Investigating the Relationship Between AOD Problems and Social Factors

This essay examines the intricate relationship between Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) problems and various social, economic, and environmental factors in Australia. It highlights the escalating rates of drug and alcohol use, particularly among young adults, and delves into how issues like unemployment, social marginalization, and domestic issues contribute to AOD problems. The essay also explores the economic aspects, discussing both how unemployment can lead to substance abuse and how the availability of drugs caters to wealthier individuals. Furthermore, it addresses environmental factors such as the proximity to alcohol retail stores and affluent neighborhoods, which can influence substance use. The essay concludes that while these factors can exacerbate AOD issues, positive community initiatives, government policies, and rehabilitation efforts can play a crucial role in mitigating them, emphasizing the importance of individual willingness and societal efforts in addressing AOD problems.

Running Head: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AOD PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AOD PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS
Name of the Student:
Name of University:
Author Note:

1RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AOD PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS
Use of Alcohol and drugs are considered to be one of the major concern for the
government in Australia. The rapid increase in using illegal substances and the alcohol create a
great problem for the existing Australian society rapidly. As per the government report, it can be
argued that the use of drugs and alcohol consumptions has been escalating epidemically at a pace
of 15.3% among the Australian people (adf.org.au., 2019). The Australian youths irrespective of
gender were the most vulnerable people with an age limit from 18 to 24 (aihw.gov.au., 2018).
Among the adults also the prevalence of alcohol use is quite rapid where the male percentage is
9.1% and the female is 6.8% (aihw.gov.au., 2019). As a result of this essay aims to find out the
social, economic and environmental factors that are influencing the AOD issues both positively
and negatively.
As far as the social context of AOD issues is concerned, it can be argued that
unemployment and the marginalisation are the basic factors that intrigue the Australians to
become alcohol and drug users. From the research of Cambron et al. (2018) it was confirmed that
people with low social status and profile with poor health conditions are mainly addicted by the
alcohol and drugs. The social factors are referred as a culture of addicted by alcohol and drugs
due to lack of parenting and social marginalisation. It is often can be seen that the domestic
violation and the marriage separation has a deep-down impact on the children psychology and
they feel more insecure to face the daily challenges in life. Lack of confidence and inadequate
idea about the good and evil drive them to take indecisions. In this regard, the use of alcohol and
drugs are seemed to the perfect and permanent solution. However, in reality it creates the
situation worsen and can cause lifetime risks. Based on the research of König et al. (2018) the
community or the society plays a crucial role in order to make a person feel confident and social
enough. Marginalisation creates huge barrier for the people to deal with AOD issues. Bora and

2RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AOD PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS
Zorlu (2017) opined that the social exclusion could led to a destructive end where the person due
to his or her lack of courage and confidence instigated to take drugs and alcohol. In
consequences, the antisocial nature ushered disharmony within the community.
On the contrary, the positive nature of the community can help to reduce the use of drugs
and alcohol prominently. For instance, Pape et al. (2018) showed that the community guides
people to do the right things and helps to create a sense of cohesion and prosperity. It will assist
to engage the person with the social programs rather than provoked to take illegal substances.
The economic approach of AOD issues is associated with the issues like unemployment
or high growth in the economic stability. As per the research of Erevik et al. (2018)
unemployment in Australia is one of the major factor that can push the youths to get addicted by
the illicit drug abuses. Unemployment leads to the moral degradation and frustration that
compelled them to use drugs and alcohol. In this context, it can be stated that the role of the
economy is not only affected the poor citizens but it has a long drawn impact on the rich people
as well. The research of Bora, E., & Zorlu (2017) advocated that the availability of drugs and
alcohol creates a possible market for the rich people. The availability of drugs in the Australian
market drives them to buy ecstasy tablets and alcohol in spite of having clear knowledge of the
adverse effect of drugs.
The economic factors are also helpful to reduce the illegal use of drugs and alcohol.
From the research of Cambron et al. (2018) it can be seen that the economic factors are highly
responsible to deal with the AOD issues. The Australian government has taken a number of
measures to deal with the AOD issues and willing to reduce the practice intensely. In this regard,
a number of government policies and enforcement measures are implemented. All those

3RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AOD PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS
initiatives requires huge monetary backup. Therefore, it will be unjustified by arguing that the
economic aspects only help to spread out the use of alcohol and other drugs. Moreover, there are
several organisations who are taking initiatives to reduce the use of drugs and other substances
effectively. It also requires monetary support to introduce adequate measures.
The environmental factors are equally contributed to the practice of alcohol and illegal
substances. From this aspect, the research of König et al. (2018) argued some plausible factors of
the environment that facilitated the practice of alcohol and illegal substances. For instance,
Erevik et al. (2018) opined that the people live near alcohol retail store have a high chance of
alcohol addiction because of the easy accessibility of alcohol. Another major environmental
factor can be referred as the affluent neighbourhood that can influence others to drink and use
alcohol and other drugs. As per the research of aihw.gov.au (2019) it can be seen that 78% of the
people with an annual household income of $75,000 consume alcohol daily. However, the
environment is also responsible to reduce the addiction to illegal substance abuse and alcohol
addiction. Pape et al. (2018) articulated that the social campaigning practices helps to reduce the
alcohol and illegal substance abuse predominantly. Moreover, the society can create effective
environment for alcohol and drug abusers in the form of establishing rehabilitation for the
abusers.
Based on the understanding, it can be argued that various factors of AOD issues like
social, economic and environmental approaches are playing pivotal role in order to both escalate
the AOD issues and reduce the practice. In this regard, it can be stated that the motives of the
people and their willingness to eradicate such malice of AOD practices determine the effort to
reduce or enhance the AOD issue. The social issues directly influence the people to get addicted

4RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AOD PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS
by the alcohol and drugs. On the other hand, the economic and environmental issues instigate the
person to increase or reduce the practice of alcohol and other drug abuse.

5RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AOD PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS
Reference
adf.org.au. (2019). Statistics. Retrieved from https://adf.org.au/programs/community-drug-
action-teams-nsw/community-action/statistics/
aihw.gov.au. (2018). Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia, Young people - Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/alcohol/alcohol-tobacco-other-drugs-australia/
contents/priority-populations/young-people
aihw.gov.au. (2019). Illicit use of drugs Overview - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/behaviours-risk-factors/illicit-use-
of-drugs/overview
Bora, E., & Zorlu, N. (2017). Social cognition in alcohol use disorder: a meta‐
analysis. Addiction, 112(1), 40-48.
Cambron, C., Kosterman, R., Catalano, R. F., Guttmannova, K., & Hawkins, J. D. (2018).
Neighborhood, family, and peer factors associated with early adolescent smoking and
alcohol use. Journal of youth and adolescence, 47(2), 369-382.
Erevik, E. K., Torsheim, T., Vedaa, Ø., Andreassen, C. S., & Pallesen, S. (2018). Alcohol use
among business students: demographic, personality, and social correlates of increased
consumption. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 62(6), 900-910.
König, C., Skriver, M. V., Iburg, K. M., & Rowlands, G. (2018). Understanding educational and
psychosocial factors associated with alcohol use among adolescents in Denmark;

6RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AOD PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS
implications for health literacy interventions. International journal of environmental
research and public health, 15(8), 1671.
Pape, H., Rossow, I., Andreas, J. B., & Norström, T. (2018). Social class and alcohol use by
youth: different drinking behaviors, different associations?. Journal of studies on alcohol
and drugs, 79(1), 132-136.