...Abstract Drug abuse is a growing problem in the world today. Past studies have been conducted in efforts to recognize similar patterns in addicts’ lives that may have contributed to their behavior. The emerging results from this research suggested that it was due to several maltreatments occurring during the addicted individual’s adolescent years that were behind their early drug use. It is during the critical years of adolescence, when the brains of young adults are still developing, that the youth of today are most susceptible to a number of issues that can lead towards drug addiction, such as problems at home, abuse, and peer-pressure. Exploring these adversities will help shed some light on why adolescents make the decision to use drugs. This paper will address what influences drug use and how this knowledge can help treat addiction. Issues surrounding why addicts began drug use and how this information could be beneficial in treating substance abuse in the future will be explored. . Understanding Early Drug Use and Its Implications on Future Drug Abuse Treatment Addiction has been defined as a “misguided attempt at self-repair” (du Plessis, 2012 para. 53). But who is in danger of becoming addicted or may be feeling the need of some “self-repairing? During a 2013 testing of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS), a tool to assess certain personalities found often in substance abusers, it was found that adolescents were at high-risk for substance abuse (Castellanos-Ryan...
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...Analysis Paper 3: Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Belinda D. Hicks Liberty University Abstract This paper offers a perspective on adolescent alcohol and drug abuse by focusing on identifying common predictors of adolescent drug, and alcohol. Alcohol and other drug use among adolescents has been a public problem for decades. However, it seems that the problem is increasing more every year. Although, some adolescents make it through these years with, on balance, more positive experiences, but as the writer indicated more negative experiences of alcohol and drugs are on the rise. Substance abuse can lead to serious problems such as poor schoolwork, loss of friends, problems at home, and lasting legal problems. Alcohol and drug abuse is a leading cause of teen death or injury related to car crashes, suicides, violence, and drowning. Adolescences experience tragic consequences and others develop chronic problems of abuse and dependence. The broad developmental themes during adolescence and the transition to young adulthood, heavy drinking and drug use increases during the transition from junior high to high school and has to potential to extend to college. The majority of young people make it through. There will also be a discussion on how the family- peers and individual characteristics/variables are correlated with drug and alcohol abuse in adolescence. There will also be review connections between each system risk factor and...
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...They saw a direct correlation that anxiety during adulthood was strongly associated with adolescent anxiety. It was found that the patients that experienced adolescence anxiety had a greater chance of Alcohol use Disorder (AUD) and Substance use Disorder (SUD). Yet they did not find a correlation in adolescent anxiety and life satisfaction. They found no correlation between childhood anxiety and adulthood anxieties, Substance use disorder, or Alcohol use disorder. But they did find that adolescence anxiety did predict AUD, SUD, and anxiety in adulthood. They determined that the probable reason that childhood anxiety did not correlate with adulthood anxiety because the most common childhood anxiety stems from Separation anxiety disorder and that usually last for about 3 years; by adolescence all symptoms are usually gone. Patients whom experienced their first anxiety disorders during adolescence, compared to during childhood, were more adversely affected by their anxiety because of the additional biological changes at puberty (Hyde et al., 2008). One interesting finding was that there is a higher prevalence in adolescent girls than there was in adolescent...
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...Childhood and Adolescence Paper Christina Williams PSY/280 July 13, 2015 R. Adinah Johnson Childhood and Adolescence Paper “Child development does not mean developing your child into the person you think they should be, but helping them develop into the best person they are meant to be” (Sorenson, 2005). Statistics say that in the stages in middle adolescence 30% of the child’s social life and interactions there are a great stage of peer pressure. These results were compared to the 10% that is experienced during the early childhood. They show that they are competent by demonstrating their behaviors in these peer groups. During the elementary years in school, children have to prove to others that they understand and that they are capable of handling the different situations they find themselves in. They must keep a certain criteria in order to have friends. The main concern during these peer groups is to be accepted and most of these concerns are experienced during middle childhood. Researchers have been focusing in the friendship among the children. Friendship is one of the most important parts of the social group between early stages of childhood. Friends fill that special need we have inside and for a child’s development that is one of the most important parts. They fulfill the special needs and they help with communication, interaction, acceptance, companionship and social skills. Peer is more related to the social and popularity status and its acceptance...
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...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...
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...are a number of positive as well as negative consequences of important developmental choices during this time phase. In addition detailed depictions of the changes adolescence come into contact with in regards to peer relationships in middle childhood and as well as youth. The scrutinizing aspects of adolescent egocentrism also the pressures often faced in adolescence, such as peer pressure, substance use and abuse, dating, sexuality, and changes within family relationships. My split portion for bullet point three When analyzing the reality of the pressures often faced within the adolescence community. It has been found, peer interaction can determine a type of association to fit in a particular social group. Peer relationships endow with optimistic growth. As well as foster peer interaction (Blume, 2006). As youth indwell on having meaningful friendships because of their constant interaction it would lead to an important development in their life. Therefore peers later on in life have these important dealings with one another because it was maintained while they were an adolescent. Another difficulty that is equally exposed to adolescents is the pressure of substance abuse. The history of substance abuse in adolescents over time found that when children leave the nest and the security they always once were use too, they have are a target for a much higher risk in trying to fit in and experiment with addictive drugs, i.e. Illegal or non illegal drugs the chances...
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...are many things that can factor into these issues but among these, abuse and neglect are very large contributors. Many studies have been done on the effects child abuse can have. The first study I came across is a study of how violence can affect a child not only when they are young, but also in to adolescence. It is also said that many of the children who witness domestic violence have also experienced some form of child abuse. These events can effect a person's psychosocial outcome so tests were performed to determine to what extent the child was affected. The study was conducted on 457 children/adolescents. According to the Journal of Family Violence, children that were only exposed to domestic violence were more prone to low self esteem, withdrawal, depression and anxiety. Those who were exposed to violence as well as abuse had higher externalizing (acting out against others, including physical aggression, verbal bullying, relational aggression, defiance, theft, and vandalism) and internalizing behaviors( acting out against self, which includes eating too much or too little, feeling depressed, abusing substances and cutting). There were also tests done on children who were exposed to child abuse only, and children in a non-violence group as well as whether or not gender made a difference but the results are mixed and further research needs to be completed. Children exposed to violence and abuse had higher levels of externalizing behavior problems and internalizing...
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...Addiction in Adolescents Amar Khan Liberty University Abstract There are numerous reasons for addiction in adolescences. Numerous adolescents that battle to meet their own levels and society's measures as they attempt to shut out the difficulties of their high school years (Feldman, 2014, p. 349). These difficulties stretch out a long ways past dealing with an overflowing calendar. With bodies that are obviously changing, allurements of sex, alcohol, different medications, intellectual advances that make the world appear to be progressively unpredictable, social systems that are in consistent flux, and tilting feelings, adolescents end up in a time of life that orders excitement, uneasiness, happiness, and hopelessness, in some cases in equivalent measure (Feldman, 2014). Relationship between Abuse and Addiction Substance abuse and addition have an exceptionally slight distinction between them. Substance abuse signifies utilizing an illicit substance or utilizing a lawful substance as a part of the wrong way (Vranken, 2011). While addiction starts as abuse, or utilizing a substance, for example, marijuana or cocaine. You can abuse a medication or alcohol without having dependence. For example, just on the grounds that somebody smoked pot a couple times doesn't imply that they have a fixation, yet it does imply that they're misapplying a medication and that could prompt an addiction. Then again, for some adolescents, alcohol utilization turns into a tendency that can't...
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...Middle Childhood and Adolescent Development Paper Angelia R. Monds PSY/375 May 7, 2012 Kris Scott-Groves Middle Childhood and Adolescent Development Paper The pressures associated with adolescence can originate from different sources and people. The difficulties adolescences’ may encounter may vary; peer pressure, drug use, dating, sexuality, abuse, and family dynamics can change greatly in this stage of life. Peer pressure is an intense feeling; these feelings cause people to believe he or she must do the same thing as his or her peers to fit into a particular group (Eccles, 1999). The need to feel accepted in this stage is important and can cause individuals to engage in activities he or she would not normally participate in. Peer conformity can trigger behaviors or actions not acceptable with an individuals’ upbringing or values. When an adolescent chooses to conform to his or her peers problems can arise. Drug use can increase if adolescences’ are influenced by negative peer groups (Faircloth &Hamm, 2011). Substance abuse is an activity in which individuals’ use or abuse legal or illegal substances. Some adolescent’s are susceptible to drug use if they are influenced by bad peer groups or cannot cope with the pressures of adolescence. This can be avoided when adolescences choose peers who engage in positive activities, such as sports, academic programs, or have good relationships with their families. When young people age they experience biological changes...
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...Childhood trauma is significantly more dangerous than adult trauma because it occurs in a time where the brain is still developing. Therefore, changes can occur in the brain as a result of the trauma that makes using drugs more appealing as a method of escape. In the 1960s James Olds conducted a study in which he implanted electrodes in the hypothalamus into the brains of rats. The research showed that when the rats learned to push a button they were able to stimulate their hypothalamus, similar to the behavior of drug addicts (Olds, n.d.). While addiction can occur in any person, at any age, the link between early childhood trauma exposure, and substance abuse cannot be ignored. One study estimates that “nearly 35 million children in the...
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...Substance Abuse in Adolescents Jasmine Bobbitt Liberty University Substance Abuse and Addiction during Adolescence Adolescent drinking is one of the biggest social issues amongst teenagers in the United States today in the twenty-first century. More than three-fourths of college students drink on the regular basis; the issue is that they are not aware of the effects on the brain (Feldman, 2014). Adolescents start to drink for many reasons, mainly for acceptance (Feldman, 2014). Alcohol is in wine, beer, and hard liquors mixed with soft drinks. Being an adolescent is tremendously difficult in the twenty-first century. When adolescent are between the ages of thirteen and nineteen, they face great deal of peer pressure and obstacles (Anthony, 2014). When being a teenager all these problems arise along with the challenges of adulthood. One of the biggest challenges that teenagers face is peer pressure to drink alcohol (PhD, T., 1987). Peer pressure can be a positive influence to help or motivate people to do their best, but it can also be a bad influence when it comes to doing stuff that may be wrong. Peer pressure usually influence adolescents to do something that they would not be able to do. Teenagers often follow other teenagers for a sense of belonging to a certain clique (Feldman, 2014). All adolescents want to be accepted by a particular group or by their peers. Alcohol and adolescent peer pressure does increase with age as teenagers tussle with trying to find a sense of...
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...Impact and Relationship of Substance Abuse and Child Maltreatment: Risk and Resiliency Factors What Research Tells Us Martha Morrison Dore, Ph.D. Columbia University School of Social Work 622 West 113th Street New York, New York 10027 212/854-5461 Paper prepared for presentation at the conference entitled “Protecting Children in Substance Abusing Families,” September 28, 1998, sponsored by the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, University of Minnesota School of Social Work, Minneapolis, MN. Researchers are just beginning to demonstrate empirically what child protective services workers have been observing for nearly two decades now: many, if not most, families who come to the attention of the child welfare system are involved with drugs or alcohol or both. Founded cases of child abuse and neglect have risen exponentially since the mid-1980s, when the crack form of cocaine, a cheap, easily used form of the drug, became widely available. Studies conducted since that time have identified substance abuse as a contributing factor in 40% to 80% of substantiated cases of child maltreatment (Curtis & McCullough, 1993; Magura & Laudet, 1996; Murphy, Jellinek, Quinn, Smith, Poitrast, & Goshko, 1991). Further, studies of substance abusing parents have found child-rearing beliefs and attitudes that heighten risk for child abuse (Williams-Peterson et al., 1994), as well as elevated rates of first-time reports to child protective services (Jaudes & Ekwo, 1995), re-reports...
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...Christian Charria December 15, 2014 Psy of Personality Child Abuse Child abuse is the physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, or neglect of a child by a caregiver responsible for the child’s welfare (Fryer 80). Although it is easy to see the harms child abuse causes to a child physically, many fail to realize the social and emotional damages that are triggered in early childhood development and continued throughout adolescence and adulthood. Victims of child abuse mature into troubled adults with lasting emotional and psychological problems, along with a sense of rejection and frustration which is passed on to future generations. Child abuse victims need to be treated to prevent not only the possible permanent physical or psychological scarring, but to also break the violence breeding generation cycle (Fontana 9). Children have been beaten, violated, and murdered, and sadly these cases have been increasing during past decades (Fontana 3). This maltreatment occurs among all types of families and is not limited to any particular racial, religious, economic, intellectual, or social group (Fryer 15). There are various forms of child abuse; though the four most prevalent types include physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, and neglect, all of which place very damaging effects upon its victims (Fryer 14). Over the past several decades, however, major concern has shifted from the physical damages of child abuse to the permanent psychological damages that affect the...
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...TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Definition of adolescence and adolescent depression 2 2. Adolescent depressive symptoms 4 3. Problems with diagnosis of depression in adolescents 4 4. Gender factors that may play a role in assessing depression 6 5. Contextual factors that may play a role in assessing depression 8 6. Suicide 9 ‘Like anyone else, I have always had times when I felt deeply depressed, but this was something altogether new in my experience – a despairing, unchanging paralysis of the spirit beyond anything I had ever known or imagined could exist.’ The author William Styron (1990). (Kring, Johnson, Davison & Neale 2012:132) 1. Definition of adolescence and adolescent depression Adolescence is the period of development marked at the beginning by the onset of puberty and at the end by the attainment of physiological or psychological maturity (Reber, Allen & Reber 2009). It is a period of transition from childhood into adulthood, involving changes in physical development, cognitive abilities, emotional adjustment and self esteem. Adolescence is a time of acute stress. It is a period of social sorting and identity formation. Erikson described development that occurs throughout the lifespan in his theory of psychosocial development. During the adolescent period, which Erikson called ‘Identity vs Role confusion’, adolescents need to develop a sense of self and personal identity...
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...The Effects of Addiction on Adolescent Development Adolescence is a time where there is growth and maturity. It is also a time where adolescents are more prone to take risks, such as using and abusing drugs. 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 face an enormous amount of pressure to participate in risky behaviors from 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...
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