Preventing Drug Use Among Adolescents
In the world people face many challenges in many instances the youth of today are “raising” themselves. Many youths are faced with making adults decisions and they face a higher risk of making poorer choices which could lead to drug abuse, violence, and HIV/AIDs. This paper is design to look at what could help in the prevention of drug abuse among adolescents. There are many programs that are designed for detox and treatment for addiction however there is a need to break the cycle of learned behaviors and promote better coping skills before the onset of addiction.
The Social Need for Drug Prevention
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) a guide “Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents” introduced the concept of “research-based prevention” to address drug abuse among adolescents in communities across the country. Over a period of time drug use among adolescents has been increasing in acceptance and less a risk or danger of health consequences. The gateway drugs tobacco and marijuana are most common. Lack of parental supervision, poor parent-child relationships, and permissive parenting styles also influence initiation, progression and maintenance of substance use. Research has shown, for example that greater involvement in substance use was associated with less after-school supervision and high levels of parent-child conflict. In addition, parents who were less authoritative and more permissive had adolescents who were more deviant. Lack of supervision and high levels of conflict may contribute to the initiation and escalation of substance use to the extent that they provide increased opportunities for adolescents to interact with deviant peers who model more exten...
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...tion to help children live a full fruitful life with limitless possibilities and to help break cycles that have been passed on from generation to generation. This group process can help facilitate better peer relationships, self-efficacy and assertiveness, drug resistance skills, social problem-solving skills, and promote family bonding between parents and children.
References
D'Amico, E., Osilla, K., & Hunter, S. (2010). Developing a Group Motivational Interviewing Intervention for Adolescents At-Risk for Developing an Alcohol or Drug use Disorder. National Institue of Health, 28(4), 417-436.
Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents A Research-Based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders: In Brief. (2nd ed.). (2003). Bethesda, Md.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Robertson, E. B., David, S. L., Rao, S. A., & National Institute on Drug Abuse (2003). Preventing drug use among children and adolescents: A research based guide for parents, educators, and community leaders (2nd ed.). Bethesda, Md: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse.
There are many contributing factors and political issues that address substance abuse. Throughout the years, many researchers have designed many interventions and social policies designed to treat people who have used, abused, and became addicted to substances. Today, there are many new studies that address substance abuse at the individual, group, family, and community or policy levels. Today, there are many services that are effective for decreasing recidivism in youth who have completed a substance abuse program. A substance abuse treatment program or center is the best way to treat individuals who have abused substances.
Drugs cause an overall disturbance in a subjects’ physiological, psychological and emotional health. “At the individual level, drug abuse creates health hazards for the user, affecting the educational and general development of youths in particular” (“Fresh Challenge”). In youth specifically, drug abuse can be triggered by factors such as: a parent’s abusive behavior, poor social skills, family history of alcoholism or substance abuse, the divorce of parents or guardians, poverty, the death of a loved one, or even because they are being bullied at school (“Drugs, brains, and behavior”) .
A drug is a substance that alters the mind, body or both. Drug use is an increasing problem among teenagers in colleges today. Most drug use begins in the preteen and teenage years, the years most crucial in the maturation process (Shiromoto 5). During these years adolescents are faced with difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily available, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, and there is a temptation to escape from conflicts. The use of drugs by teenagers is the result of a combination of factors such as peer pressure, curiosity, and availability. Drugs addiction among adolescents in turn lead to depression and suicide (Shiromoto 12).
Poor peer relationship can be seen as both cause and consequence of teen substance abuse. To develop in a negative and unhealthy environment can lead a person to make poor decisions, and to make poor decisions can lead a person to build a relationship with other individuals who share their same detrimental practices and who do not provide a positive peer support. To make a poor decision can lead the youth to get involve in deviant behavior due to being under the influence affect the person 's judgment and increases the chances of getting involved in delinquent
Glazer, Sarah. “Preventing Teen Drug Use.” CO Researcher. 28 July 1995: 659-662. Mack, Alison.
Drinking and driving, smoking tobacco, or consuming drugs such as marijuana seems to be the new way to be cool in high school nowadays. It can make teenagers feel superior, but they don’t know that the happiness is only a mask, covering the true long-terms affects of what drugs and alcohol may do to you. It takes less than one minute to ruin your life using these illegal substances. The pressure can lead to choices teenagers may not want to take and this doesn’t only affect that child. Drug and alcohol abuse in teens today will affect the men and women they become tomorrow.
Sikes, A., Cole, R. F., McBride, R., Fusco, A., & Lauka, J. (2009). Addressing the needs of substance abusing adolescents: a guide for professional school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 7(43),
It is a consequential public health problem that can be adequately tackled with professional help where there is a combination of drugs, counseling, and therapy. Many public health strategies can be used to solve the problem of substance abuse and addiction, for instance, the use of the prevention theory. Preventing the initiation of drug addiction, which later escalates to addiction, is vital in fighting the problem of drug abuse (Larimer, 2013). It might be practically impossible to prevent individuals from using drugs; nonetheless, through the social cognitive theory, we can prevent individuals from starting to use drugs. The early use of drugs can lead to high chances of an individual developing drug addiction and serious health problems. Therefore, if the early use of drugs among young people can be prevented, it can reduce the risk of drug abuse and its consequences. It is vital to prevent the misuse of drugs and to identify those who already are using them and provide early
Our rural youth do have serious drug use problems that need to be brought forward not only to scientists, but also to child practitioners (Williams, Barnes, Holman, and Hunt,
(Keith, 2013) Most users are pressured, stressed out, and depressed. Teens turn to drugs for comfort and a solution for all of their problems. (Henningfield, 2013) Drug addiction has sadly changed many teenagers’ lives, but measures can be taken to help them feel happiness and overcome their
After interviewing my teenage cousin whom has been in several altercations at home and school, enlightened me on the ways that teenagers in her age group gets involved in drug use. Kids start as young as ten years of age using, selling, and experimenting with drugs. My teenage cousin was expelled from public schools when she started experimenting with drugs. She was surrounded by many challenges when she enrolled in the alternative behavioral school. Many students, whom attend the alternative behavioral school use drugs, sell drugs, are on probation, have been arrested, engage in sexual activity and drink alcohol.
Before being capable of fighting the use of drugs and alchol, one must come to an understanding of why some people use drugs. The decision to ultimately use drugs is influenced mainly in childhood. Whether in a poor ?ghetto? neighborhood, or in a middle-class suburb, all children are vulnerable to the abuse of drugs. Most high-risk children are effected by personal and family circumstances (Falco 51). If a child?s parents are substance abusers, then it is a fairly safe prediction that the child will abuse drugs later in life. Also, early-life experiments with drugs greatly increases the chance of abuse later in life. Academic problems, and rebellious, anti-social behavior in elementary school are also linked to drug problems, in addition to truancy, delinquency, and ear...
...olescences to abuse drugs depending on the influencing stimuli. We must educate the adolescences on respectable behavior and consequences to drug seeking behaviors and addiction.
Teenagers are often looked down upon because of the choices they make during that time of their life, but mostly it is because of people looking down upon them, that they make those choices. During Teenager years being exposed to sex, drugs, and alcohol is the norm and because of that substance abuse is often a problem. Seeing a strong correlation between teenager and substance abuse is very common and this paper shows: why teenagers attract to substance abuse, the effects on the teenager life because of the substance abuse and what could be done to prevent the substance abuse.