Impairment, Disability, and Substance Use Disorder

Bibliographic Data

ID21645944
AuthorsMeghan L Mills (0000-0003-1819-1493, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, USA, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume58
Issue2
Pages221-228
Publication date2023-01-28
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSubstance Use & Misuse (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1082-6084 • E-ISSN: 1532-2491
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10826084.2022.2155475
PMID36510828
OpenAlexW4311284394
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited39

According to the social model of disability, it is not individuals’ impairments, but societal barriers that cause these impairments to be disabling. Impairment refers to the “loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function,” whereas disability is socially constructed and refers to the inability to independently complete one or more everyday tasks at a “normal” level of functioning. Existing research finds that disability serves as a chronic stressor, and those with disabilities report higher rates of substance use than their able-bodied counterparts. Therefore, this research will be among the first to combine the social model of disability with the stress process framework. It will examine the relationship between impairment and substance use and how disability, as a measure of chronic stress, may affect this relationship. More specifically, using data from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 42,739), this article examines the following two research questions: (1) What is the relationship between impairment and substance use disorder? and (2) Does disability, as a measure of chronic stress, mediate the relationship between impairment and substance use disorder? Findings reveal that those with an impairment have significantly greater odds of having a substance use disorder. However, the relationship between impairment and substance use disorder is fully mediated by disability. These findings indicate that disability or the chronic stress one faces living in an inaccessible society, not one’s impairments, are what accounts for the increased likelihood of substance use disorder among individuals with disabilities

Abnormality · Activities of daily living · Developmental psychology · Functional impairment · Logistic regression · Odds · Psychiatry · Stressor · Substance use · Clinical Psychology · Medicine · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes · Workplace Health and Well-being

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