Opiate addiction represents a serious addiction that affects a broad spectrum of individuals across age groups. This white paper will elucidate the problem and its causes, its explicit social and personal ramifications, as well as successful methods for managing opiate addiction. The etiology of the addiction and factors derives from a multitude of social factors as well as personal predispositions.
Further, the troubles of addiction are not strictly individual: personal and familial factors are very interconnected and play significant roles in the extent of the abuse by the individual. Legal and social sanctions of the community factor into the decisions of the user only slightly during use. However, those sanctions become much more important during the road to recovery or during incarceration. In regards to managing addiction, there are a number of preventative strategies and treatment constructions: the major approaches include: the family systems theory, psychodynamic formulations, and behavioral approaches.
Keywords: opiate addiction, Percocet, heroin, teen drug abuse, rehab, experimentation
