Premium Essay

Substance Abuse Among American Adolescents

In:

Submitted By safaalnaqeeb
Words 531
Pages 3
Substance Abuse among American Adolescents

Control substance abuse is an excessive consumption or a disorder use of substances especially drugs or alcohol that is associated with significant problems. Substance abuse is a disease that commonly appears among adolescents. According to Kerby Anderson1, “93% percent of all teenagers have some experience with alcohol by the end of their senior year of high school. Almost two-thirds of all American young people try illicit drugs before they finish high school.” If substance abuse is left untreated, it will cause violence in streets, such as crimes, kidnaping. Also, it will cause domestic violence. For example, many babies are born with drug dependency. There are many basic factors that lead to the use of control substances among American adolescents, how these factors affect our community, and what are the methods used to minimize them. Adolescence is a sensitive period for young people. They are encountered by many basic factors. First of all, family factors, which have the strongest impact on adolescent development, play a part in the influence to try control substances. For example, parents who provide low levels of support, or are not as close to their children, and use bad parenting judgment have

children who are more likely to be drug abusers. “The parents are the biggest factor in the choice to drink or drug” (Stephen Artrburn24). Other factors are the social pressure, such as friends and school these significant effects on adolescent. If they have friends or classmates in school using drugs, then they are more likely to use themselves. (One-hundred adolescents calling the hotline 1-800-COCAINE, fifty-seven said they bought their drugs in school” (Stephen Arterburn 5). Drug abuse has changed the social life of America. Using drugs leads to life threating circumstances, “Every year two or

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Adolescent Substance Abuse

...Running Header: Substance Abuse Adolescent Substance Abuse Dana Sweitzer Liberty University Abstract Adolescent substance abuse is a major problem in society. There are many risk factors that can contribute to adolescent substance abuse. One of the main risk factors is peer pressure. When adolescents start at a young age there is an increase in health problems, addiction, and over all poor social outcomes. Parental influence has substantial effect on adolescents because the adolescent sees their parents and they learn by their example. Media plays a role in the use of drug and alcohol use among young people. Many school systems have implemented programs that teach adolescents about the problems of substance abuse that is funded by the government. The community health nurse helps provide education in the community. The cost for substance abuse can be astronomic. Emergency room visits, treatment programs and even court costs lead to billions of dollars annually. The key to prevention is education. Adolescent Substance Abuse In society today adolescent substance abuse is a growing problem. There are many risk factors that can lead to substance abuse. It is important to understand the reasons behind why the adolescent begins the experimentation of drugs and alcohol. Media plays a role in adolescent substance abuse. Many times advertisement and movies betray alcohol or drug use as fun and not addictive. Many times the people are happy and having a good time. This gives...

Words: 1655 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

African Americans and Chemical Dependency

...African Americans and Chemical Dependency Name: Insitution: African Americans and Chemical Dependency Abstract Chemical dependence is the use of chemicals, which may include alcohol, drugs, and other substances that may affect normal physiologic or psychological processes, in an uncontrolled, compulsive way. It is often referred to as substance abuse. Substance abuse has been the subject of many a discussion, due to the adverse effect it has on human health, relationships, and many other spheres of human life. This paper will evaluate the incidence and prevalence of substance abuse in differing populations, with a special emphasis on African Americans. This paper will also review the steps of care that victims of chemical dependency are taken through in the rehabilitation program, with a focus on Africa American populations. Additionally, the paper will review the professional resources that are used in the treatment of chemical dependency victims among African Americans, and finally, the paper will explore the issues that impact treatment and recovery from chemical dependency among African Americans. African Americans and Chemical Dependency African Americans have historically been consistently ranked among the racial/ethnic groups with the highest rates of substance abuse. In recent years, however, the statistics seem to have improved when compared to overall ratings. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), alcohol use seems...

Words: 1602 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Chemical Depenency

... 2008 Chemical Dependency Paper Chemical Dependency Paper This paper will discuss Chemical Dependency or Substance Dependency and Substance Abuse in Adolescents; specifically the development, progression and biopsychosocial of dependency and abuse in the adolescent population. The definition of epidemiology and diagnosis will be addressed. Lastly three treatment options including the range of severity will be provided. There is difference between substance abuse and substance dependence. The distinction between the two is characterized by the role they play in a person’s life. Substance dependence is defined in terms of physiological and behavioral symptoms of substance abuse, and substance abuse in terms of social interaction and consequences. (Wikipedia, 2008) Substance abuse refers to the repeated and excessive use of drugs that are illegal or harmful to the individual and causes significant adverse consequences. Symptoms in adolescents who are abusing and using substances include: “failure to meet family or school obligations, interpersonal conflicts, legal problems. Other adverse consequences include accidents or injuries, blackouts and risky sexual behavior.” (Wikipedia, 2008) Substance dependence is when the frequent and repetitive use of drugs becomes habitual and a physical dependence occurs. Substance dependence in adolescents is identifiable by negative physical symptoms, which usually includes tolerance of the drug (requiring higher doses to achieve...

Words: 2244 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Substance Abuse Article

...NEW RESEARCH Does ADHD Predict Substance-Use Disorders? A 10-Year Follow-up Study of Young Adults With ADHD Clancey Bateman, Timothy E. Wilens, B.A., M.D., MaryKate Martelon, M.P.H., Gagan Joshi, M.D., Ronna Fried, Ed.D., Carter Petty, M.A., Joseph Biederman, M.D. Objective: High rates of substance-use disorders (SUD) have been found in samples of adolescents and adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Predictors of SUD in children with ADHD who are at risk for the development of SUDs remain understudied. The main aims of this study were to identify clinically meaningful characteristics of children that predicted the future development of SUDs and to see whether the role of these characteristics varied by sex. Method: Subjects were children and adolescents with (n 268; mean age standard deviation 10.9 3.2 years) and without (n 229; mean age 11.9 3.3 years) DSM-III-R ADHD followed prospectively and blindly over a 10-year follow-up period onto young adult years. Subjects were assessed with structured diagnostic interviews for psychopathology and SUDs. Results: Over the 10-year follow-up period, ADHD was found to be a significant predictor of any SUD (hazards ratio 1.47; 95% confidence interval 1.07–2.02; p .01) and cigarette smoking (2.38; 1.61–3.53; p .01). Within ADHD, comorbid conduct disorder (2.74; 1.66 – 4.52; p .01) and oppositional defiant disorder (2.21; 1.40 –3.51; p .01) at baseline were also found to be significant predictors of SUDs...

Words: 8941 - Pages: 36

Free Essay

Substance Abuse and Psychosis in Adolescents

...Substance Abuse and Psychosis in Adolescents Over the past several decades, the U.S. population has grown significantly and continues to do so at a rapid pace. The most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures estimate that the population in the United States is currently nearing 304,800,000. Of this tremendous number, approximately one quarter are children under that age of eighteen years and over 40 million are adolescents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001a). For the purpose of this examination, we will define adolescents as individuals between the ages of ten and eighteen years, although it is important to keep in mind that there are many different definitions and understandings of adolescents, most of which are not as directly related to chronological age (Santrock, 2001). Adolescents are a very special population because these are often the years in which childhood and adulthood become blurred, roles, expectations and needs change, as well as significant physical and psychological growth. As we also know, experimentation is often characteristic of adolescence and this experimentation can be physical, sexual or philosophical; all of which may possibly lead to drug use. This paper seeks to examine the question of whether or not drug abuse is related to psychosis in adolescents. Literature Review Adolescent Drug Use According to a national study in 2006, over 60 percent of reported that drugs were used, kept and sold on their school campuses on a regular basis. ...

Words: 2009 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Substance Abuse

...Substance abuse The 5th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) combines substance abuse and substance dependence to mean the same thing (American Psychiatric association, 2013). Substance abuse refers to the habitual non-medical substance seeking, and the substance taking behavior which is suppression or resistance through its pharmacological consequences. Substance abuse may therefore include the use of alcohol, abuse of cigarettes, food, sniffing of solvents or even the abuse of nicotine and caffeine (Nordegren, 2002). Substance abuse has been taken to generally refer to the use of hard drugs such as cocaine and marijuana. Every year, United States spends billions of dollars on increased health care cost, low productivity and increase in crimes. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, substance abuse costs United States 524 billion dollars a year of which 181 billion dollars is as a result of illicit drugs. Given the huge expense, there is therefore a need to understand the physical, social and psychological effects that substance abuse presents, analyze the factors contributing to substance abuse, examine the range of interventions used, and examine how managing substance abuse is influenced by cultural, legal, as well as political issues. Though at times substance abuse is completely something that an individual may pick from nowhere, there are some risk factors which may play a significant role in an individual’s substance abuse...

Words: 3417 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Ptsd and Drug Abuse

...developed trouble coping with the repercussions and responses to the attacks. It was estimated that approximately 35% of the population directly exposed to this act of terrorism developed, or will develop, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Yehuda, 2002). An event such as the September 11th attack is a prime example of a major traumatic event in recent history that has left Americans and Canadians feeling threatened. Events, whether a large public occurrence such as the one identified above, or an individualistic personal episode, can result in the development of PTSD. PTSD is characterized by a variety of symptoms that last for at least one month, or longer, following a traumatic event (Brady 2004). It can be defined as the trauma itself and an individual’s response to that trauma. It effects the psychological, emotional, social, and physical states of the affected individual and can act as a pathway for other psychological disorders, the most common being major depressive disorder (MDD)(Van Ameringen, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to; examine PTSD and its causes, its ties to substance use/abuse in Canada, focusing on the Aboriginal population, and the reasons why traumatic...

Words: 3121 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Social Ills

...Social Work Research on African Americans and Suicidal Behavior: A Systematic 25-Year Review Sean foe and Danielle M. Niedermeier Suicide among African Americans is a neglected topic. Social workers practice in both clinical and nonchnical settings, and as the largest occupational group of mental health professionals, they have a unique opportunity to reach this underserved group. However, little is known about social work's empirical knowledge base for recognition and treatment of suicidal behavior among African Americans.The authors performed a systematic critical review of published articles by social workers on African American suicide and suicidal behavior, to ascertain the state of social worker's contribution to and knowledge of suicide risk factors and effective treatments. They conducted Web-based (for example. Social Work Abstracts, PsycINFO, PubMed,JSTOR) and manual searches of suicide research conducted by social work investigators and pubhshed in peer-reviewed journals from 1980 to 2005. References cited in the articles were used to identify candidate articles. According to the search results, social workers contributed only 11 empirical research articles focusing on African American suicide or nonfatal suicidal behavior. Risk factors for suicide are reviewed, and the implications for clinical social work practice and research are addressed. KEY WORDS: African Americans; clinical knowledge; ethnic minority populations; suicide S uicide is one of the leading...

Words: 4916 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Ewan

...Catanduanes State University Laboratory Schools Virac, Catanduanes SY 2014-2015 Drug Addiction/Drug Usage Lyri Kirsten Anicken T. Gianan Grade 9 – Platinum Mr. Eddie Cabrera February 11, 2015 Report on the Enforcement of the Prohibition Laws of the United States by the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (Wickersham Commission Report on Alcohol Prohibition) I have signed the report of the Commission, although as is probably inevitable when eleven people of different antecedents and temperaments endeavor to agree upon a contentious subject, it is more or less of a compromise of varying opinions. In so far as it states facts, I believe it to be generally accurate. Every effort has been made to make it so. I should have preferred to have it state more facts and fewer broad generalizations from unstated facts. But the difficulties in securing accurate statistics, owing to the unsystematic and unscientific manner in which they are commonly kept in this country, often makes it impossible to get reliable statements of fact, although there may be sufficient available information to afford a fairly reliable basis of generalization. I am in entire accord with the conclusions "that enforcement of the National Prohibition Act made a bad start which has affected enforcement ever since"; that "it was not until after the Senatorial investigation of 1926 had opened people's eyes to the extent of law breaking and corruption that serious efforts were made" to coordinate "the...

Words: 16435 - Pages: 66

Free Essay

Resilience

...party such as a juvenile probation or parole officer. The participants were identified only by numbers so they could remain anonymous and to ensure confidentiality. In conclusion, the researchers confirms that the more juvenile-justice-Involved youth experience more traumatic events the more chances they have of developing resilience or other psychiatric disorders based on their research. (Burrow-Sánchez, Corrales, Jensen, & Meyers, 2014, Resilience in a Sample of Mexican American Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders, Psychological Assessment, 1038-1043) The top of this article is about measuring resilience in Latino American adolescents who have substance abuse disorders. The researcher’s goal of this study was to measure resilience in Mexican American adolescents with substance abuse disorders because these stressful youth faces racism and is labeled as a non-dominant group and some often turn to substance abuse. The group that was used in this study included 106 American Latino adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 years old. They were...

Words: 902 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Homeless Youth

...Karen Spuriel Coleman- MBA Abstract Homelessness among youth in the U.S. is disturbingly common, with an estimated annual prevalence of at least 5 percent for those ages 12 to 17. Although homeless youth appear throughout the nation, they are most visible in major cities. Rigorous research on this special population is sparse, making it difficult to capture an accurate and complete picture. Despite its limitations, recent research describes homeless youth as a large and diverse group. Many homeless youth have multiple overlapping problems including medical, substance abuse, and emotional and mental problems. Literature suggests that comprehensive and tailored services are needed that address both the immediate and long-term needs of homeless youth. Where appropriate, services should include assistance with meeting basic needs as perceived by youth as a gateway to other needed services. In addition to serving those already homeless, interventions are needed to prevent homelessness among at-risk youth. Lessons for Practitioners, Policy Makers, and Researchers • As used here, the term “homeless youth” focuses on minors who have experienced literal homelessness on their own—i.e., who have spent at least one night either in a shelter or "on the streets" without adult supervision. On occasion, where warranted by the research being discussed, the term is also used to describe homeless young adults up to age 24. • Homelessness among youth in the U.S. is disturbingly common. With an...

Words: 15735 - Pages: 63

Free Essay

Argumentative Research Paper

...marijuana in Colorado and Washington. In the eyes of many avid smokers, this law was just as monumental as landing on the moon was for Neil Armstrong: one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. Despite the fact that marijuana is legalized for recreational use in these two states and legalized for medicinal purposes in 16 others, the drug is still forbidden under federal law, meaning marijuana is still an illegal drug. For decades, the subject of legalization has been a recurring theme in Washington and state governments. Should marijuana join the ranks of alcohol and cigarettes and be made legal? No, we must realize the damaging health effects and the detrimental societal/cultural effects that legalizing marijuana could have on Americans in the future. Although there are some advantages to legalizing marijuana in the United States, the disadvantages tremendously outweigh any advantages when considering this touchy topic in politics. Of course, there has been research conducted that states that marijuana could be positive for the nation. Advocates to legalization suggest that if marijuana were legal, it would tremendously boost the economy, forcing drug dealers out of business. Roberto Trevino and Alan Richard explain the economic gain America would experience, stating “economists for the most part support the legalization of drugs…they argue that the legalization of dugs will lower drug prices and drive the economic rents enjoyed by drug deals to...

Words: 2151 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Rite Of Passage

...Teen drug use shouldn’t be looked at as a rite of passage but as a public health problem, say experts, and one that has reached “epidemic” levels. In a new report on drug, alcohol and tobacco use among teens in the U.S., the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University finds that 75% of all high school students have used alcohol, tobacco or either legal or illicit drugs and that 20% of these adolescents are addicted. The data also support previous studies that link early substance use to addiction later in life: 90% of Americans who are currently addicted started smoking, drinking or using drugs before age 18. A quarter of those who begin using addictive substances at these early ages become addicted as adults,...

Words: 309 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Depression in Adolescents

...DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENTS 2. Table of Contents Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….…....3. Background of Depression in Adolescence…….…………………………………………….4. Causes ...............................................................................................................................…...5. Symptoms………………………………………………………………………………….…6. Diagnosis….…………………………………………………………………………………. 7. Treatment……………………………………………………………………………………..7. Epidemiology of Depression in Youth……………………………………………………….9. Contextualised issues pertaining to Depression in Adolescence……………………………10. The impact of Culture on Adolescent Depression…………………………………………...10. Abnormal behaviours associated with Adolescent Depression….…………………………..11. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………...11. References…………………………………………………………………………………...12. DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENTS 3. This research paper will address depression in adolescents. Depression is often labelled as ‘the sickness of our time’ due to its prolific nature. Some of the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of depression in adolescents as well as the contextualised issues, cultural implications and other abnormal behaviour associated with the disorder will be discussed. DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENTS 4. Background of Depression in Adolescence Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood, a stage of major growth and development in which significant physiological, cognitive, psychological...

Words: 3461 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Native American Culture

...An American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) needs assessment survey conveyed that the path to wellness is comprised from physical, mental, and spiritual health, and any imbalances can be restored with traditional healing (Moghaddam, Momper, & Fong, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to describe how culture, traditions, and beliefs impact the AI/AN population, describe how awareness of complementary and alternative practices in the AI/AN population can improve health care, and explain the benefits of addressing cultural and linguistic competence and practices to address the health care needs of the AI/AN population. Peer reviewed articles were searched using Summon and CINAHL databases, limiting the search to within five years and using...

Words: 1341 - Pages: 6