Most people who struggle with substance addiction begin experimenting with drugs in their teens. The four year period from entering high school as a child and graduating as a young adult can mean several changes for teenagers incusing experimentation of substances that can lead to long term effects, addiction as an adult, and in some cases death. According to the American Addiction Center, “...in 2014, approximately 5 percent of the American adolescent population suffered from a substance use disorder; this equates to 1,3 million teens or 1 in every 12.” The reasons that teenagers begin to use drugs and drink alcohol vary. Some of the leading causes of substance abuse among teens include: access, peer pressure and emotional disorders.
Teenagers
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Peer pressure by definition is influence from members of one's peer group. This can happen in several different settings and can even happen to adults. But for teenagers, peer pressure is most importantly linked to substance abuse. Teens are very easily controlled and manipulated. When someone like the popular group of kids or the upperclassmen are doing bad things like smoking and drinking, it is very likely that some of the other kids will see that as a gateway into popularity or a sort of fame.They believe that if they do those same things, that they too will be popular. In some cases, teens don't necessarily want to experiment with substances, but their “friends” will sort of nudge or and bully them into doing it. Peer pressure is extremely dangerous, for the fact that when an adolescent is pressured into trying a substance, it is possible that they can become addicted, and the vicious cycle of peer pressure will continue. Some students get caught in the wrong crowd and start to hang out with kids who do bad things. According to the article, “Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Abuse: How to Spot It, Stop It, and Get Help For Your Family”, the text states, “When adolescents start hanging around people their parents don't approve of or start doing things that result in legal trouble, it is easy to attribute …show more content…
Very often, teenagers either use drugs and alcohol as a sort of escape for these disorders, or the use of drugs and alcohol can lead to these disorders to occur. According to The Nation Institute On Drug Abuse, “research suggests that adolescents with substance use disorders also have high rates of co-occurring mental illness; over 60 percent of adolescents in community-based substance use disorder treatment programs also meet diagnostic criteria for another mental illness.” Some of these mental disorders include depression, anxiety, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome. These mental disorders mainly start to show during adolescence, which can be very risky when you mix substances into the picture. “It is also true that having a mental disorder in childhood or adolescence can increase the risk of later drug use and the development of a substance use disorder. Some research has found that mental illness may precede a substance use disorder, suggesting that better diagnosis of youth mental illness may help reduce
One should remember that not all peer pressure is bad, although that is mostly what you see today. Good peer pressure needs to be done more, because why would you want to make someone do something bad, instead of helping them do something good and impacting them, because honestly who would want a worse world rather than a better one? Truly the way to improve our lives as human beings lies on peer pressure, it is at the core of ways we can make a change for a better, and not more for the
The use of alcohol by adolescents is widely viewed as disobedience in American society. Although, alcohol use is technically illegal until the age of twenty-one (in 19 states the consumption of alcohol in not specifically illegal for people under the age of twenty-one), there is still an excessive use of dinking in teenagers today. Since alcohol is associated with all three leading causes of death among teens, it can also have less life-altering consequences such as a drop in academic performances and a decline of friend and family relationships. Also, mental disorders like anxiety, depression and behavioral issues as in loss of temper, an argumentative personality, being easily angered, and blaming others for mistakes. Alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in teenagers and society contributes to abuse by linking drinking to sophistication and good times. (“Alcohol Abuse and Youth” 1)
Runaway’s teens often encounter problems with drugs such having an addiction. An addiction is a chronic brain disease that causes a person to find drugs in unwanted places, despite how harmful they are to them (Addiction p.4).Taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, research shows that in earlier stages a person using drugs is more likely to be more seriously
Reconstruction took place after the Civil War to rebuild what we know today as the United States of America. Amendments that gave African Americans the right to voting were established during reconstruction. Reconstruction also caused mass groups like the KKK to form and fight the changes reconstruction had to offer. Although there were many successes that came from reconstruction, there were also many failures.
A drug is a substance that modifies one or more of the body’s functions when it is consumed. Therefore, many common foods qualify as drugs. According to this definition, some of our most cherished beverages such as tea, coffee, and cola are drugs. However this paper focuses on drugs that are abused by teenagers. Surveys show that cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and inhalants are the most commonly used drugs among teenagers age thirteen through eighteen. One of the most startling findings from recent data is the degree to which to which teenagers are now involved in drug use. This drug abuse problem has gotten worse. Perhaps our society must hit “rock bottom” before changes can occur.
Most people do not understand how a person become addicted to drugs. We tend to assume that is more an individual problem rather than a social problem. However, teen substance abuse is indeed a social problem considered a priority for the USA department of public health due to 9 out of 10 Americans with addictions started using drugs before the age 18 (CASA Columbia University). Similarly, 1 in 4 Americans with addictions started using the substance during their teenage years, which show a significant different with 1 in 25 Americans with addiction who started using at 21 or older (CASA, 2011).
Peer pressure is the influence from members of one’s peer group. Peer pressure affect many school aged children, and teenager, because of the desire to want to fit in. Affects of giving into peer pressure can lead to taking drugs, drinking alcohol, and having sex. By researching
Teen Drug Use I once read in an article “Some teens use alcohol or drugs to dull the pain in their lives”. When they are given a choice to take something to make them temporarily feel better, many cannot resist” (Look). The use of drugs will [affect] the everyday lives of many teenagers today. Throughout history, more and more teenagers have turned to the use of drugs to help them through their everyday struggles. Many teens often feel as if they cannot deal with the everyday pain they may be going through.
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” (Dr.Seuss). Society often thinks of peer pressure as a negative implement. Often times the community imagines peer pressure as teen influencing one another to experiment with drugs, alcohol, and sexual intercourse. But really all peer pressure is, is the encouragement of changing values and behaviors of an individual. Peer pressure can be thought of as positive for teens, because it allows and individual to become a leader in an environment, strong encouragement to work hard in school, and lead a healthy lifestyle.
It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.
Humans are environmentally and genetically predisposed to developing a motivated addictive behavior. Addiction is a brain disease and a behavior. All behaviors are choices. Choices that adolescences make at a young age directly affect the outcomes of their futures. Many factors contribute to an adolescence becoming an addict or exhibiting a drug seeking behavior. Nearly all drugs of abuse increase dopamine release. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter in drug abuse and addiction. Dopamine plays a role in reward motivated behaviors, motor control and important hormones. It’s known as the “feel good hormone” which is why people abuse drugs that increase the release of dopamine. Since life is unpredictable, our brains have evolved the ability to remodel themselves in response to our experiences. The more we practice an activity the more neurons developed in order to fine-tune that activity causing addictive behaviors to be detrimental.
Peer pressure can be both a positive and negative influence and will challenge us do things whether they are right or wrong. This is left for you to determine. Peer pressure can influence several areas in your life like; academic performance, who you choose for friends, it can influence who you mat choose for a boyfriend or girlfriend, it can influence decisions about sex, it may change your feelings about alcohol and drug use, and it can even determine your fashion choice.
Few people deny the dangers of drug use, while many teens are curious about drugs. They should stay away from drugs because drugs affect our health, lead to academic failure, and jeopardizes safety. Drugs are used from a long period of time in many countries. The concentration of drugs has increased from late 1960’s and 1970’s. Drugs can quickly takeover our lives. Friends and acquaintance have the greatest influence of using drugs during adolescence.
The use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs during adolescence and early adulthood remains a serious health problem in the United States. Among the drug classes, alcohol is the most frequently used substance by adolescents and that is followed by marijuana and tobacco. The consequences of alcohol and drug abuse are critical on both a personal and social level. For the developing young adult, drug and alcohol abuse threatens motivation, hinders the cognitive processes, increases the risk of accidental injury or death, and contributes to debilitating mood disorders. In addition, it contributes to educational failure, juvenile crime, increase in mental health services, and high cost of health care.
Each day drugs make a huge impact on our generation. Throughout this topic I would like to know what causes teenagers to try illegal drugs and how impacts their lives. Drugs can affect a person in different parts of their lives. For example their education, work, personal life, and can affect the relationship with their family and friends.