This book focuses on two issues that have characterized modern studies on addiction, mainly the understanding of the concept of addiction and the problem of the prevalence of addiction in various cultures, with a special focus on South and East Africa.
Pertaining to the general understanding of the concept of addiction, academics have offered different explanations. The two common ways of conceptualizing addiction are the Disease Model and the Will Power Model (Ndasauka et al. 2017). In the Disease Model, addiction is conceptualized as a malfunction of a brain process that causes the individual to engage in a particular activity repetitively and excessively. In the Will Power Model, it is contended that addiction is a consequence of weakness of the will, which may be considered as part of a negative disposition brought about by bio-psycho-socio-cultural factors (Ndasauka et al. 2017).
Although studies in other parts of the world have been divided between the Disease Model and the Will Power Model, there is no clear academic development of this concept in the African context, as far as the literature shows. Apparently, most of the studies have adopted the Western view and have attempted either to treat addicts as sick (e.g. Liranso and Yosph 2017) or correct their will power by attempting to make them ethical. The connection with ethics comes from the understanding that the Will Power Model is reflective of or is a source of unethical behaviours.
Further complications in conceptualizing addiction in the African context come from the fact that in most of the studies there is no clear demarcation between the concept of addiction and abuse. In fact, in most of the studies these terms are used interchangeably (Liranso and Yosph 2017). However, Mark Griffiths (2005) shows that these concepts are different. For Griffiths, addiction requires satisfaction of the following components: salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse.
Salience refers to the situation when a given activity becomes a fundamental activity in oneâs life and dominates oneâs way of thinking, feeling and behaving. Mood modification refers to what an individual reports after engaging in a particular activity. For example, one may report about feeling high after an activity. Tolerance regards increasing involvement in a particular activity in order to repeat the experience that one previously had. For example, an individual may want to smoke more cannabis in order to repeat the past experience. Withdrawal symptoms refers to the unpleasant feelings that are experienced when one reduces or discontinues a particular activity, for example when one stops exercising and starts feeling uncomfortable, such as being irritated. Conflict refers to a situation where the addicted individual enters into conflict with those around him. For example, one addicted to the internet will enter into conflict with those around him/her as this will make the individual compromise other activities. Relapse refers to the tendency of an individual to go back to the addiction status. For example, after stopping masturbation for a month, one goes back to it.
While the concept of âaddictionâ requires the fulfilment of all six elements, âabuseâ will only refer to some of the indicated aspect. Nevertheless, most of the studies (as far as the literature shows) have focused on the concept of abuse. In line with the emphasis put on the concept of âabuseâ, studies in the African context have mainly focused on substance abuse and some behavioural addiction (Moodley et al. 2012; Tshitangano and Tosin 2016).
In an attempt to build an African conceptualization of addiction and its prevalence, this work is divided into five parts.
Part I focuses on the âConceptualization of Addictionâ in the African context. In Chap. 2, Thaddeus Metz focuses on the African conceptualization of addiction in the context of morality. He specifically addresses the question of what makes addiction morally problematic, and seeks to answer it by drawing on values salient in the sub-Saharan African philosophical tradition. He argues that both African vitalism and communalism merit consideration as rivals to accounts that Western ethicists would typically make, according to which addiction is immoral insofar as it degrades rationality or autonomy, as per Kantianism, or causes pain or dissatisfaction, as per utilitarianism. In Chap. 3, Grivas Muchineripi Kayange investigates the concept of addiction by focusing on cannabis use and addiction in a traditional African setting. He argues that cannabis addiction is conceptualized in African traditional culture as having an instrumental value and not as a disease that requires treatment or as immoral. Cannabis is used in different contexts for different purposes such as medicine, military use, increasing energy during farming and sex, and for religious purposes. It is further argued that the current African conception of cannabis as a vice/illegal has generally been pushed by governments due to international pressure and the understanding that the use of this plant for purposes other than medicinal is increasing.
In Chap. 4, Wilfred Lajul investigates the African conceptualization of addiction relative to African morality. He argues that, because addiction takes place in the context of societies, then the ontological constitution of an individual, the communal context and the choices made by the individual are responsible for the prevalence of addiction in society. In Chap. 5, Chikumbutso Herbert Manthalu explores Ubuntu considerations in the conceptualization and implementation of addiction-response frameworks in Malawian schools. He highlights the prevalent individual-centric and neo-liberal models of education on developing an autonomous individual and equipping her with the knowledge and skills for job market competition as the modern, ultimate and exclusive aims of school practices and education. The chapter proposes that meaningful approaches to addiction should include Ubuntuâs relational rationality and not only the prevalent agent-centric one.
Part II focuses on conceptualization of addiction in African languages, music and culture. In Chap. 6, Telamisile Phumlile Mkhatshwa and Gloria Baby Malambe discuss how Swazi people conceptualize addiction, specifically alcoholism and drug addiction. They argue that Swazi oral traditions function as a tool that provides insight on how Swazis view addiction. They analyse Swazi oral traditionsâsongs, proverbs and traditional termsâin order to understand how Swazi people perceive addiction. Basing the research on sociological criticism, they hypothesize that the current modern problem of substance and alcohol abuse in Swaziland stems from deep-seated Swazi oral traditions. In Chap. 7, Beaton Galafa explores the concept of addiction in the African literary world through a study of sex addiction. The author studies different stories and indicates that there are multiple viewpoints of addiction, and puritanism is one of the views that shapes the authorsâ narratives in the works under review. The works in the anthologies are marked by a complexity of themes ranging from sexuality through racism to social injustice, with addiction coming out subtly in some more than it does in others.
In Chap. 8, Dave Mankhokwe Namusanya discusses how urban music fits in the narratives of drug addiction and sex addiction, especially as it relates to young people. The chapter specifically discusses such narratives in the music of Mafo, who is a âcelebratedâ producer of urban music especially among young people. In Chap. 9, Hambaba Jimaima and Gabriel Simungala engage and interrogate social media addiction as it relates and extends to the emergence of creative and innovative codes of communication and representation amenable in the online semiotic landscapes. Taking as its point of departure insights from Youngâs Internet Addiction Test, Blommaertâs Supervernaculars, and Kressâs Multimodality the chapter locates Zambiaâs online narratives on Facebook and WhatsApp as bearing socio-linguistic resources that transcend the classical and normative attributes of language for communication. Thus, the chapter leans on Blommaertâs Supervernaculars as well as Kressâs Multimodality as it uncovers intricacies of this addictive, creative and innovative way of communicating to learn its potentialities, constraints and permeation across spaces. With superdiversity at play, the chapter establishes whether these creative and innovative codes reflect trends that inform transformation or distortions. The chapter concludes with a sketch detailing the normative processes in local socio-linguistic spaces in the absence of the pedagogic spaces. In Chap. 10, Anthony Mavuto Gunde examines traditional sources of masculine rhetoric employed by Malawian youth to glorify alcohol addiction, their implications for social and behavioural change, and how the sources and the implications in turn are represented by the local media. The aim is to provide an overview of how macho rhetoric has been employed by Malawian youth throughout history and its implications for social and behavioural change with regard to addiction from an African point of view.
Part III focuses on neurobiology and neurochemistry of addiction relative to Africa. In Chap. 11, Andrew G. Mtewa, Serawit Deyno, Emmanuel L. Peter, Annu Amanjot, Lucrèce Y. Ahovegbe and Duncan C. Sesaazi outline the general chemical and pharmacological mechanisms involved in addiction, African participation in neuroscience research and studies, and challenges and opportunities on the continent. They argue that research and training in the area of neurochemistry and pharmacology in addiction in Africa still remain limited due to inadequacy and lack of interest by professionals specializing in the area and study facilities. Appropriate systematic investment in the field of neurochemistry is required across the continent, which will enhance the understanding that currently Africa has a multifaceted disciplinary approach, and be able to devise sound interventions against addictions with no significant side effects. In Chap. 12, Godfrey S. Bbosa investigates the neurobiology of addiction in Africa. He seeks to interrogate African literature and compare the neurobiology of psychoactive drugs and behavioural addiction.
Part IV examines substance and non-substance abuse in Africa. In Chap. 13, Edith B. Milanzi and Yamikani Ndasauka study the prevalence of addiction in Africa using 2015/2016 Demographic Health Survey (DHS) data. After examining the previous trends and prevalence of alcohol use in different countries, they discuss results on prevalence of alcohol use calculated from the most recent DHS for each country separately. Then they attempt to harmonize the data to calculate a pooled prevalence. They then determine differences in alcohol consumption between males and females. In their conclusion, with reference to the data analysed, they make a case for alcohol addiction in Africa. In Chap. 14, Tafadzwa Rugoho discusses the experiences of sex workers with disabilities who are using drugs. They buy drugs from the streets and these drugs can be hazardous to their health. The author laments that the government of Zimbabwe and non-governmental organizations are doing very little to combat the illicit sale of drugs on the streets.
In Chap. 15, Tatenda Nhapi uses a Merton critique to explore youthsâ addiction to drugs in Zimbabweâs current socio-economic discourse. The author further analyses domains of youthsâ drugs addiction and resultant impacts. Finally, using a social work lens, this chapter offers pathways for contin...