbook and, thereby, it needs to be given more attention.

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