A-What Causes You To Engage In Risky Behavior?

There is no doubt that there is a prevalence of substance abuse throughout several age groups. To a certain extent, a society is faced with the reality of controlling substance abuse. Or allow it run rampant throughout the community. Often times, we hear and read about the level of substance abuse among teen, young adults and mid-aged

Youths in the United States are using drugs more than ever and even at a younger age than the past. Reaching out to these younger addicts can be complicated. There are several ways to approach substance abuse treatment for youths. School counselors and parents are the first step to detecting the addiction. Then there is finding the right treatment for the youth. Assessment and continued treatment could include outpatient or in patient therapy. Depending on the addiction and the family support, treatment

Growing up with substance abuse parents can potentially put the children at risk for developmental deficiencies. Parents who are substance dependent are oftentimes focus on themselves over their children, and this leads to neglecting the children. Without the attachment with the parents, children are lack of security and trust to explore the outside world. According to Erik Erikson, children develop at different stage. Infants are totally dependent on their parents. If parents provide the good care and support to the children, they will develop the basic trust to their parents and the world, otherwise, they will feel insecure and develop mistrust instead. This mistrust may cause problems later in life. As children begin to grow and navigate the challenges of adolescence, parental substance abuse has a direct impact on their well-being, as well as their behavior. Teenagers are eager to seek their identities. Yet, growing up with mistrust, inferiority, and shame

According to current statistics released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “In the United States in 2011, there were an estimated 25.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17. In the past year, more than one quarter of adolescents drank alcohol, approximately one fifth used an illicit drug, and almost one eighth smoked cigarettes” ("A Day in the Life of American Adolescents," 2013, para. 1). Substance abuse is major problem amongst adolescents. Some are experimenting, but some adolescents may become dependent on a particular substance. If one becomes dependent on a substance as an adolescent it could be detrimental to their future health and success as an adult. Spear (2003) stated in an article titled Alcohol’s

Persistent substance abuse among youth is often accompanied by an array of problems, including academic difficulties, health-related consequences, poor peer relationships, mental health issues, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. There are also significant consequences for family members, the community, and society in

• Risks of drug and alcohol abuse. Adolescents develop personal fables, and it is important that we share the risks of drug and alcohol abuse. Personal fables makes them feel invulnerable to the risks they take. (Feldman 364)

Adolescence, usually defined as individuals between the ages of 12 and 20, is a period of transition, brain development and challenges1, 2, 3. Adolescence is the peak time to engage in risk taking behaviors2. Substance use is a common occurrence among adolescents. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has identified adolescent substance use as one of the United States’ top public health concerns4. In fact, an individual’s chance of becoming a cigarette smoker drastically declines if smoking is not initiated by the time the individual is 18 years old. Alcohol and Marijuana are the most commonly used substances among adolescents1,2,3. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Study, the Center for Antisocial Drug Dependence, Monitoring the

The CRAFFT is a screening tool used to screen for behavioral health in children under the age of 21. The screening consists of six questions that’s screens for high alcohol or other substance abuse. The CRAFFT mnemonic acronym is the first letters of the beginning of the screening questions (The CRAFFT, 2009). The six questions include.

By the same token, working with substance abuse clients it’s important to constitute a safe, clean, professional environment so that all ethical guidelines are met and confidently is key. For example, placing adults with adolescents not a wise decision to group together, a hazardous, unsafe, unethical act, for a group setting. Last, the substance abuse counselor preferred to treat adolescents compared to adults because the younger generation is open to change and flexible to a degree, as well as impressionable. All and all, the younger generation still yearning for life and to be young, so guiding them to recovery and mold them to become a better person, with a positive outlook for the future is

Adolescent substance abuse is a phenomenon in our country that has been steadily inclining ever since the 2000’s. The effects of this incline are very straight forward and call for action. The facts are that alcohol and drugs are the leading causes of crime among youth and that alcohol and drugs are the leading factors in teenage suicide. (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., 2014) Because adolescence is such a crucial developmental age the effects of alcohol and drug use are catastrophic. To fully understand this phenomenon we must firs operationalize all of the factors we are trying to study. The DSM V classifies substance abuse as,

Drug use amongst young teenagers develops different effects upon their lives. The different effects include brain defects along with memory loss. (TeenRehabCenter, 2016) This fifteen-year-old is already experiencing issues within his health. Each morning he has to meet his dealer to fulfill his needs, which is a major problem for his age. As a social worker this issue alarms me, therefore I have recognized that he needs help. Through recognizing this issue with this client I realized it was best to use the “evidence-based practice” skill to evaluate the needs of this client.

These materials were chosen, because it is best used with adults and teens who engage in substance abuse. All questions can help determine if a teen has engaged in substance abuse, because of a parent in the home. According to Peter (2015), this assessment was conducted study to investigate and analyze substance abuse among family

Hannah is a fifteen year old girl who was recently sent to a rehabilitation center for the result of abuse of prescription medication. 6.1 million high school students currently use addictive substances, and like Hannah, 1 in 3 of them are addicted (“National Study Reveals,”2011). Although the number of teens using these drugs are decreasing, the numbers are still dangerously high. Due to it’s high risk of addiction, dangerous consequences, and growing availability, substance abuse among teenagers is a serious trend being presented among all United States adolescence.

Substance abuse has become a notable public health threat to today’s adolescents. Substance abuse is associated with an array of behavioral and psychological consequences that can jeopardize the future of the young people. Lifelong dependence is another possible consequence of drug abuse among adolescents. Ultimately, counselors are supposed to come up with effective programs to address addiction issues among the adolescents to prevent them from relying on drugs in future. Counselors rely on direct counselling, group counselling, community collaborations and parent participation to make a difference in the lives of adolescents abusing drugs. Nonetheless, counseling adolescents with substance abuse is challenging and in order to make a difference, counselors must be prepared to handle those challenges.

Drug and substance abuse among children, especially teens, is substantial. According to the most recent statistics available, (http://www.nationalyouth.com) 1.1 million of our youth age 12 to 17 meet the diagnostic criteria for dependence on drugs and approximately 1 million of our American youth (http://www.drugabusestatistics.samhsa.gov/) are being treated for