Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III pp 7–18Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Causes of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 517 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the causes of the abuse of drugs and explores the pathways from initiation to the abuse of psychoactive drugs to chronic and acute diseases. The detrimental consequences of the use of various drugs to health are also explained. Even though many abusers of drugs have begun as casual users, a significant number eventually become addicted. Various factors which may make individuals vulnerable to the abuse of drugs are explored. The vulnerability to drug abuse is to a large extent determined by personal characteristics and the social environment; for example, an individual’s impulsivity leads to a preference for short-term over-delayed gratification and also shows an inability to persevere with a given task.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akerlof, G. A. (1997). Social distance and social decisions. Econometrica, 65, 1005–10027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Pub.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balsa, A. I., Homer, J. F., et al. (2010). Alcohol use and popularity: Social payoffs from conforming to peers’ behaviour. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(3), 559–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1973). A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NY: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1996). Accounting for tastes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, L., & Williams, J. (2001). Cannabis alcohol and cigarettes: Substitutes or complements. Economic Record, 77(236), 19–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Bellis, M. D. (2002). Developmental traumatology: A contributory mechanism for alcohol and substance use disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinal, 27, 155–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ennett, S. T., Rosenbaum, D. P., et al. (1994). Long-term evaluation of drug abuse resistance education. Addictive Behaviors, 19(2), 113–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin, L. R., & Sias, S. M. (2014). Severe substance use disorder viewed as a chronic condition and disability. Journal of Rehabilitation, 80(4), 42–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humfleet, G. L., & Haas, A. L. (2004). Is marijuana use becoming a gateway to nicotine dependence? Addiction, 99(1), 5–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, D. B. (2002). Stages and pathways of drug involvement: Examining the gateway hypothesis. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the national co-morbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krishnan-Sarin, S., Reynolds, B., Duhig, A. M., et al. (2007). Behavioral impulsivity predicts treatment outcome in smoking cessation program for adolescent smokers. Drug Alcohol Dependence, 88, 79–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundborg, P. (2006). Having the wrong friends? Peer effects in adolescent substance use. Journal of Health Economics, 25(2), 214–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLellan, A. T., Lewis, D. C., et al. (2000). Drug dependence, a chronic medical illness: Implications for treatment, insurance, and outcomes evaluation. Journal of the American Medical Association, 284(13), 1689–1695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pacula, R. L. (1998). Adolescent alcohol and marijuana consumption: Is there really a gateway effect? National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper No. 6348. Cambridge, MA: Natural Bureau of Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, J. L., & Carroll, M. E. (2008). The role of impulsive behaviour in drug abuse. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 200, 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pudney, S. E. (2004). Keeping off the grass? An econometric model of cannabis consumption in Britain. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 19, 435–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pudney, S. (2010, January). Drugs policy: What should we do about cannabis? Economic Policy, Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenhan, D. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1984). Abnormal Psychology. New York: Norton and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarafino, E. P. (1990). Health psychology: Biopsychosocial interactions. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Urberg, K. A. (1992). Locus of peer influence: Social crowd and best friend. Journal of Adolescence, 21, 439–450.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Ours, J. C. (2006). Dynamics in the use of drugs. Health Economics, 15(12), 1283–1294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Ours, J. C., & Williams, J. (2005). Cannabis prices and dynamics of cannabis use. Journal of Health Economics, 26(3), 578–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waller, L., & Williams, C. R. (1993). Criminal law: Text and cases (7th ed.). Melbourne: Butterworths.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J., Pacula, R. L., et al. (2004). Alcohol and marijuana use among college students: Economic complements or substitutes? Health Economics, 13(9), 825–843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wills, T. A. (1986). Stress and coping in early adolescence: Relationships to substance use in urban school samples. Health Psychology, 5(6), 503–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, J., & Williford, W. R. (1992). The age of alcohol onset and alcohol cigarette, and marijuana use patterns: An analysis of drug use progression of young adults in New York State. International Journal of Addiction, 27(11), 1313–1323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    John Joshua

Authors
  1. John Joshua
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Joshua .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Joshua, J. (2017). Causes of the Abuse of Illicit Drugs. In: The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59138-4_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59138-4_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59137-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59138-4

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation