Substance Abuse Among Adolescents And Youth

As a counselor in training and an advocate for individuals’ mental health and wellness, I chose to become an official member of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and create an advocacy project to enhance adolescent mental health and wellness by advocating for more available protective factor to reduce substance use and abuse among this population. The purpose of this paper/project is to address and improve the rate of substance use and abuse among adolescents in Pitt County, more specifically in Greenville, North Carolina. This paper goes into great detail of the description of the population (adolescents), providing statistical evidence of adolescents’ use of drugs in Greenville. An increase in youth involved community activities, community service work and parental involvement will be discussed as ways to create a healthy, anti-drug, and stable environment for adolescents in Greenville, North Carolina.

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

“Since 1992, the high rate of illicit drug use among youth has been steadily increasing” (Juvenile Justice, 1997). This has become a trend that needs to be put to a stop. There are too many youth that are involved in criminal activity and that are labeled actual juvenile delinquents in the criminal justice system. Researchers can’t help to believe that alcohol and substance abuse has something to do with the emerging problem. “Drug and alcohol use also increases the likelihood that a youthful offender will have prolonged interaction with the juvenile justice system” (Reclaiming Futures, 2012); this is a fact. Many juveniles who participate in substance abuse usually affect their loved ones and friends.

In this essay I will be discussing the topic of substance abuse amongst adolescent youth within Canada. I will be reviewing topics of interest revolving around various types of street narcotics, alcohol consumption, and psychoactive drug use. Although substance abuse is a global issue, I will be focusing primarily on studies, and research done on the effects and impacts on Canadian youth. Thought the course of this essay I will also be touching on the various effects, that come with the continuous usage of these illegal and legal substances which not only take a toll on the user but also the families, social setting, and community. Finally some pro-active steps to getting the information and required help if you suspect someone or yourself are under the influence of any form of substance abuse.

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

Since the 1970s, government-funded research studies have shown emerging patterns of substance use, misuse and abuse among school-aged adolescents. Studies such as the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Monitoring the Future (MTF), Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) are intricate research studies that compiles data on the prevalence and long-term effects of substance abuse in and outside of the school setting. Funded and sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Substance

Substances abuse on today’s teens has become one of the main problems in the United State Society. Even though the Juvenile Department Center has create different programs and campaigns to help lower the rate of juveniles abusing substances, it seems hopeless. Now, this problem has directly affected Jane, who’s her son (which is a teen) has become involved with abusing three different substances. To be specific, Jane’s son has been abusing Percocet’s, Alcohol, and Marijuana. Jane has ask this author to provide her with facts in order to help her comprehend and help his son with the problem he has got himself into. Therefore, this paper will explain three things: explain the effects these three substances (Percocet’s, alcohol, marijuana) have on her sons, explain which drugs are addictive and what this means for treatment, and offer her the best treatment option/s for her son.

Being an adolescent myself and having a first hand perspective on adolescent substance abuse, I feel that I have a certain perspective on the substance abuse and misconduct issues that others may not. An old friend of mine went through these issues, with continuous and serious substance abuse along with conduct problems. Personally, I believe that there is a serious lack of justification to begin abusing substances, however, I understand that there are many factors that are involved when developing an SUD. In this day and age there is so much information surrounding substances at one’s fingertips, the consequences are clearly outlined in numerous online websites, and television ads, making most people very aware. I do consider the backgrounds

The “National Survey on Drug Use and Health” or (NSDUH), is an annual publication funded by the “Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration” or (SAMHSA) provides further data (Schmalleger, 2013). The (NSDUH) found that there are an estimated 22.6 million Americans who are current users aged twelve and older (Schmalleger, 2013). Of those 22.6 million Americans, 17.5 million of them were estimated to be using marijuana, and data shows the rates for those most likely to consume drugs to be between the ages of sixteen to twenty-five in 2010 (Schmalleger, 2013). Another statistic, this time from the class text found that “nine percent of the U.S population age 12 or older use illicit drugs every year, half of them at least once a month.” (Thio et al., 2013). The class text also corroborates this data, citing that of young adults those aged eighteen to twenty-five have the highest rates, for teenagers the rates highest for use are twelve to seventeen (Thio et al., 2013). One study found that employment status is highly correlated with rates of illicit drug use as well. One figure showed that an estimated seventeen percent and a half percent of those unemployed were current illicit drug users (Schmalleger, 2013). Worrying figures due to the gravity of the situation making itself clear, while there is tapering off after twenty years of age when it comes to illicit drug use. The concept of drug usage surrounding teenagers and

In 2009, Vanessa Hemovich and William D. Crano from the Department of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University analyzed data from the Monitoring the Future 2004 survey, which examined inhalant – inappropriate use of a legal drug – and marijuana and amphetamine – illegal substances – use among 37,507 8th to 12th grade adolescents in schools across the United States. They hypothesized that older adolescents and those living in single parent households will report higher levels of drug use than their younger counterparts and peers living in households with both parents. They also predicted that children

The abuse of prescription medication by adolescents, alongside their illicit drug usage, remains a prevalent issue in American society. As time progresses, the adolescent abuse of these drugs has intensified. This persists due to many elements such as social media and social networking sites, as well as other social-cultural factors. Not only do prescription and illicit drug use constitute a great crisis, but the medium that is used to expose and distribute these drugs is also a concern. Social media and social networking sites have popularized illicit and prescription drug use through their flexibility on what is posted and advertised on these web pages. Social media/social networking sites, the predominant sources of entertainment, play a

Though alcohol use in adolescents has declined within the past several decades, it is still the most widely used substance (Monitoring). For the purpose of this paper, adolescence will be defined as the age range from 12-18. The focus will be centered on middle school and high school students across the United States. According to the 2013 Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 22.1 of 8th graders, 47.1% of 10th graders, and 62.0% of 12th graders had consumed alcohol within the last year (Monitoring).

Tobacco and Alcohol are the most common abuses among adolescents and adults. Both of these items lead to many consequences later on in life. For instance, both alcohol and tobacco can lead to wellness problems Wellness is the state or condition of being in good physical and mental health, the importance of wellness for the human body is how it allows a person to be happier and healthier.

Since 2000, the drug use rate in America has risen to the highest it’s ever been. In a survey done in 2009, 8.7 percent of people age 12 and up said that they used illegal substances within a month of taking the survey, a 9 percent increase since 2008 (Abuse, National Institute on Drug, 2010). This statistic alone is very concerning due to