Drug Use Among High-Risk People: Resistance and Resilience Factors

Abstract

Much progress has been made over the past few decades in understanding basic factors and developmental processes associated with drug use, abuse, and addiction and the best methods of prevention and treatment services. The initiation of illicit drug use is a necessary precursor to abuse and addiction. Illicit drug use tends to develop during the adolescent years, and the behavior is often preceded by biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors that originate as early as the prenatal period. Misuse and use of illicit drugs can interfere with the normal healthy functioning of persons across the life-span—extending well beyond adolescence into adulthood. This chapter discusses issues that shape drug use, abuse, and addiction, and that determine the nature and scope of resilience and resistance to drug use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)