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Chapter 2 - Illicit Drug Use: Epidemiology, Aetiology and Prevention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2021

By
Ed Day
Edited by
Ed Day
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Summary

This chapter begins with an exploration of the epidemiology of illicit drug use. Measuring the use of illicit drugs accurately can be challenging, and the initial focus is on the various potential sources of data in the UK. Methods for estimating the prevalence of opiate and crack cocaine use are discussed, and the prevalence and trends in both specialist addiction and mental health services are reviewed. The aetiology of drug use and dependence is then explored using a framework of risk and protective factors. The brain disease model of addiction is described alongside challenges to its validity, with a consideration of why some people get addicted and others do not. Psychological models of addiction are reviewed and integrated into a wider biopsychosocial model. Finally, protective factors against drug use in adolescence are considered, and the evidence for prevention strategies summarised.

Keywords

illicit drugsopiatesepidemiologyprevalencerisk and protective factorsaetiologybrain disease modelpsychological modelprevention
Type
Chapter
Information
Seminars in Addiction Psychiatry , pp. 15 - 41
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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