Substance Abuse Among Adolescents

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.

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

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 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.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) updated reports on the prevalence of substance addiction in 2015, illegal drugs use has been increasing in the entire United States. In 2013, approximately 24.6 million United States citizens aged 12 and above used illicit drugs. The increase represented a 9.4% of all the population consuming illegal drugs. In 2002, the total population of illicit drug use in America was approximately 8.3%. The increase in substance abuse has been attributed to the breakdown of social ethics in the society.

Substance abuse is serious problem that have negative implications not only on the individual and those closest to them, but on the society as a whole. According to a 2002 National Drug

(maintained abstinence/sobriety for than twelve months), or is in a controlled environment, such as a treatment facility, where access to alcohol is restricted (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 491). Individuals presenting two or three symptoms are considered to have a mild severity disorder, those who present four or five symptoms are considered to have a moderate severity disorder, and individuals presenting with six or more symptoms are considered to have a severe disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 491). These criteria help care providers diagnose alcohol use disorder among a variety of populations, including adolescents, and are similar to the other substance use disorder criteria that are listed in the

To date, there are five large and important areas of research that have been either neglected: (1) the sequence of drugs used and the development of different drug-using patterns; (2) the individual, group, and cultural factors influencing low-risk and high-risk outcomes among equivalent drug users; (3) the changing attitudes of both users and nonusers toward psychoactive drug use; (4) the impact of the media on drug use and drug choice; and (5) the process of socialization as it applies to patterns of drug use (http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/zinberg7.htm). I feel that we should also focus on studies: how drugs influence individual health and behavior, what use is being made of drug research, and how its findings influence public policy decisions.

There is no culture in the history of mankind that did not ever use some kind (kinds) of drugs. Despite the well-known consequences of drug addiction, millions of people constantly consume different legal and illegal drugs. Affecting people's mind and changing their behavior, drugs become one of the most threatening factors of social risk, resulting in increasing rates of mortality, aggressive and criminal behavior, and dissolution of social ties. This paper is devoted to comparison of social science outcome characteristics for two of the most commonly used drugs in the groups of legal and illegal drugs--alcohol in the first and marijuana in the second. It is argued that hardly any of two can be seen preferable

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.

(2012).  Drugs in American Society. Place of publication not identified: McGraw-Hill Education. Hari, Johann.

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

Over the course of the last twenty years, drug usage has changed rather dramatically. From the kinds of drugs used to their potencies to how much is used, there are multiple factors to observe. Some drugs that didn’t even exist or were almost unheard of that long ago are some of the most abused today and are growing in popularity. In this essay I will be analyzing how people use drugs differently today than they did 20 years ago, in 1997, as opposed to how it is used today in 2017. In addition to this, we will be looking at how this change is affecting society and whether or not we’re better off than we were in the late 1990s.

Based on this information gathered, it is easily identifiable that drugs are exposed to everyone including young Americans and not only adults. Drugs are introduced to people of all ages for several reasons, with media being the major source. Although the advertisement of tobacco in American television and radio is now banned, there are still countless amount of advertisements for alcohol and pain-relieving drugs today. Even if illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine are not advertised, many television shows and movies have multiple scenes that show the characters abusing drugs and enjoying its effects. People are more susceptible to taking drugs because of the constant exposure to media portraying that drugs and alcohol are enjoyable and will relieve stress from the problems that they might have.