Causes of Drug Addiction in African American Community

Causes of Drug Addiction in African American Community

According to the National Institutes of Health, the risks of drug abuse, its adverse effects, and the methods for management and recovery contrast by race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and age, among other factors. As such, when looking at the statistics on drug addiction in America, which is a country of diverse communities, the statistics are bound to vary from one community to the other. The focus of my essay is the African American community, which makes up approximately 13.4 % of the American population, and sadly, numerous studies have shown that this population experiences unfavorable outcomes following the conclusion of substance addiction treatment. Notably, the rate of substance abuse among African Americans is relatively lower than in other communities (Hart & Hart, 2019). However, these statistics are often overrepresented because abusers in this particular community are more likely to seek treatment for their drug addiction than other communities.

The most abused drug in the African American community is crack cocaine. SAMHSA research shows that African Americans are more likely to use crack cocaine than any other community in America. In addition, a study indicated that there is an increased rate of lifetime use of crack cocaine among this group, about 4.6%, than that of Hispanics, which was 2.3%, and Caucasians, which was 3.7% (McCance-Katz, 2019). Another study by Redmond et al. (2020) found that among African American admissions to drug treatment facilities, the drug abuse by most of these women, 35% of them, was crack cocaine. In addition, the drug addiction rates among African Americans are higher than those in the Caribbean Black community. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that in the African American community, marijuana is used by more people than crack cocaine is; however, the rate of addiction due to marijuana is very low compared to that of crack cocaine, which is the highest, making the latter the most abused drug among the community.

There are various causes of drug abuse, the most common ones being genetic disposition, environmental factors, and mental health. Accordingly, studies have shown that the African American community, especially women in this group, are at risk of abusing drugs due to harsh environmental factors (Finkelstein, 2011). These environmental factors include economic, psychosocial, and sociodemographic disparities (Nicholson & Ford, 2019). One of the most effective ways to treat drug addiction brought about by these disparities is implementing strengths-based models to enrich a sense of empowerment in African Americans by recognizing their assets and history of endurance (Finkelstein, 2011). Most drug addiction treatment strategies have failed to address the fact that each community faces different challenges that eventually lead to drug addiction. Therefore, all patients are treated using the same method, which proves useless once the treatment is over, as the patients have not yet addressed their individual problems. Further, the most effective way to deal with problems that lead to crack addiction in this community is by creating a country that does not discriminate and oppress minorities. Equality should be one of the main issues ensured in every aspect, including healthcare, education, employment, and the criminal justice system, among others.

In conclusion, individuals exposed to risks of substance use disorders are best understood from the perspective in which the impacts of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, economic status, culture, education, age, and other factors converge. Accordingly, considering group variances across segments of diverse populations is critical to designing and executing effective drug abuse treatment plans for African Americans.

References

Finkelstein, N. B. (2011). Substance abuse treatment: addressing the specific needs of women. Diane publishing.

McCance-Katz, E. F. (2019). The national survey on drug use and health: 2017. Substance abuse and mental health services administration.

Nicholson Jr, H. L., & Ford, J. A. (2019). Sociodemographic, neighborhood, psychosocial, and substance use correlates of cocaine use among Black adults: Findings from a pooled analysis of national data. Addictive Behaviors, 88, 182-186.

Redmond, M. L., Smith, S., & Collins, T. C. (2020). Exploring African American women’s experiences with substance use treatment: A review of the literature. Journal of Community Psychology, 48(2), 337-350.

Hart, C. L., & Hart, M. Z. (2019). Opioid crisis: Another mechanism used to perpetuate American racism. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 25(1), 6.

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For this assignment, you will write a 500-word essay that addresses a substance abuse problem within ONE minority group in the United States. You may define this minority group in terms of race or ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, etc.) and/or sexual orientation (those within the LGBT community). Use the American Psychological Association (APA) style (6th edition) to write your assignment. You should include at least three sources, one of which may be from the weekly readings.

Causes of Drug Addiction in African American Community

Your essay should answer the following:
• Which minority group are you studying and why?
• What substance is being abused by this minority group?
• What is the prevalence of the abuse of this substance within this minority group? (Provide specific data from your research)
• What is ONE effective way to help solve some of the problems associated with the addiction that you have covered in this paper?
In addition to the assigned readings, locate and utilize at least two additional academic resources specific to the culture you selected. (Check the EC Library to learn how to identify and select appropriate resources. Open this page (Links to an external site.) and scroll down to #4).
You are to include at least three references (the standard is 2 per page of text) from academic sources that you have researched on this topic in the Excelsior Library and to use appropriate citations in APA style.