Factors Of Teenage Drug Abuse
Introduction
Teenage drug abuse has been the controversial issue that influences our societies, results in health hazard, academics, peers, family as well as an increase in juvenile delinquency. According to the latest statistics conducted by Health & Social Care Information Centre (2013), 17 % of pupils in the UK have tried illicit drugs in 2012, indicates the constant decrease in the prevalence since 2001, but it could be the tip of an iceberg and more school-children must agonise over the drug misuses due to the lack of willpower. It is generally said that quitting drugs is difficult even if they have a strong will as the addiction is chronic. The best protection is therefore to not start in the first
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Solutions could be come up based on the contexts above.
Culture & Availability
It is clear that there are some common patterns of gateway to drug abuse. Oetting & Beauvais (1990) cited Peele(1985) who maintains that social, cultural and psychological factors considerably influence the extent of dependence. The cultural aspects, for example, UK rave music culture seems to have increased the prevalence of recreational drug users in late 80’s. The availability of drugs consequently became widespread among young peers of all social backgrounds (McCRYSTAL et al., 2003), in turn stimulated them to instil the habit of drug use. Furthermore, the research conducted by Oetting & Beauvais (1990) shows the majority of young abuser take more different kinds of drugs, more surprisingly, approximately 73% of students who are aged between 14 and 18, believe getting marijuana is quite easy (Miller et al,. 2000), which could conclude from those factors that ease of obtaining drugs from cultural aspects afflict abusers overcoming drug addiction.
Family
Family plays one of the essential key role in initiation into drugs as children are assumed to have made connection with family before engaging in relationship with friends. It is widely known by many scholars that interpersonal relationships between family are strongly related to adolescent substance use because the quality of this
The next dimension looks at drug trying and how rates have increased (especially during the 1990s) among adolescent Britons over the past few decades (Parker et al, 1998). Drug trying rates are younger than ever with young Britons being the most involved drug
Gruber, K.J., & Taylor M.F. (2006). A family perspective for substance abuse: Implications from the literature. Journal of Social
When an individual believes, and expects, to have positive effects from a certain drug (e.g., drinking alcohol to reduce stress and anxiety), the likelihood that the individual will abuse the drug is extremely high. Sociocultural factors also play a vital role in how frequently a substance is used, with family and friends being the most influential. A broken family home (e.g., marital problems, parent/sibling alcohol or drug use, and legal or psychiatric problems) can have a tremendous negative effect on a child and the decisions they make. A lack of emotional support from parents is found to increase drug use, whereas the lack of parental monitoring if often associated with higher drug use (Kring, 2014). The idea of being “popular” and having a ton of friends seems to be a common goal for the majority of adolescents and young adults. Social influence is explained by the fact that having peers who drink, influences drinking behavior; however, it is also known that individuals will choose friends with drinking patterns similar to their own. While growing up, most of us have always been told to choose our friends wisely; however, they neglected to tell us how difficult this can be.
The family is the fundamental source of attachment, socialization, and nurturing (Zimic & Jakic, 2012). When attachment needs are not met as the result of substance use multiple aspects of the family are affected. These include experiencing unmet developmental needs, poorly developed familial relationships, financial difficulties, and emotional and behavioral problems. In addition, children living in this environment have an increased risk of developing attachment and substance use disorders as well (Zimic & Jakic, 2012). The consequences of substance use disorders have a profound impact on the family system (Landers, Howsare, & Byrne, 2013). The family environment carries information indicating how substance use disorders begin and evolve. Substance use disorders create a dysfunctional family unit perpetuating emotional and behavioral patterns that result in negative outcomes (Landers et al.,
Parents who use drugs or alcohol are likely to overlook their children leaving them to their own diplomacy. Since such parents are often lost in their addictions, they are unable to provide the proper leadership that children need particularly throughout their growing days (Sindelar & Fiellin 2001). Teenagers bred in homes where a dear blood relation uses alcohol or drugs, have a superior propensity for developing the dependence afterward, generally because the family is more relaxed in terms of drugs use. The result of alcohol or drug abuse on relations involved and results may differ between families based on a numerous factors. Families affected by substance abuse have one thing in comparison; they reside in homes where traits
Substance abuse is an issue that continues to grow in America at an alarming rate. Families are an important factor for the onset of substance abuse as well as the sustainment of the addiction (Gruber & Taylor, 2006). The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines substance abuse as “A chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences” (“Understanding Drug Use and Addiction,” 2016). In order to prevent relapse, success is found in the formation of familial and social relationships (Baharudin et al., 2014). Substance abuse is a major stressor in the family system and it not only impacts the family’s relationships with those outside of the family but
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.
There are numerous social processes behind substance misuse behaviour, these processes play a key role in the initial precedent for and beginnings of substance misuse behaviour in individuals, for example, substance misuse can initially arise because of a plethora of environmental factors; such as social relationships, culture, socioeconomic status and family systems (Gorsuch & Butler, 1976). Family systems are an important influence on substance misuse behaviour, with research showing intergenerational affinity for substance misuse behaviour affecting learned behaviour of drug use (Gfroerer, 1987;
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
Do you agree that drug abuse among young people is a serious problem that we need to be more concerned about? In the United Kingdom, there are several recent studies released which show an increasing statistical trend in drug abuse affecting young people. Due to the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) in 2006, 23% of 13-year-old teens and over 53% of 15 year-old teens reported that they had ever used illegal drugs in their lives. From the above statistical information, we
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)
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.
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
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.
In the past decade the use and abuse of tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, and sexual intercourse has become a serious problem among teenagers. Many studies have been conducted to address this problem, such as the annual survey put out by Michigan State University. The deficiencies in these studies include the locality in which these studies are done as well as how to address these problems within a small community rather than broadband.