National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level 2 (NCAC II) Practice Exam Exam

Which term refers to a drug being what the user intended to purchase?

1. Substance identification

2. Drug expectation

3. Presumed efficacy

4. Drug congruence

The correct answer is: Drug congruence

The term that refers to a drug being what the user intended to purchase is drug congruence. This concept highlights the alignment between a user's expectations of the substance they seek and the actual properties or effects of the substance they obtain. When drug congruence is achieved, it means that the user receives what they anticipated, which affects their experience and satisfaction with the drug. In contexts such as addiction counseling, understanding the implications of drug congruence is crucial for assessing risk behaviors and managing expectations around substance use. It plays a significant role in how substance use disorders develop and persist, as discrepancy between expectation and actual experience can lead to confusion, disappointment, or a drive to seek out alternative substances. Substance identification, drug expectation, and presumed efficacy do not capture this specific concept effectively, as they focus on identification of substances, anticipatory beliefs about drug effects, and the assumed capabilities of a drug to produce desired outcomes, respectively. These terms do not encompass the direct relationship between what was intended to be purchased and what was actually acquired.