Causes Of Teenage Drug Abuse

Adolescence is a time where adolescents grow and mature at a rapid rate. It is also a time where adolescents are more vulnerable to taking risks, such as using and becoming addicted to illegal substances, due to raging hormones. Whether or not an adolescent chooses to engage in drug use and abuse depends on their home environment and those they choose to associate themselves with. Adolescents are confronted with an enormous amount of pressure to participate in risky behaviors by their peers. According to Broderick and Blewitt (2015), “risky behaviors are behaviors that constitute a departure from socially accepted norms or behaviors that pose a threat to the well-being of individuals or groups” (p. 389). One such risky behavior is drug use and addiction. Some adolescents use cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and prescription drugs in order to get “high”. Adolescents who engage in drug use are likely to become addicted, and thus, their addiction will negatively affect their brain development.

The drug abuse is the most serious issue not only in United States but other parts of the world too. The statistic has shown that 24.4million of American including teens from age of 12, had used an illegal drugs. The primary purpose of drug is a medicine which is to cure diseases, but people in United States nowadays, have misused the usage of drugs by consuming them without recommendation or supervision from the expert.

In the present times, drug abuse is a major cause for concern and has an adverse effect on society in general. Although students comprise of a large section of drug abusers, grown-ups also capitulate to drug abuse. In fact among the middle-aged people there is an inclination to abuse prescription drugs.

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

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

The existence of a myriad of social problems among teenagers that both parents and states have to deal with is a factor whose weight ought not to be treated lightly. The increasing level of drug use among the adolescents constitutes one of the ever increasing situations in the society and may, as a matter of fact, be a representation other underlying issues. The level of the situation in the contemporary world, though not discussed as much as it ought to be, has reached alarming levels. There seems to be an increasing predisposition among the use to take the drugs as it's reflected in the escalating trends of drug abuse among this generation of individuals (spooner, 1999). The ever deteriorating levels of this situation coupled with the widespread permissiveness in the society and the absence of attention from appropriate caregivers at different institutions only means that the need to address the problem is paramount. Different avenues of solutions can be applied in reducing the level of the problem and averting the massive negative consequences that come with the phenomena. Dealing with this issue is not a matter of instance as the different parameters of the problems, its causes and possible workable solutions have to be discovered. As such, research on these dynamics is a mandatory undertaking.

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,

A teenager’s brain and body is still developing, which makes them more acceptable to the harmful effects of drug use. The early use of abuse

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.

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 9.8 % are estimated to be current users of illicit drugs, with 4.9 % using drugs other than marijuana. Nearly three quarters of students have started to drink alcohol and nearly half (47%) have tried using an illicit drug (not including alcohol or tobacco) by the senior year of high school.” (Hassan, Harris, Sherritt, Van Hook, & Brooks, 2009)

Drug use among our nation’s youth is a major public health concern. The reason for this is substance use which can increase the likelihood of injury, violence, and contraction of diseases such as HIV. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration conducts an annual survey called the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in which 67,500 persons aged 12 years old or older are interviewed. This survey is the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States. The 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health stated that “an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12

Drug use is an increasing problem among teenagers in today's high schools. Most drug use begins in the teenage years, these years are the most crucial in the maturing process. During these years adolescents are faced with the difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority figures 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

Keeping up with the life of a typical adolescent is not as simple as it seems. Adolescents frequently get consumed with negative thoughts about the future which causes anxiety and prevents sleep. These are all signs that can lead one to a state called depression1. Once an adolescent is depressed, it is common for them to reach out to substances that numb their pain such as: alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. These drugs can be extremely destructive when abused. Since these substances can easily be bought by young adolescents, it is becoming more common for youngsters to reach out to these dangerous substances. Alcohol being the most prevalent and the easiest to get places a lot of trouble on youths. According to past research, there is a direct correlation between depression and alcohol abuse among teenagers aged 13-18.

A drug is a chemical substance applied into treating, diagnosing and preventing one from disease infections or a substance that is used by a person to enhance his or her physical and mental state in the perceived effect. Drugs used for different purposes and their effect depend on which cause for usage. It causes both positive and negative consequences directly to the user and in the long-run it affects the whole society or community. Drug addiction is the activity of uncontrollable dependence on a substance by the user no matter the harm caused by its usage. It is a habit that has been in many years hard to curb especially among the youths. “We must recognize that substance abuse and addiction is a disease, not a moral failing or easily abandoned self-indulgence,” (Califano, 2008).The cases of drug abuse have been on the rise over the recent years and resulted in crimes. The cases have a great effect affected the society in general since the reliable energetic youths have turned to drug abuse. However, some measures have been initiated to mitigate, curb and treat drug addiction in the society as outlined in the essay.

Drugs between teenagers is one of the most serious problems, because it causes a change in the behavior of any teenager and a physical change too. Most of the teenagers use alcoholic drinks as a way to escape