AC 101 PsychoSocial Issues in Addiction - Jazwinski and Baker: Your Assignment

Your assignment is to find 3 peer reviewed research articles in the field of addiction science published in the prior 10 years that deal with a psychological or sociological topic relevant to addiction. Each Term Project will summarize ONE of your 3 research articles. For the final part of the Term Project, you will compare and contrast the 3 studies in one essay (~500 words) including in-text citations and a works cited page. At the end of the semester you will present your findings to the class.

See the full assignment details in your course shell in BlackBoard for more information and due dates on each part of this assignment.

Select a topic of interest that explores a psychological or sociological issue relevant to addiction - NOT a biological, chemical or genetic issue.

e.x. What are the addiction issues for a  a particular ethnic or social subgroup: Rock musicians; nurses; college students; Mexican immigrants; the elderly; Gay men; hearing impaired, artists; etc.

Or: What are sociological and/or psychological issues that impact women and men differently in the onset of addiction, the course of addiction, the probability of recovery, the course of recovery and difference in treatement needs.

Or: How is the alcoholism/addiction experience (onset, context, development, outcome, etc) of a woman of African, Latin, Asian, or Indigenous American descent different than that of a woman of European descent.

Or: Pick a controversial issue such as legalization or decriminalization of drugs; Methadone maintenance vs drug free treatment; Addiction as a public health vs a criminal justice issue.

Your article summaries should answer the following questions (when relevant):

• What was the research question or hypothesis being made by the particular article?
• What population was studied - How were the subjects selected?
• What control of subjects, if any, were used (source of subjects)?
• What measurement of the data or facts was used (questionaire, interview)?
• Strengths and weaknesses of the research.
• How valid and reliable are the findings, opinions and conclusions presented by the article (based on the research methods i.e. selected of subjects, instruments used, retrospective, prospective etc)?
• Your summary and conclusion regarding this article.

You will find a list of databases that are recommended to find research articles for this assignment under the Find Peer-Reviewed Articles tab.