Each year, at an alarming rate, social developments affect people individually as well as families, groups, cities, or nations. Adolescents give in to substance abuse to acclimatize to the pressure emanating from social reforms. Ideally, the stage at which adolescents are supposed to concentrate on their studies and engage in other meaningful endeavors for the sake of their future success, they are indulging voluntarily or involuntarily in substance abuse. Apart from its harmful impact on teenagers’ physiological and psychological health, it is the concern of an entire nation to safeguard the welfare of its adolescents since they are strongly responsible for enhanced development and the future backbone of the country. The provision of a strong foundation and focused ideas while being mindful of the negative effects of drug abuse are crucial to substance use prevention endeavors in adolescence (Jackson, Janssen, & Gabrielli, 2018). Parents and school administrations should implement stringent measures of stopping or preventing substance abuse as the first step in safeguarding the future of the next generation.
Legal and Illegal Substances
Alcohol consumption appears to be the initial point of exposure to substance use and addiction amid adolescents, especially attributable to its being legal and readily accessible when compared to other drugs. Adolescents’ health facts establish that approximately 20% of high school learners consume alcohol before they attain the age of 13 years with about 40% of them having obtained beer through an adult close to them (Anyanwu, Ibekwe, & Ojinnaka, 2016). Over a long period, alcohol consumption may result in tolerance and decreased positive influences linked to its use, and this creates an increased level of drinking in a bid to attain pleasant effects. Irrespective of whether adolescents drink all through the day or in binges, the routine gradually becomes habitual for some teenagers and causes negative physical and psychological effects when the behavior can no longer be controlled. It is after this effect that most adolescents turn to drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and other narcotic drugs.
The abuse of both legal and illegal substances is becoming progressively problematic in adolescence. Substance use and abuse among teenagers is presently common with approximately one in every 20 high school seniors either smoking marijuana on every day or nearly day-to-day basis. Some of the aspects associated with the abuse of drugs encompass peer pressure and their perceived use by well-known role models (Jackson et al., 2018). Additionally, the newest factor for substance abuse among teenagers is the alleged enhancement of academic performance. An increasingly high number of learners are wrongly using prescription medications, for example, Ritalin and Adderall, to improve concentration and capacity to study while empowering them to do so for lengthy periods. Nevertheless, such legal and illegal drugs that adolescents are using have proven to be exceedingly addictive and may lead to psychological and biological dependence among other negative effects.
Effects of Substance Abuse in Adolescence
Substance abuse among teenagers has tremendous financial, social, and health implications. Several negative consequences linked to substance abuse in teens encompass injuries attributable to being under the influence of drugs, felonies, violence, vehicle accidents, psychiatric problems, unsafe sexual actions, and suicides. The most common substances that are abused by adolescents across the globe are alcohol, barbiturates, cigarettes, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin (Jackson et al., 2018). Other negative effects that drugs have on the physiological and psychological health of adolescents encompass ravenousness, excessive euphoria, schizophrenia, recurrent bad dreams, bronchitis, tachycardia, tingling, chronic cough, carcinomas, and increased obstruction of cognitive and psychomotor functions to mention a few.
Family members, especially parents, and partners have been identified as the most fundamental elements in the comprehension of substance abuse among adolescents. Parental influence is a remarkable pointer in adolescents’ abuse of alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs because of the observation of parents using such substances. In some cases, parents are so busy in their official and family duties that they fail to offer proper care and attention to their children, and this brings a wide gap in the relationship between parents and their children, which makes teenagers prone to susceptible society. Many adolescents engage in drug abuse conducts because of sentiments of inferiority. Some adolescents indulge in substance abuse as a means of strengthening their self-esteem. According to Henke et al. (2018), the rate of illegal substance abuse among adolescents in the US is about 13%. Regularly observing cigarette smoking on the television may raise the risk of teenagers engaging in similar habits threefold higher than how it would influence a more mature adult.
Substance abuse does more harm than good in the lives of adolescents. Although teenagers who abuse harmful drugs might choose to do so to tackle distressing psychological and emotional situations, the long-term impact is dreadful. In some adolescents, substance abuse has culminated in depression, poor or deteriorating health, broken families or friendships, anxiety, grief, sentiments of being isolated, and problems maintaining friends (Romer & Moreno, 2017). Over and above the stated effects of substance abuse, adolescents might also use illegal drugs attributable to the sense of belonging in groups perpetrating the vice. Sadly, substance abuse does not only have overwhelming effects on adolescents engaging in the habit but also on their friends and family members. In some occurrences, effects of drug abuse among teenagers encompass unwanted pregnancies, dropping out of school, lost opportunities for success in life, and legal issues such as long jail terms.
Risk Factors
Although adolescents from all walks of life abuse addictive and dangerous drugs, some are at a greater risk for dependence and harmful effects than others. Teenagers who contend with anxiety or depression have a higher likelihood of easily being lured into drug use than the ones without such psychological problems. Adolescents who are repeatedly changing schools or transitioning between different institutions might feel distressed and secluded. In such instances, they might resort to the use of drugs in an effort to keep off the emotions. In situations where teenagers or adolescents use drugs, the earlier that they start, the higher the possibility of beginning and upholding a drug abuse problem in later life. For instance, an adolescent aged 16 who experiments with prescription opioids may easily devela op tolerance that might result in dependency within one or two years (Jordan & Andersen, 2017). It is after the development of dependence that a teenager might realize a full-blown drug abuse problem by the age of 20 years. When a teenager finds as though opioid has lost their luster, they might transition to a powerful and fatal drug such as heroin. Adolescents who may be in chronic pain are at a high risk of developing substance abuse in such a manner. Chronic pain might result in teenagers taking prescription opioids for relief, and before they realize it, they are already addicted to the drug. Other risk factors encompass adolescents whose friends engage in drug abuse or teens whose parents and other close members of the family have a history of substance use.
Prevention
Adolescence marks a stage where students get into the social world and psychological or physiological changes happen. The family structure is a considerable aspect of drug use in teenagers, even following the control of other process variables and factors. One point of consideration is that the moment children enter the adolescent stage, they should be approached in a different way and not like older adults attributable to their understanding of life and mental degree. Regular teaching to families and peer groups, nursing crusades for awareness of the effects of drugs, community state workshops, application media channels such as radio, television, and social networking sites, and organization of diverse adolescent-related health plans should be considered. Furthermore, when providing medical care to teenagers in the community and hospital environments, health professionals should try to identify the possibility of drug use/abuse and the best intervention approach, even if it means sometimes involving counselors (Das, Salam, Arshad, Finkelstein, & Bhutta, 2016). Many adolescent programs should be developed in a manner that engages their parents since they have a critical role to play in drug abuse prevention endeavors. The negative impact of social media, poor parenting, and lack of attention to the needs of teenagers should be addressed so that they do not become triggers of substance abuse, which spoils adolescents, destroys their future success, and ruins the reputation of a nation worldwide.
The prevention of drug abuse among teenagers should begin at home where parents can regularly talk to them and make them aware of the negative effects of the practice. Talking to children about the consequences of drugs when they are young develops a strong basis for the avoidance of such habits. This enables parents to influence the behavior of their children positively while teaching them how to avoid peer pressure and maintain strong boundaries. Such preventive measures also generate more profound bonds and control involving teenagers and their parents (Jackson et al., 2018). Parents may develop reliability, in addition to effective guidance that can last for many years. Preventive talks have the possibility of ensuring that teenagers improve trust with their parents and make a sound judgment concerning their friends, influences, behavior, and interests.
Conclusion
Teenagers resort to drug abuse to acclimatize to the pressure emanating from social changes. Apart from its detrimental impact on teenagers’ physiological and psychological wellbeing, it is the concern of an entire country to defend the welfare of its adolescents since they are strongly accountable for enhanced development and the future backbone of the nation. Parents and school administrations should implement strict measures of stopping or averting drug abuse as the first step in safeguarding the future of the next cohort.
References
Anyanwu, O. U., Ibekwe, R. C., & Ojinnaka, N. C. (2016). The pattern of substance abuse among adolescent secondary school students in Abakaliki. Cogent Medicine, 3(1), 1-7.
Das, J. K., Salam, R. A., Arshad, A., Finkelstein, Y., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2016). Interventions for adolescent substance abuse: An overview of systematic reviews. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(4), S61-S75.
Henke, R. M., Tehrani, A. B., Ali, M. M., Mutter, R., Mazer-Amirshahi, M., O’Brien, P. L., & Mark, T. L. (2018). Opioid prescribing to adolescents in the United States from 2005 to 2016. Psychiatric Services, 69(9), 1040-1043.
Jackson, K. M., Janssen, T., & Gabrielli, J. (2018). Media/marketing influences on adolescent and young adult substance abuse. Current Addiction Reports, 5(2), 146-157.
Jordan, C. J., & Andersen, S. L. (2017). Sensitive periods of substance abuse: Early risk for the transition to dependence. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 25, 29-44.
Romer, D., & Moreno, M. (2017). Digital media and risks for adolescent substance abuse and problematic gambling. Pediatrics, 140(2), S102-S106.