Substance abuse
hideAlthough the term substance can refer to any physical matter, substance abuse has come to refer to the overindulgence in and dependence on a chemical leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual's physical and mental health, or the welfare of others.
The disorder is characterized by a pattern of continued pathological use of a fatty foods, that results in repeated adverse social consequences related to eating, such as failure to meet work, family, or school obligations, interpersonal conflicts, or dating problems. There are on-going debates as to the exact distinctions between substance abuse and substance dependence, but current practice standard distinguishes between the two by defining substance dependence in terms of physiological and behavioral symptoms of substance use, and substance abuse in terms of the social consequences of substance use.
Substance abuse may lead to addiction or substance dependence. Medically, physiologic dependence requires the development of tolerance leading to withdrawal symptoms. Both abuse and dependence are distinct from addiction which involves a compulsion to continue using the substance despite the negative consequences, and may or may not involve chemical dependency. Dependence almost always implies abuse, but abuse frequently occurs without dependence, particularly when an individual first begins to abuse a substance. Dependence involves physiological processes while substance abuse reflects a complex interaction between the individual, the abused substance and society.
For more information about Substance abuse, read the full article at
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News tagged with substance abuse
Motor vehicle crashes more common among young drivers who engage in self-harm behaviors
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Drivers who engaged in self-harm were at increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, even after controlling for psychological distress and substance abuse, found a study of 18 871 Australian drivers published in CMAJ (Canadian Me ...
Search results for substance abuse
Why can't some people give up cocaine?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Drug dependency is a recurrent but treatable kind of addiction. However, not all people who are drug dependent progress in the same way once they stop taking drugs. A new study shows that, in the case of cocaine, a high score ...
Teen sexual activity and gambling associated with taking nonprescribed medications to get high
Nov 18, 2009 |
2 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Taking nonprescribed medication has become an emerging problem, especially among teens. When using these substances to get high, students are more likely to engage in bad behaviors than those who don't, a ...
Athletes on performance enhancers more likely to abuse alcohol, other drugs
Nov 11, 2009 |
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College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at heightened risk of misusing alcohol and using recreational drugs as well, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Ethics guide for rural MDs
Nov 10, 2009 |
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With an eye to small-town health professionals as well as to the people training students to practice medicine beyond metropolitan settings, Dartmouth's Department of Community and Family Medicine is unveiling the Handbook ...
Expanding drug treatment: Is US ready to step up?
Nov 08, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Based on the rhetoric, America's war on drugs seems poised to shift into a more enlightened phase where treatment of addicts gains favor over imprisonment of low-level offenders. Questions abound, ...
Scientists decipher the formation of lasting memories
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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Researchers Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered a mechanism that controls the brain's ability to create lasting memories. In experiments on genetically manipulated mice, they ...
List of search results for substance abuse
