UnitLevel 5Postgraduate

ASC5001 Addiction science: A biopsychosocial overview

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

ASC5001 Addiction science: A biopsychosocial overview is a level 5, 12-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, offered in 2021 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.

Credit points
12
Offered in 2021
Semester 1
Clayton
Assessment
No exam
3 tasks

This is the 2021 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.

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Requisites

Before ASC5001

No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.

After ASC5001

No unit lists ASC5001 as a prerequisite in the 2021 handbook.

Enrolment rules

Corequisite: Must be enrolled in a Postgraduate degree

Overview

This unit provides an introduction and overview to addiction as a concept. In particular, consideration is given to the biological, psychological, developmental, sociocultural and environmental factors that may contribute to the development of addiction.

The various effects of psychoactive substances (including alcohol and illicit drugs) will be considered in relation to the "drug, set and setting" model.

The unit will also introduce Australia's harm minimisation approach in responding to psychoactive substance use and addictive behaviours. Students completing the module should be able to summarise the key theoretical models of addiction, issues around the utilisation of the term and have developed the necessary critical conceptualisations of addiction theory to undertake further Masters level study in this area.

Offerings in 2021

Teaching periodCampusMode
First semesterClaytonOnline

Assessment

  • Oral presentation
    15%
  • Critical appraisal (3,500 words)
    40%
  • Essay (4,000 words)Threshold hurdle
    45%

Learning outcomes

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

  1. 1

    Compare and contrast the biopsychosocial (BPS) model of addiction with other models of addiction.

  2. 2

    Critically evaluate factors related to the aetiology of addiction with reference to the research evidence base.

  3. 3

    Outline the neurobiological and genetic bases of addictive behaviours.

  4. 4

    Explain the psychological processes of addictive behaviours.

  5. 5

    Explain the sociocultural bases of addictive behaviours (dual diagnosis, Indigenous, youth, older adult, LGBTI, transcultural).

  6. 6

    Synthesise the implications of the harm minimisation approach for understanding public health policies and interventions.

  7. 7

    Identify concepts and methods used in the literature to determine whether process addictions should be grouped with substance addictions.

  8. 8

    Identify research evidence investigating how theories and models of addiction are used in the development of policies relevant to alcohol and other drugs and process addictions.

Workload and teaching

  • Teaching approachOnline learning

Students enrolling in ASC5001 will be expected to contact the course coordinator regularly throughout the semester and participate in online discussion with fellow students and academic staff. Students should expect to spend around 24 hours a week of self-directed learning. This includes accessing online lectures, podcasts and resources as well as participating in forum discussions questions and quizzes via Moodle in addition to conducting offline independent study such as reading, research and writing activities.

For full details of the teaching approach to this unit, please refer to Moodle.

Learning resources

Required resources

This unit will be delivered online using the Monash Moodle software delivery system. All learning resources including reading lists will be provided within the unit in Moodle and via Research and Learning Online.

Monash Library Unit Reading Lists can also be searched for via the Library, here.

Required resources: It is essential that students have access to a computer with stable internet connection during this unit of study. Support for logging into Moodle, and recommended settings to improve students' Moodle experience can be found here.

Students will be required to have access to appropriate software to complete assessment tasks and participate in online activities. A range of software is available for download onto Monash and personal devices for students with a Monash Authcate account through the My.Monash Virtual Environment (for example, Microsoft Office 365 is available to enrolled students at no cost). Alternately, students can search the Monash software catalogue here.

Contacts

Unit Coordinators
Dr Kirsten Schliephake
Chief Examiners
Dr Naomi Crafti

Common questions

What are the prerequisites for ASC5001?

ASC5001 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.

When is ASC5001 offered?

In 2021, ASC5001 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton, with an online option.

Does ASC5001 have an exam?

No. ASC5001 has 3 assessment tasks and no exam.

More details

Credit points
12
Level
5
Study level
Postgraduate
Faculty
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational unit
Eastern Health Clinical School
Type
Coursework
EFTSL
0.250
Student contribution
SCA Band 2
Study abroad
Not available