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Addiction in Adolescence

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Addiction in Adolescence
Lillie Momon
Liberty University

Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long-lasting, and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs (Drug Abuse & Addiction, 2015). Addiction is a lot like other diseases, such as heart disease. Both disrupt the normal, healthy functioning of the underlying organ, have serious harmful consequences, and are preventable and treatable, but if left untreated, can last a lifetime (Drug Abuse & Addiction, 2015). Adolescence is a period full of challenges, changes and apprehension, especially for individuals in high school facing peer pressure amongst their friends. There are times when friends and acquaintances can have an increasingly strong influence during adolescence. Drug-using peers can sway even those without risk factors to try drugs for the first time. Academic failure or poor social skills can put a child at further risk for using or becoming addicted to drugs. The internal instability, the intense conflicts, and the uncertainty as for the future make the adolescent vulnerable to a series of situations, among them the use of drugs. Several authors alert that this stage is the most critical and sensitive for the initiation of the use of psychoactive substances. The consumption of drugs at this stage can bring serious physical and/or mental impairments consequences to the development, such as cognitive deficits, physical problems, involvement in accidents and law violations. One of the brain areas still maturing during adolescence is the prefrontal cortex; the part of the brain that enables us to assess situations, make sound

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