Delinquent and irresponsible behaviors such as substance abuse, violence, and unsafe safe practices produce serious social and health implications that contribute to declining performance in school, underachievement in life, and moral decay in society. Unfortunately, many teenagers underestimate the harmful and long-term impacts of experimenting with cocaine, LSD, codeine, marijuana, alcohol, and amphetamine. For instance, adolescents intoxicated or addicted to such drugs develop violent tendencies, mental health issues, and risky behaviors that adversely affect their family relationships and interactions with other community members. Therefore, understanding the reasons for the increasing cases of substance abuse cases among adolescents is an essential requirement in identifying the most effective strategies to address the problem and protect young people from harm. The leading factors contributing to adolescents’ substance abuse include negative media influences that normalize drugs, peer pressure and experimentation, and dysfunctional family relationships.
One of the media’s central roles in society is portraying perceptions and interactions in social environments that redefine the accepted behavioral standards in various communities. Traditional media and social media undoubtedly serve as important sources of entertainment, information, and education to many people who may have inadequate time and opportunities to interact with others in society (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2018). However, the declining journalism standards, consumerism, ineffective oversight of social media platforms, and the focus on profit-making have contributed to teenagers’ indoctrination and disinformation about drugs. Key stakeholders in adolescents’ social development, including parents, teachers, and sociologists, decry the negative influences of music videos and movies that normalize substance abuse and present drugs as necessary status symbols. For example, almost all the secular music videos and most films depict individuals gaining or demonstrating social power from using alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, marijuana, and other hard drugs. Unfortunately, such portrayals mislead teenagers into believing that abusing drugs is acceptable and a necessary part of their transition into powerful or influential people in the future.
Peer pressure and prevalent risk-taking attitudes among teenagers increase their vulnerabilities to developing social insecurities and engaging in delinquent behaviors such as substance abuse. Adolescence is undeniably a critical formative stage in human development because the quality and nature of interpersonal relationships that young people between twelve and nineteen years build become integral components of their future personalities. Furthermore, the period is marked with less interaction between teenagers and their parents as they spend more time in school or community settings with their peers. However, adolescents’ perceived freedom raises serious concerns about their health, emotional, and social well-being due to the risks of negative influences from other teenagers. Frequently, many individuals start abusing drugs in their adolescence to conform to their peers’ behaviors and avoid insecurities such as social isolation, low-self esteem, and bullying by other teenagers who already abuse drugs. Kail and Cavanaugh (2018) use Kohlberg’s theory on moral reasoning to suggest that nonconforming adolescents face rejection and ostracization from their peers to protect their groups’ functioning or identities. Without proper guidance and counseling support from parents and teachers, many teenagers become inclined to experiment with dangerous drugs and immediately become addicted.
Family environments and the interactions that children have with their parents or older relatives are important because they serve as foundations for social development during later stages in life. Most importantly, many preteens consider their parents or older siblings their first role models and unquestioningly emulate the adults’ behaviors, both good and bad. Children in dysfunctional families characterized by constant fighting between the parents, drug abuse by one or both parents, or criminal tendencies experience many social and developmental challenges. McCoy et al. (2020) assert in their study that individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences have heightened risks of abusing drugs in their adolescence as a coping mechanism against the stress and psychological trauma. Moreover, impaired family settings significantly influence adolescents’ susceptibility to substance abuse through the teenagers’ early exposure to drugs, poor guidance, and inadequate monitoring of adolescents’ social interactions. Additionally, parents who abuse drugs are likely to prevent their teenagers from accessing social support institutions for rehabilitation and hiding them from law enforcement agencies. In contrast, children growing in functional families avoid drugs because of the proper guidance that they receive from their parents.
In conclusion, the increasing prevalence of substance abuse among teenagers is a serious social problem because it contributes to risk-taking behaviors, criminal tendencies, mental health problems, and suicide ideation within the demographic group. Negative media depictions that normalize drugs, peer pressure and experimentation, and poor family relationships are among the leading factors that encourage adolescents to engage in substance abuse. The declining professionalism standards in traditional media and ineffective oversight of social media increase the teenagers’ exposure to misleading information about addictive substances such as cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine. Adolescents are also likely to abuse drugs due to heightened curiosity, peer pressure, and fear of rejection in school or community settings. Poor guidance, substance abuse, socioeconomic challenges, and adverse childhood experiences among adolescents in dysfunctional families also predispose them to drug abuse and vulnerability to peer pressure.
References
Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2018). Human development: A life-span view (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
McCoy, K., Tibbs, J. J., DeKraai, M., & Hansen, D. J. (2020). Household dysfunction and adolescent substance use: Moderating effects of family, community, and school support. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 29(1), 68-79.