Department of Psychology

Thesis Proposal:
Gratitude of Recovered Drug Addicts and Their
Outlook in Life

Prepared by:

Busa, Marie Danica P.

Gomez, Jeikko

Gualdaquever, Kamiele

Ponteras, Ma. Alnikka G.

August 10, 2015

 The Problem and Review of Literature

Statistics shows that of the four million drug users in the Philippines, half

a million of them are in need of drug rehabilitation. As to the growing number of

drug abusers in the Philippines, everyone can see how many people’s lives are

affected and ruined by drugs. Researchers believe that accomplishing this study

may be of beneficial to people who are currently on a drug struggle.

Drug addiction is defined as the continued compulsive use of drugs

despite adverse health or social consequences. Individuals who are addicted to

drugs often become isolated from family or friends, have difficulty at work or

school, may commit crimes, and become involved with the criminal justice

system (The Brain: Understanding Neurobiology Through the Study of Addiction,

p. 92) Intake of drugs for reasons other than medical in a manner that affects

physical or mental functioning is termed drug abuse. Any abuse can lead to

addiction.

The line between substance abuse and drug dependence is defined by the

role drugs play in your life. Addiction and drug dependence occurs when drugs

become so important that you are willing to sacrifice your work, home and even

family. (Drug Abuse and Addiction: Understanding the Signs, Symptoms, Effect,

2008.) Once your brain and body get used to the substances you are taking, you

begin to require increasingly larger and more frequent doses, in order to achieve

the same effect.

 The social phenomenon the researchers aim to observe is the Gratitude of

Recovered Drug Addicts and their Outlook in Life. It is important for people who are on

the road to recovery from addiction try to enhance this positive outlook, because this can

assist their way to success. The researchers would like to know their inspiration and

motivation upon struggling to get their way out of their addiction and maintaining to be

clean and as well as their attitude towards gratitude in having to live a normal life again.

With this study, researchers aim an output that would give hope and inspiration to

those who are currently in drug struggle. By this, researchers aim to somehow, put a stop

to the increasing number of drug abusers. As keys of the future, researchers shall dedicate

this study to the hopeful Juan dela Cruz; contributing progress towards a better

Philippines.

Significance of the Study and Scope and Limitation

This case study aims to create a paper of inspiration built by recuperated

characters who were once masked in abusive use of drugs. Personalities who came to be

one of those who needed help out off the dark side helping the needy of the present. A

paper with stories of people who wish to change the roots they have made. This study

will depict the picture of their resiliency; their encouragements, their reasons to continue

living the life. With this study, researchers hope to contribute on helping a bigger number

of people who wish to do the same. May the output of this study be an inspiration to

people who will help and be helped.

Researchers will be limited to do the case study to eight (8) persons only.

Questions will be limited to positive outlooks in life. Researchers will no longer have to
touch the participants’ experiences or history but participants’ may share if they think it’s

necessary. Researchers will aim to extract every positive facts to use in building this

paper.

Furthermore, researchers are to consider the participants availability. Participants

will probably be of busy working people, researchers are expected to compromise to the

study’s need. Also, participants will get to invoke their rights in answering the questions

or follow-up questions.

Drug and Drug Abuse

A drug is defined as a substance that causes addiction, habituation on a marked

range in consciousness (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 1993). It can further be

defined as simply chemicals that can change some things in the body’s chemistry. Drug

addiction is defined as the continued compulsive use of drugs despite adverse health or

social consequences. Dr. Nora D. Volkow said in her study, “The science of addiction”,

that addiction is a disease that affects both the brain and behavior of a person. However,

she also said that drug addiction is a disease that can be treated. A drug or substance is

considered as abused if it is deliberately used to induce physiological or psychological

effects and for a purpose other than for therapeutic purposes. The drug used should

contribute to health risk, disruption of psychological functioning, adverse social

consequences, or some combination of these. (Kauffaman, 1989)

Drugs are common to almost every age in our society. According to the Substance

abuse and Health Services administration (SAMHSA), drug addiction is present during
teenage years but it is highest among people in their late teens and twenties. Drug is an

ongoing struggle in many individuals in the Philippines. According to UN, We all can see

how so many people’s lives are affected and ruined by drugs but that does not mean that

things will stop there. Addiction is a treatable disease, though not always but just like

other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully.(Volkow,The science of

Addiction). There are people who suffered from drug abuse who made it out of the

darkness.

Well-Being

To begin answering the question of what makes a person’s life go well is to list

things whose presence in our lives seems to make them better. Mental Health is a state of

well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities to cope with the normal

stresses of life, a person that can work productively and is able to make a contribution to

his community (SAMSHA). According to the World Health Organization, mental health

is the foundation for individual well-being and the effective functioning of community.

Drugs can have immediate and long-lasting effect in your physical health and

well-being. When under the influence of drugs, a user might do things that he/she

wouldn’t normally do. And that can increase the chances of getting hurt. The use of drugs

affect so much of a person’s mental state which is, biologically, directly proportion to an

individual’s whole well-being and not just physically, and thus, having affected by all of

this affects so much of one’s life.

Gratitude

Gratitude can be defined as acknowledgement of a benefit that an individual has

received. Several researchers have conceptualized gratitude as an emotion that is always

directed towards appreciating the helpful actions of other people (McCullough,

Kilpatrick, Emmons, & Larson, 2001). Gratitude is part of a wider life orientation

towards noticing and appreciating the positive in the world (Wood, Froh, Geraghty,

2010). Having gratitude allows someone to more clearly see the truth of their situation.

(“The importance of gratitude in recovery, 2014).This type of positive thinking and

outlook can then influence the behaviours of an individual, which can aid in leading a

sustainable recovery-oriented life.

Relationship of Well-Being and Gratitude

If people are grateful to be sober, it is unlikely that they will relapse back to their

addiction. Motivation is needed to protect their sobriety. It is only when people take their

recovery for granted that they begin sliding towards a relapse. When a person can deal

calmly with the challenges that he/she is facing, it means it is a grateful attitude.

Positively way of handling with things will lead a person to his/her definitive goal of

recovery. Hence, one grateful person with so much positivity ends up being happy.
Recovery

Recovering from addiction is a long process(Laudet, Savage, Mahmood, 2007).

As what Dr.Volkow said, drug addiction is a disease that can be treated. Avoiding your

addiction is one way to recovery, but you can’t always avoid these situations. You must

be aware of it they won’t catch you off guard. Also Dr. Volkow emphasizes that no one

recovers from prescription drug addiction alone.

Rebuilding close connection with family is essential to successful drug abuse

recovery. This often requires the addicted person to make amends for the damage caused

by the past behaviour. Recovery will take time. One can be considered recovered when

one is happily struggling the common problems in life and not of the problems caused by

the dark side he or she used to come in to. When one has recovered, and is currently

having common troubles, gratitude will be seen since troubles today are better than the

others he or she have had yesterday.

 Methodology

Participants

Participants will be of recuperated characters who were once masked in abusive

use of drugs. Such individuals who were once in the dark side but now plays in the

positive part of life.

Procedures

Expected participants are drug abusers also known as drug addicts who underwent

rehabilitation and recovered. Researchers will do the snowball sampling also known as

the chain referral sampling. Since expected participants will be difficult to find,

researchers will have to depend on people or institutions who could give referrals for

possible participants. For referrals from institutions, researchers will first gather

information from rehabilitation centres or other possible offices that could provide

possible participants for the study. A consent or a request will yet to be given to the

institution/office for the researchers to be permitted to open their records.

When researchers gathered information about possible participants, they will be

sending off letters to them inviting them to participate in the study. The letter encloses

details about the study and what to expect during the interviews. Researchers will then

guarantee the participants that they will be given informed consents; for conducting
qualitative research means invading intimate aspects of peoples’ lives, thus great care

must be taken in the protection of the participants, guaranteeing that participating in this

research study will bring them no harm. Participants may also share their concerns about

the content and may do some alterations for their own terms and conditions, however this

will have limitation for this may distort the primary objectives of the researchers, and

hence, such participant shall be subjected to be changed. Qualifications are their life

experiences and rehabilitation records.

Researchers will then collect data through a number of interviews (depending on

the data collected during each session). Questions will be limited to positive outlooks in

life, however, participants are free to share any experiences they can.

After gathering data, transcription from the recording shall be done for an easier

analysis. Analysis will include series of text exploration and data observation to discover

systematic patterns or relationships among categories found from gathered data. Further

study of the patterns will include coding of the categories. Finally, in making the final

paper of the study or conclusion, this shall be constructed with the found patterns and

categories among the participants supported by valid theories.

References

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Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-
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Shapiro, S. and White, C. (2012) Staying Sober through Service. Available at:

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Seligman, M. (2011) What is Well-Being?. Available at:

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2015).

The Philippine Drug Situation (no date) Available at:

http://pdea.gov.ph/images/AnnualReport/2013AR/2013thephilippinedrugsituation.pdf
(Accessed: 1 August 2015).

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Based Guide. Available at:
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http://media.proquest.com/media/pq/classic/doc/3494078161/fmt/ai/rep/NPDF?

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