Essay 1: The Men America Left Behind
When substance abuse and drug addiction is mentioned, the first picture that comes to mind is a thuggish looking person, perhaps a criminal, mostly colored, living in a poor neighborhood. This is because the traditional concept of drug abuse focuses on contraband drugs such as cocaine and heroin handled by criminal gangs. The article by Weir (2017) however relates to the new type of substance abuse and drug addiction mainly focused on prescription drugs. The article explains who is abusing these prescription drugs. The demographics of prescription drug abusers, as well as their reasons for doing it are premised on psychological concepts and theories. As per the article, the main abusers of prescription drugs, in most cases opiates are straight white males in the American society.
Indeed, as the general mental health of the general populace in America increases, the health of straight white men, who erstwhile enjoyed the most pristine mental health statistics, has been on the decline. This is as opposed to that of women, people of color and other minorities which have been improving. The decline in the mental health of straight white men is based on society changes that have eliminated their place as the dominant group in the society. Women now play a larger role in society as well as in the workplace. The colored community is rising economically, professionally, and politically. Finally, LGBT has become an accepted concept in society. All these factors have alienated the superiority of the straight white man in America, a fact that has contributed to the groups increase in prescription drug abuse.
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The article by Mendelson et al. (2008) relates to the advent of a new form of substance abuse based on prescription drugs. This article confirms that indeed in the recent years, albeit the abuse of narcotic drugs is still a problem in America, the abuse of legal prescription drugs is rising to become a worse psychological problem. The article, however, focuses on the importance of pain management in the practice of medicine. The refusal by a medical professional to prescribe pain drugs to a patient who is in pain can result in legal or ethical adverse consequences on a practitioner. This makes access to prescription drugs much easier, a fact that is driving the abuse of the said drugs more so for those who can afford them.
From a demographical perspective, the community that is most affected by the prescription drug abuse as per this peer reviewed article confirms the contentions made in the news article above. Straight male Americans, erstwhile synonymous with professional careers and sound social lives are the main victims of this new trend. Traditionally, the white male community has been more financially endowed within the society. Further, due to traditional mentalities about this demographic group, a doctor will be more inclined to prescribe pain drugs to them than to the other demographic groups erstwhile known to abuse drugs. This creates a correlation between the peer reviewed article above and the news article.
The news article presents a new era of mental health in general and particularly the issue of substance abuse. Traditionally, there had been a dispute that the psychology profession was discriminatory as it considered race and social issues as bearing factors to the mental health of an individual. The concept developed in the news article creates a politically correct approach to enable the understanding of the relationship between social aspects and mental health without the risk of accusation for racial or social discrimination.
Article 2: Islamophobia
People tend to misunderstand, misjudge and sometimes discriminate against what they do not understand. In the American society, among the last understood concepts amongst a majority of the populace is the issue of Islam. Yet this issue has repeatedly been in the news in the last several months and mainly for the wrong reasons. The highest echelons of political power in America, to wit the presidency has been seen to lead an active campaign against Islam with a large cross section of Americans cheering on. The article by Clay (2017) delves into this issue of the treatment of the Islamic community, what causes it, and how it affects members of the community themselves. With regard to the cause of the concept of Islamophobia, the article sights ignorance as the main culprit.
Most non-Muslim Americans know little about Islam and rely on what they find on the news, in social media and social intercourse. They believe Muslim men to be blood-thirsty and violent akin to terrorists. Similarly, Muslim women are believed to live under the absolute control of the men in their lives. Both concepts only exist in fundamentalist Islam which forms a very small minority of Muslims. The misconceptions, however, lead to discrimination and stigmatization against American Muslims which in turn has an adverse effect on their mental health. This creates a secondary problem for the Muslims who are wary of approaching non-Muslim psychologists for intervention due to the fear of prejudicial treatment. This results in members of the Muslim communities being in dire need of psychological intervention but due to fear, failing to seek said intervention a fact that exacerbates their mental health problems.
According to the article by Effron and Knowles (2015), group mentalities allow rational people to behave towards members of a different group in a manner they would normally find irrational themselves. The contemporary world tends towards decency in adherence to the concept of civilization which has filled the world with pretenses and white lies. People today will prefer to say and do what they are supposed to, at the expense of what they want to in pursuit of best behavior and moral correctness. However, when the very same people are placed together in a group setting such as in a community, they will freely pass judgment and act adversely against members of another community which they find to be different without guilt and or remorse.
The group mentality concept outlined above will explain why Americans, a decent and progressive society can have such a negative approach toward Islam. Instead of taking an open-minded approach and seeking to understand one individual at a time, most Americans have taken Muslims under a group lenses and condemned them en masse with abandon. Yet the very same Americans exhibit great decency in their normal lives and treat other members of the society with dignity and decorum in spite of their personal opinion about them. This psychological concept explains the plight of the Muslim community in America from a psychological perspective.
Understanding this concept is important from a social, psychological and even political perspective more so in contemporary America. The issue of the treatment of Islam and Muslims in America is a matter of common and emotive social discourse as well as political debate. It makes an example of the American populace acting in a manner that negates it being termed as the free world. This is a problem that requires an urgent solution and albeit the issue seems to be political in nature, the analysis above clearly shows that the genesis of the problem is a psychological issue that requires a psychological solution. To end Islamophobia in America, Americans need to be given a better understanding of the Islamic community.
Article 3: New lease on life for troubled inmates
The article by DeAngelis (2017) tells the story of Shawn Jackson, a 41-year-old inmate in the American penal system who was incarcerated for manslaughter at the age of 15. Jackson continued his violent streak inside prison and has spent all his years in maximum security prisons and many a time in solitary because of attacking fellow inmates and even correctional staff. In the end, Jackson became a pariah who would only be trusted when locked up in solitary confinement and never allowed out unless he was cuffed and shackled. Whereas many individuals like Jackson are seemingly condemned and beyond salvage, he was given a second chance. They took a rehabilitative and not punitive approach towards Jackson and encouraged him to be better. Jackson responded to the positive consideration and treatment in kind and began to improve in character. He became not only an exemplary prisoner in character but also a member of the team assisting to rehabilitate fellow inmates. Jackson is no longer a threat to fellow inmates or correctional officers who currently interact with him without fear of attack. He presents an example of how approach towards condemned prisoners can occasion character changes.
The article by Greene and Evelo (2013) relates to the fate of condemned prisoners and how the attitude adopted towards them affects their character. The article contains a research about different condemned men and how they reacted to their actual or imagined perception of society towards them. Research showed that when individuals believe that society has written them off, their character is prone to degenerate and they become worse offenders devoid of remorse. Similarly, when offenders believe that society has not given up on them and even have an expectation of their improvement, they become remorseful and tend to improve. According to the research, therefore, societal perception is a major bearing factor towards the issue of recidivism and rehabilitation.
Based on the research reported in the journal article, it is clear that Jackson has the potential to change for better and also for worse. Upon incarceration at the age of 15, Jackson got continually worse because he felt that society had given up on him and therefore did not have any aspiration to improve. However, when penal officers exhibited a change of attitude towards Jackson, this was part of his motivation to change. The rehabilitation process worked because deep within him, Jackson was motivated to change for better. This is what caused the rehabilitation process to work and Jackson to be transformed from the societal misfit he was initially considered to be and into a society role model that he later became.
The understanding developed from the concept in the news article, as well as the journal article, relate to an important subject in today’s society. The American penal system is overloaded and has also failed. Instead of crime reducing in the society, it is the number of Americans in the penal system that is increasing, overwhelming the system and its resources. This creates a need for a different approach towards criminals, convicts, and individuals currently under the penal system. The understanding that convicts react to the perception that society has towards them provides an important clue on how to rehabilitate prisoners in America. This will provide an important solution to the problem of juvenile and adult recidivism and character improvement for criminals in America. The successful application of the psychological concept outlined above can enable rehabilitation and reduce the burden on the American penal system.
References
Clay, R. (2017). Islamophobia: Psychologists are studying the impact of anti-Muslim sentiment and exploring ways to prevent it . Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/04/islamophobia.aspx
DeAngelis, T. (2017). New lease on life for troubled inmates. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/03/troubled-inmates.aspx
Effron, D. A., & Knowles, E. D. (2015). Entitativity and intergroup bias: How belonging to a cohesive group allows people to express their prejudices. Journal of personality and social psychology , 108 (2), 234
Greene, E., & Evelo, A. J. (2013). Attitudes regarding life sentences for juvenile offenders. Law and Human Behavior , 37 (4), 276-289. doi:10.1037/lhb0000031
Mendelson, J., Flower, K., Pletcher, M. J., & Galloway, G. P. (2008). Addiction to prescription opioids: characteristics of the emerging epidemic and treatment with buprenorphine. Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology , 16 (5), 435
Weir, K. (2017). The men America left behind. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/02/men-left-behind.aspx
