There are many ways people handle socio-cultural influences regarding addiction. I agree that a child will either follow the path of their parent's influence or go the opposite direction. It seems logical that the younger they are, the more they are influenced by illustration and the less they know better. Once a child or teen is capable to get out of the environment and learn that drug abuse is not normal behavior, they are capable to make a better choice for themselves. Additionally, there are statistics showing higher levels of addiction in lower income communities. Alloy, Riskind and Manos (2005) describe that as corporations move away from the cities and to the suburbs, less jobs are available resultant in increased poverty in the inner city. When jobs are unavailable, other alternatives to make money like dealing drugs become prevalent. The outcome of drug addiction is frequently higher crime. "As many as 20 % of inmates in federal prisons committed their offenses in order to obtain drugs" (Alloy, Riskind and Manos, 2005, p. 351). I'm really surprised by this statistic; that it is not higher than 20%. In your opinion, can these cycles of addiction be stopped? And how can mental professionals make a difference?