1. Rawha Patel
University Centre at Blackburn College
Does having an
underprivileged upbringing
cause substance abuse in
adulthood?

2. Why I chose this topic
o Citizenship coursework in high school

3. Eminem
“The biggest thing about addiction is when you realise
you cannot mess around with nothing ever again. I
never understood when people would say it’s a disease.
Like, stop it! It’s not a disease! But I finally realised, it
really is”

4. Johnny Depp
"My body is a journal in a way. It's like what sailors used
to do, where every tattoo meant something, a specific
time in your life when you make a mark on yourself,
whether you do it yourself with a knife or drugs or with
a professional tattoo artist“

5. Introduction
o Family – Primary holding environment
o Peers – Secondary holding environment
o Psychological development
(Muisener, 1994)

6. Statistics
o 1 in 3 adults have taken illicit drugs (12 million
people)
o 2.5 million 16-24 year olds taken illicit drugs in
their lifetime
(Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2012)
o 27% of people reported drinking five days a week
o Further 14% reported drinking every day
(NHS, 2012)

7. Statistics
o 1971 – 8% single parent families
o 1998 – 24% single parent families
o 2011 – 26% single parent families
o 43% of children in single parent families live in
relative poverty
o 22% of children in couple families live in relative
poverty
(Gingerbread, 2012)

8. Past Research
o Kostelecky (2005) – Relationship with parents
o Eitle (2005) – Deviant peers

9. Aim
To investigate the relationship between having an
underprivileged upbringing and substance abuse in
adulthood using a self-created measure.
Hypothesis
Children who had an
underprivileged
upbringing would be at
a higher risk of
misusing substances in
later life.

10. Method
o Two conditions
o 70 participants aged 18-55
o Questionnaire
o Coping strategy scale

11. Data Collection
o Self created measures
o High reliability and validity

12. Results
o Significant relationship
o Deprivation factor (t=10.153, df=44.12; p<0.05)
o Coping factor (t=8.307, df=68; p<0.05)

14. Where can it help?
o Drugs and alcohol rehabilitation centres
o Psychotherapists
o Schools
o Social services
o Doctors

15. Thank you
Any questions?

16. Referenceso Boniface, S., & Shelton, N. (2013). How is alcohol consumption affected if we account for under-
reporting? A hypothetical scenario. European Journal of Public Health, 23(3), 1-6. DOI:
10.1093/eurpub/ckt016
o Eitle, D. (2005). The moderating effects of peer substance use on the family structure-adolescent
substance use association: quantity versus quality of parenting. Addictive Behaviors, 30, 963-980.
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2004.09.015
o Gingerbread. (2012). Statistics, http://www.gingerbread.org.uk/content/365/Statistics, date
accessed 20/06/13.
o Home Office. (2012). Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2011 to 2012 Crime Survey for
England and Wales (CSEW), https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-misuse-declared-
findings-from-the-2011-to-2012-crime-survey-for-england-and-wales-csew-second-edition/drug-
misuse-declared-findings-from-the-2011-to-2012-crime-survey-for-england-and-wales-csew-
second-edition, date accessed 10/06/13.
o Kostelecky, K. L. (2005). Parental attachment, academic achievement, life events and their
relationship to alcohol and drug use during adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 665-669. DOI:
10.1016/j.adolescence.2004.12.006
o Muisener, P. P. (1994). Understanding and treating adolescent substance abuse. USA: SAGE
Publications Inc.
o NHS. (2012). Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2012, https://catalogue.ic.nhs.uk/publications/public-
health/drug-misuse/drug-misu-eng-2011/drug-misu-eng-2011-rep.pdf, date accessed 09/06/13.