Ch. 1: Drug Use: An Overview

Empirical

Capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment

Anecdotal

Based on personal accounts rather than facts or research

Drug

Any substance, natural or artificial, other than food, that by its chemical nature alters structure or function in the living organism

Illicit drug

A drug that is unlawful to possess or use

Drug misuse

The use of prescribed drugs in greater amounts than, or for purposes other than, those prescribed by a physician or dentist

Analgesic

Pain-relieving. An analgesic drug produces a selective reduction of pain, whereas an anesthetic reduces all sensation

Correlate

A variable that is statistically related to some other variable, such as drug use

Risk factors

Behaviors, attitudes, or situations that correlate with, and might indicate the development of, a deviance-prone lifestyle that includes drug or alcohol abuse. Examples are early alcohol intoxification, absence from school, and perceived peer approval of drug use

Protective factors

Behaviors, attitudes, or situations that correlate with low rates of deviant behavior, including use of illicit drugs. Examples include commitment to school, religiosity, and having parents who communicate opposition to drug use

Antecedents

In the context of ch. 1, behaviors or individual characteristics that can be measured before drug use and might therefore be somewhat predictive of drug use. These are not necessarily causes of the subsequent drug use

Gateway substances

Substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, and sometimes marijuana, the most users of illicit substances will have tried before their first use of cocaine, heroin, or other less widely used illicit drugs

Reinforcement

The process of strengthening a behavioral tendency by presenting a stimulus contingent on the behavior. For example, the tendency to obtain and take a drug might be strengthened by the stimulus properties of the drug that occur after it is taken, thus leading to psychological dependence