Biological/Ecological
On this page, I will be discussing two different anthropological approaches: biological and ecological. In the biological approach, we take into consideration genetics, interactions with the environment, and various ways individuals react to environmental stressors. This is important because this can show how humans adapt to certain environments or it can lead to certain diseases. In the ecological approach, we observe humans, plants and animals, culture, political economy, and natural resources, and we can see how all of these affect the world. We are determining the ecological relationship between humans and diseases and this helps us determine cause and effect relationships between certain diseases and humans. Cultural ecology examines how cultural beliefs and practices can influence the ecological relationship between humans and diseases (Daniels, 2.1).
In the photo above, you can see that multiple aspects of a person’s environment can lead to the person turning to drugs to deal with these problems. Factors like the availability of a substance, mixed with peer pressure and a troubled home-life can be all that turns a young adult or teen to drug use. Beyond environmental influences, genetics is described as playing a predetermined role. A person may be predisposed to addiction if another member of the immediate family has addictive traits to their character. Genetic variations can increase the vulnerability of a person to drug addiction. The biological approach is important to understand drug addiction because we need to take into consideration these specific genetic variations. Studies have shown that certain gene sequences in humans can indicate a greater risk of becoming addicted to drugs. The way the proteins encoded by these gene sequences function (or not function) can suggest the vulnerability of a person to addiction (Scholastic NIDA). The ecological approach looks at the relationship between the person and their environment. In lecture, we learned that stress from the environment could play a major role in the patient’s illness experience (Daniels, 2.2). There could be many environmental factors that lead to drug addiction, specifically, problems at home, peer pressure, and school. In the video I have attached above, Peer Pressure Cough Syrup Drug Abuse: What Would You Do, it is discussed that peer pressure can be a negative influence on a child which leads them to make decisions they wouldn’t otherwise make. Three actors are set up; two friends peer pressuring the other child to drink cough syrup in order to get high. They do this in a public restaurant and wait for someone to intervene (if at all). Parents recognize that peer pressure can be harmful and they understand that they need to educate their kids so that they are not negatively influenced by peer pressure. In the above video, several adults spoke up on behalf of the child being pressured and told the other kids to “stop bullying the child”. At one point, the two “bad” kids told an adult that it was “a good time” in which she responded, “No, that’s not a good time. That’s the start of drug abuse.” This is a great example on how a person’s environment can affect their decision-making ability and how it can play a role in a person’s illness experience. Peer pressure relating to drugs is a huge issue. This can be the first step on the road towards drug addiction. Daniels, Taz. “Lecture 2.1: Ecology and Adaptation.” Accessed May 30, 2015. http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us15/schedule/week-2-lecture-1/ Daniels, Taz. "Lecture 2.2: Race and Medicine.” Accessed May 30, 2015. http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us15/schedule/week-2-lecture-2-2/ “The role of genes in drug addiction.” Scholastic NIDA. Accessed May 30, 2015. http://headsup.scholastic.com/students/the-role-of-genes-in-drug-addiction “Peer Pressure and Cough Syrup Drug Abuse: What Would You Do?” YouTube. Accessed May 30, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4cOBMb42tU “The NIDA Science Fair Award for Addiction Science.” National Institute on Drug Abuse. Accessed May 30, 2015. http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/public-education-projects/nida-science-fair-award-addiction-science “Does Peer Pressure Cause Drug Use?” Pain Management Resource. Accessed May 30, 2015. http://pain.com/archives/2014/12/09-peer-pressure-drug/ |