- Title
- Exploring Lay people’s understanding of substance abuse
- Creator
- Ranase, Asanda
- ThesisAdvisor
- Fouten, Elron
- Subject
- Substance abuse -- South Africa
- Subject
- Substance abuse -- Social aspects -- South Africa
- Subject
- Psychology -- Qualitative research -- South Africa
- Subject
- Social constructionism -- South Africa
- Subject
- Lay analysis (Psychoanalysis) -- South Africa
- Subject
- Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
- Subject
- Dependency (Psychology) -- South Africa
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- text
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114881
- Identifier
- vital:34046
- Description
- South Africa has been identified as one of the drug centres of the world (UNODC, 2016). Substance abuse has been implicated in violent crimes and accidental deaths, as well as in the increasing the risk of communicable and non-communicable diseases (Harker Burnhams & Parry, 2015; Pasche & Myers, 2012; van Heerden et al., 2009). Even though substance abuse is evidently a challenge facing South Africa, there is currently a paucity of literature exploring how substance abuse is understood, specifically among lay people. Research indicates that there is a clear need for qualitative inquiry on lay people’s understanding of substance abuse (Keatley et al, 2017; Lang & Rosenberg, 2017; Sorsdahl et al., 2012 ). Available South African research in this area centres on trends, attitudes and perceptions of substance abuse (Sorsdahl, Stein, & Myers, 2012). Previous studies indicate that professionals often define substance abuse according to observable indicators, as well as the type of substance used (APA, 2013). Research shows that lay people tend to lean towards moral models of understanding, in contrast to professionals who align with the medical models. Located within social constructionism, this study provides insight into how the understanding of substance abuse is shaped by society (Gergen & Gergen, 1996). This study aims to explore how lay people understand substance abuse and use, and whether this understanding confirms or contradicts that of professionals/DSM. The study made use of an exploratory research design. The sampling procedures used was a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. A total of 50 participants were recruited and twelve focus groups were conducted. The information was analysed using thematic analysis. Six themes emerged: severity of substance abuse; use, abuse and dependence; functionality; loss of control; gateway substance use and experimenting; and mental health literacy. The findings of this study indicate that lay peoples’ understanding of substance abuse centres on the impact that substance use and abuse have on peoples’ lives. Further suggested by the findings is that, lay people often associate poor interpersonal relationships, functionality or lack thereof and loss of control with substance abuse problems. This view is consistent with that of professionals and the DSM5 (APA, 2013). The findings of this research indicate that there are similarities in the views of lay people and those of professionals regarding substance abuse problems.
- Format
- 98 pages, pdf
- Publisher
- Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, Psychology
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Ranase, Asanda
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RU Department of Psychology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCE1 | RANASE-MA-TR20-09.pdf | 704 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |