How Opioid Addiction Impact Young Kids

Topic: Addiction Words: 1834 Pages: 6

Research Question

How does opioid addiction affect young kids today?

In the United States, unintentional deaths are common, and they are caused by drug abuse, and opioids play a major role in these deaths. Young and old people in the communities are affected by opioid addiction. Young adults are overdosing on opioids, and the number of deaths has increased significantly during the COVID-19. Preventing and treating opioid use disorder is the responsibility of every person in the country. Teenagers have indulged in drug abuse due to peer pressure and it is creating a social problem in society. Families should be allowed to access the care they require, such as help with drug addiction. An annotated bibliography helps identify reputable sources which can be used to understand how opioid addiction affects young kids.

Bergman, P., Dudovitz, R. N., Dosanjh, K. K., & Wong, M. D. (2019). Engaging parents to prevent adolescent substance use: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Public Health, 109(10), 1455-1461.

Annotation

Bergman et al. (2019) conducted a study on the topic “Engaging Parents to Prevent Adolescent Substance Use: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” This is a peer-reviewed source that has been published in the American Journal of public health. The topic addressed by the authors relates to the issue of public health concern (Bergman et al., 2019). The researchers aimed at determining if providing parents with information about their children’s behavior in school and academic performance can play a considerable role in lowering the rates of substance use. Guardians can use the information to encourage and protect their children from being associated with drug use groups (Bergman et al., 2019). The study used a randomized controlled trial in California and Los Angeles.

About 318 people participated in the study, and they comprised parents and seventh-grade pupils. The authors claim the use of opioids has increased significantly, and there is a need to develop prevention programs that concentrate on adolescents (Bergman et al., 2019). Such initiatives will help to prevent substance use among children and they will grow to be responsible people in society. The programs used in the past focused on helping young adults cope with peer pressure and enhancing knowledge about the dangers of substance use (Bergman et al., 2019). Presently, there is an urgent need to develop a less expensive, more effective, and more reliable prevention program. Substances use has a negative impact on youths’ health, but parental monitoring and engagement help lower the rates of substance abuse among adolescents.

Information provided by the authors supports their thesis because it identified interventions that can reduce substance abuse among young adults. The researchers performed a randomized trial in four public schools located in California and Los Angeles (Bergman et al., 2019). The findings proved that providing parents with information about their children can help curb substance use. Parents will play an important role in preventing drug use among students in society because they are in close contact with their children (Bergman et al., 2019). The involvement of guardians in the prevention program is a good idea because children require constant monitoring (Bergman et al., 2019). The information is current because it is one year old, and researchers are encouraged to use five years old sources.

The source is also a peer-reviewed article making it reliable and the findings can be applied in others studies. Others can reference the information presented in the journal because the researchers have the credentials and knowledge required to write on the topic. The source is credible and authoritative because of the known scholars who have been publishing journals (Bergman et al., 2019). The authors have advanced degrees, and they also affiliate with the hospital, university, and knowledge-based organizations. The content of the journal is research-based to create new knowledge. The structure of the paper also indicates that it is scientific research making it a reliable source (Bergman et al., 2019). In the study, there are some limitations that may make the findings unreliable.

For example, the sample size employed is small, and the findings cannot be applied as a generalization for other populations or school settings (Bergman et al., 2019). When the sample used is relatively small then the findings cannot be adopted in other settings. The researchers did not show if there is parental monitoring outside school performance. When parents or guidance monitor students, they are likely to prevent them from engaging in other behaviors such as substance use.

Davis, J. P., Prindle, J. J., Eddie, D., Pedersen, E. R., Dumas, T. M., & Christie, N. C. (2019). Addressing the opioid epidemic with behavioral interventions for adolescents and young adults: A quasi-experimental design. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(10), 941.

Annotation

The article of Davis et al. (2019) is about “Addressing the Opioid Epidemic with Behavioral Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults: A Quasi-Experiment Design.” The article is peer-reviewed and the findings are reliable. The authors have reputable credentials to write about the topic, and this makes the findings trustworthy (Davis et al., 2019). The article’s main assertion is to address the opioid epidemic with behavioral interventions for adolescents and young adults. The writers claim there are many behavioral programs that have shown efficacy in opioid use cure. There is limited information about treatment, which works best for the youths (Davis et al., 2019). The researchers also aimed at investigating whether treatment responses are influenced by developmental age or sex.

The study explored inactivity to the first episode of opioid use among young adults and adolescents following opioid use disorder treatment initiation with motivation enhancement therapy, adolescent community cognitive approach, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. The sources adequately support the thesis by investigating different strategies which can be adopted in opioid treatment. The authors established that in the United States, many people are misusing non-pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical opioids (Davis et al., 2019). Some of the behavioral treatments used demonstrated effectiveness for opioid use disorder among adults.

Conversely, little is known about opioid use disorder treatment among young adults and adolescents. Researchers have not shown how sub-population of youths might respond differently to treatments (Davis et al., 2019). The information is current because the source is one-year-old. In the study, sources that are five years old are considered recent and reliable (Davis et al., 2019). The source is reliable to the research question because the authors have the credentials to write on the topic. The information contained in the article will help in building the topic about the effects of opioid use among children.

Additionally, the authors have the authority because their article has been published within a reputable journal. One of the limitations of the article is that the data used is self-reported. Some studies have proposed that self-report data are comparable to biological data, and the findings can be replicated in other studies using bioassay confirmation (Davis et al., 2019). The sources will help in answering the research question because the authors claim that some people are misusing opioids, resulting in addiction.

Jessell, L., Mateu-Gelabert, P., Guarino, H., Vakharia, S. P., Syckes, C., Goodbody, E.,… & Friedman, S. (2017). Sexual violence in the context of drug use among young adult opioid users in New York City. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 32(19), 2929-2954.

Annotation

Jessell et al. (2017) performed a study on the topic “Sexual Violence in the Context of Drug Use among Young Adult Opioid Users in New York City.” The method used by the authors is called mixed-method which helped investigate sexual and drug use. In New York City, young people are engaging in substance abuse. The article is peer-reviewed and it contains researched-based evidence about the topic (Jessell et al., 2017). The study’s thesis focuses on sexual violence and drug abuse among adolescents which have affected their lives negatively. The drug creates a number of social problems in the community such as theft, unwanted pregnancy, street families and violence.

Increased risk of sexual violence can be attributed to drug and alcohol use. Alternatively, there is limited research on sexual violence and young adult opioid users (Jessell et al., 2017). An opioid is utilized among youths for nonmedical purposes, and this has become a serious concern in the sector of health in the United States. Studies have shown that prescription opioid has become the second-highest misused drug after marijuana. Young adults are using opioids within their social settings due to peer pressure. Such groups are places where young children learn how to start using drugs and they develop an addiction.

The main reason for using these drugs includes enhancing the sexual experience, lowering anxiety, facilitating social interaction, and increasing the effects of other drugs (Jessell et al., 2017). When the drug is consumed in large quantities or used alongside other drugs, it leads to impaired judgments, drowsiness, loss of consciousness, incapacitation, and overdose. The sources adequately support the article by employing a mixed-method which has helped the authors to examine drug use and sexual behavior among adolescent opioid users. The study has contributed significantly to sexual violence within the drug-using context by concentrating on young adults who are taking opioids (Jessell et al., 2017). The method used has helped investigate the role of drug enhancing sexual violence among young adults using opioids.

The study also examined contextual and social factors which are likely to contribute to sexual violence among the youths. The information is current because the article was published in the city journal of interpersonal violence in 2017 (Jessell et al., 2017). Many researchers are encouraged to use five years old papers, and the paper is only three years old. Therefore, the authors’ information is current, and it will help in building on the research question. The article is credible and authoritative to the topic being investigated because it clearly shows how opioid addiction affects children (Jessell et al., 2017). For example, young adults who use the drug resort to sexual violence, self-blame, depending on partners for drug supply, and low social status for females who are suing the drug. The study’s limitation is that the qualitative findings cannot be applied to all young adults using opioids.

Conclusion

Opioid use has an adverse impact on the health of kids because they get involved in sexual violence. When they indulge in sexual activities, they are in great danger of contracting HIV or sexually transmitted diseases. Through drugs, they fail to become responsible people in society and this results in social problems. The sources identified are reliable because they contain current information about the topic. The main reason for using these drugs includes enhancing the sexual experience, lowering anxiety, facilitating social interaction, and increasing the effects of other drugs. The authors have reputable credentials, and they are affiliated with the university, hospital, or knowledge-based organization. Young adults are using opioids due to peer pressure when they are in a social gathering. Those who are addicted to the drug stop going to school and live miserable lives. Therefore, the government, parents, and various stakeholders should collaborate to prevent drug abuse among young adults.

References