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1 results

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

  • Edited by Ed Day
  • Book:
    Seminars in Addiction Psychiatry
    Published online:
    02 November 2021
    Print publication:
    04 November 2021, pp 15-41

  • 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.