Nature Vs. Nurture Debate on Substance Abuse

Nature vs. Nurture 1

Nature vs. Nurture debate on Substance Abuse.

Substance abuse is a problem that has been present in our country for years and is only getting worse. The total number of drug-related ED visits increased 81 percent from 2004 (2.5 million) to in 4.6 million in 2009. (2011, May 13). It is a problem that is very serious and is only going to get worse as time goes by and drugs become more available to the general public. Millions of people struggle with substance abuse, from addiction to alcohol or pharmaceuticals. People resort to these substances often time in reaction to stress, confusion, anxiety and anger and become dangerously addicted. Some times people start using recreationally and it turns into a habit that they cannot rid and people will go to all risks to get a fix, including jeopardizing there job, family and life and by doing things they would not normally do if they were sober and it negatively effects the addict directly but also all who are involved in that persons life. People argue that people get involved addicted to drugs in alcohol because of where they grew up and the people that surround them, but others argue that substance abuse is a result of how you were raised by your parents and the love and nurturing you have received. Although the way a person was brought up does play a part in weather a person abuses substances I think that overall, a persons substance abuse family history, the availability and prevalence of substances in a young persons life and what kind of friends a person hangs around with ultimately are the leading factors into a persons downward decent into substance abuse.

The nature vs. nurture debate can be brought up when talking about almost any topic and substance abuse is no different. People could argue both sides of the debate validly and there are so many facts that can support both sides of debate, that there is no right answer. The nature side would argue that a child would get substance abuse quality's because on his or her genes, and that who the child's parents are, and what their history with substance abuse is, factors in the disorder occurring when their child gets the disease. It is medically proven that if someone's parent or someone in there immediate family has a history with substance abuse that they are more likely to abuse substances than someone whose parents have no history. Factors like social acceptance, home environment, stress and anger levels are the points that people arguing on the nurture side use for why people become addicted to substances. When people see other people around them, especially there friends, doing something everyday and enjoying it, they are more likely to try or indulge in something in the future, than a person who is more isolated and protected and therefore does not have any prior experience with drugs or alcohol.

Often times many of the young inmates in prison and juvenile halls all have very similar stories. They are from very rough neighborhoods, they have broken homes, they don't know both there parents, they have 6 or 7 brothers and sisters but have different moms and dads. The people and friends they grow up with get involved with drug dealing and stealing at an early age because it's the culture around them and for them, its survival of the fittest, they don't know any better. The nature side would argue that regardless of where a person grows up they are born a criminal. If these criminals were taken away from poverty, abuse, drug use, and violence and put into a safe, healthy and friendly environment at a young age, that they would still be a criminal because that's