Substance Abuse And 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.

According to the Diagnostic Statistic Manual 5 (DSM-5) substance use disorder is when the individual has a dependency on alcohol or drug, followed by penetrating craving and antisocial behavior to acquire the substance. The terms substance abuse and substance dependence refer to substance use disorder, which has been separated into three classifications as follows

Substance use disorder is defined as being a pattern of maladaptive behaviors and reactions brought about by repeated use of a substance, sometimes also including tolerance for the substance and withdrawal reactions. (pg. 294). The individual I will be talking about for the project is someone that came to crave a particular substance and rely on it every day. Their choice to devote so much of their time to their substance caused issues between their family and friends. Both family and friends started to drift away from this individual. It was almost like all they literally cared about was making sure that they got their substance. Their choice of substance was alcohol. The individual had built up a tolerance where if there was a longer period of time where they would have to go without they would start to feel anxious and get sweaty, that was their withdrawal reactions exposed. A lot of people that have alcohol use disorder specifically start off by developing their drinking problem in there young college years. It is the prime time to be pressured by your peers to try and drink until you puke your cuts out. For other individuals they are so lucky and it actually can be seen as being disorder that is hereditary. For the specific individual that I am talking about for this paper he developed it because a majority of his dad’s side of the family had alcohol use disorder. This individual new the odds were against him, but still fell into the same steps his father’s side did.

In today’s society drugs are now easy access for people to get their hands. Due to the fact that they easily able to access, this gives young youth a chance of a lifestyle that they should be taken part in. A scenario in the text book, about a young girl name Sue had easy access to drugs and alcohol leads to a lifestyle that she would later on regret. It is said that young juvenile starts have drug use as early at the age of twelve. Sue was seventeen when she first started using drugs.

Substance abuse isn’t a new thing. Long ago since the start of human history, people have looked for ways to alter our consciousness with the use of herbs, alcohol and drugs.

Many teenagers between the ages of 12-18 are exposed or already on their way to addiction to substances that are not good for our mental or physical health. Many teens experiment with drugs but aren’t addicted. According to addictioncenters.com “teen drug abuse can have long term cognitive and behavioural effects since the teenage brain is still developing.” A study also shows that half of all new drug users are under 18. This is because our brains are still seeking the “thrill” and temptation of substances. Other common reasons are curiosity, peer pressure, stress, emotional struggles and wanting a escape. Thankfully drug use among teens, despite popular opinion are significantly decreasing. The teenage brain is very immature. By doing drugs as a teen you are at a greater risk for being an addicted adult.

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

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,

One fact from the source was that “Teenage drug abuse is one of the major international concerns that we are facing today. There are various reasons why teenagers begin using drugs. For many teenagers, getting high on drugs is their way of getting into the “in crowd.” As a result, teenage drug abuse is often rooted in the concept of social acceptance.” This fact is important because it explicitly explains the possible reason behind the behavior of drug abuse. Another fact is that “Teenage drug abuse may also be rooted in the concept of testing oneself. There is a fallacy floating around that if you are not able to handle drugs, then you are weak. Given this, teenagers begin using drugs in an effort to prove themselves. Many times teens take more and more of a drug to try to impress their peers. At a party, a teen may take repeated hits off a bong amid the cheers of their friends. With this level of support and praise from friends, teens often feel good about themselves, leading them to repeat this behavior.” This fact is important because it brings how social status and popularity could also be a major factor. My last fact is that “If a teen’s parents or other immediate family members have struggled with abuse and addiction, it increases the likelihood of the teen developing a substance abuse issue as well.” This fact is also important because it shows how it can be spread through family genes and that it has been a major problem for many generations. My third source speaks about a certain branch of drug abuse popular in teens called

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)

Many of the results I found on the basis of why the youth are more prone to starting drugs and altering their future in a negative manner were not surprising. I knew that teenagers have brains that are still developing therefore, their impulses are more out of control “because the cellular adaptations associated with addiction processes occur in the same regions of the brain as those undergoing preferential maturation during adolescence, adolescence should be viewed as a period of particular vulnerability to the effects of rewarding drugs and to the development of future drug-related problems” (Centre on Substance Abuse, 2007, p. 35). Also, it’s not surprising how high of an influence the youth experience around his or her peers because all

When dealing with addictive behaviors in Psychology, people find that adolescents are more likely to get involved with addictions and uncontrollable wants with things such as alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, and much more. With those subjects listed, the age groups more prone to opening up doors to these addictions are the ages of 18-23. This is said for a number of reasons. There is loneliness from living away from home, there is more personal responsibility to manage, there is a desire to escape hard challenges of independence, there is a fear of not finding an occupational foothold in the future, there is more availability and diversity of illegal substances, and there is much more partying with peers (Pickhardt, 2012). When growing into the stages of adolescence, different urges and wants that are hard to turn away from appeal greater to the minds of a youth than simply turning away. This age group falls under the temptation of peer pressure, which could also be a leading cause to the addictions as well. Sometimes, when first developing an addiction to something, it is easier to walk away when not commonly opening up to it everyday. Once the beginning stages of addiction pass, it becomes harder to turn away from what they have been used to doing for a great period of time which is proven to ultimately lead to destruction of ones body, mind, and life.

In a world filled with violence and traumatic events, young adults are the most vulnerable to them. We see a trend in students hanging out with the wrong crowd digging a deeper hole for themselves; getting involved with drugs, alcohol, and eventually becoming dependent and addicted to them. In discussions of substance abuse and the external factors affecting teenage youth, I believe that parents, society, age, and peers are main factors that contribute to a teenagers ' drug addiction.

The background of this study is the reciprocal relationship between crime and substance use is well known. However, when examining this relationship, no study to date has disaggregated between-and within-person effects, which represents a more methodologically sound and developmentally appropriate analytic approach; Further, few studies have considered the role of social risk (e.g., deviant peers, high-risk living situations) in the aforementioned relationship. We examined the associations in a group of individuals with heightened vulnerability to substance use, crime and social risk, emerging adults (aged 18-25 years) in substance use treatment. (Merrin _et al_2016 pdf).

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