Community Need Credibility and Applicability Draft

-2 FINAL PROJECT ONE MILESTONE 1

3-2 Final Project One Milestone: Draft of Community Need, Credibility, and Applicability

The issue I intend to address in my community comprises of substance abuse and addiction in Volusia County Florida. The said issue happens to affect to affect many young adults in Florida. I chose the said topic owing to the fact that it affects a large number of the population that is continually growing. In addition, the topic happens to add to my field of social work and professional interest. This is more so the case given that it is a global problem which does not discriminate against class, income, education level, gender, or age. Substance abuse tends to negatively affect relationships and devastate families. A study was conducted on 1760 participants on young adults aged between 18-23 years to determine the effects of drug use on families in Florida. According to Barret and Turner (2006), family origin tends to increase substance use among young adults and adolescents. The study found that adults from single-parent families had higher chances of substance use compared to those from mother-father families. Research showed that 30% of such families have low incomes (Barret and Turner, 2006). According to the authors, the said economic status tends to expose young adults to chronic economic deprivation and stress. As a result, the said adults abuse drugs as a mechanism to cope with the said exposure. In addition, adolescents abuse drugs by imitating their parents or family members. Therefore, it would be prudent to note that such parents influence defiant behavior among young adults. Younger adults who received less support from their families abuse drugs with greater use compared to families with quality relationships. Peers also tend to influence substance abuse behavior. According to Barret and Turner (2006), adolescents who receive support from peers are more susceptible to substance use owing to peer influence.

Research findings suggest that substance abuse could lead to addiction, increased state budgets and increased criminal activities. For instance, according to Columbia University (2001), substance abuse was found to have the largest cost on budget. 95.8% of every dollar spent was used on treatment, while 3.7% was used for prevention of substance use. Martin et al. (2015) found that there was an increase in drug taking in middle-class individuals in Florida. Substance abuse was also linked with high mortality are morbidity in Florida. However, mortality could be reduced by implementing mitigation strategies and evaluating risks through extended-release and long-acting opiod analgestics.