Psychological Theories: Relationship Between Drugs And Crime

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Relationship between Drugs and Crime Name Institution Relationship between Drugs and Crime Psychological Theories Psychological theories entail psychological factors that emphasize the mechanism of reinforcement and those underscoring that the personalities of the drug user vary from those of the abstainer besides being causally related to use and abuse. Notably, the mechanism of reinforcement is often straightforward in that individuals tend to maximize reward and minimize punishment (Walters & Rotgers, 2011). In other words, they continue to do certain things because they have a prior history of being rewarded for doing them. As such, drug users are individuals who are rewarded for use and thus continue engaging in the…show more content…
As such criminal behavior and drug use in such individuals are simply responses to low self-esteem and self-denial attitudes. The drug abuse could be an attempt to make up for peer rejection, parental neglect, social stigma and school failure among others. For some individuals, normatively accepted activities and group engagements are sources of painful experiences. In that case, deviant activities and memberships become sources of self-enhancement. Drug use precisely provides such (Akers, 2011). On the other hand, both positive and negative reinforcement theories motivate drug taking in the sense that euphoria generated from drug use makes the individual crave for a repeat. At the same time withdrawing from drug use causes painful withdrawal symptoms that appear to be “punishing” the victim for not using the drug. Conversely, the reinforcement model suggests that both individuals and the environment are responsible for the drug use problem. A person may unwittingly get induced to drugs and soon wants to a repeat of drug…show more content…
Lorek seems to suffer from inadequate personality in which he wanted to prove his worth to the gang and to the society. He felt that joining a gang was the notable way to prove your potency and capability in the society. Lorek use of drugs pushed him to the gang. Ackquille Pollard seems to have loved the euphoria of using narcotics and was willing to engage in anything to continue getting the euphoria even when such meant getting involved in killings and other criminal activities. There was reinforcement for his engagement in drug use. The Scope of the relationship between Drugs and Crime The link between drugs and crime is expansive especially when the issue is explored from the source of drugs, distribution channel and end users. Most criminals that do not necessarily belong to or have connections to drug cartels, often need drugs to escape the grim reality of crime. That creates the stable market for drug cartels. On the other hand, drug cartels make access to small arms and crime accessories easily available for nondrug users’ criminals. When drug cartels get threatened, they often recruit general criminals to guarantee sufficient gang

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