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by BLO716 1423 days ago
Here's a legit question - what is single driving factor for increases in substance abuse? Asking for a friend.
4 comments

In adolescents, it's exposure to violence and/or family members' drug abuse. The latter is very unsurprising.

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2000-13544-003

>Major findings were (a) adolescents who had been physically assaulted, who had been sexually assaulted, who had witnessed violence, or who had family members with alcohol or drug use problems had increased risk for current substance abuse/dependence; (b) posttraumatic stress disorder independently increased risk of marijuana and hard drug abuse/dependence; and (c) when effects of other variables were controlled, African Americans, but not Hispanics or Native Americans, were at approximately 1/3 the risk of substance abuse/dependence as Caucasians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

For many people it is the same as it ever was, an escape from a bleak and miserable reality.
It's trauma. See Gabor Mate for more about the trauma-addiction connection. https://thewisdomoftrauma.com/
Dysphoria