Teen Substance Abuse

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Recommended: Addiction affects adolescence development

Entry #1:

Part 1:

Survey reveals shocking levels of teen drinking, drug abuse

Michelle Castillo April 3, 2012

Studies have shown that most teenagers in America have drunk alcohol and abused illegal substances by the time they are in their late teen years. The General Psychiatry published a sample of 10,123 adolescents between the ages of 13 to 18, the teens were asked about their experiences with drugs and alcohol. In the surveys, Michelle Castillo reports “78 percent of U.S. teens had drank alcohol, and 47 percent of the group said they'd consumed 12 or more drinks in the past year. When it came to drug use, 81 percent of teens said they had the opportunity to use illicit substances, with 42.5 percent actually tried them”. According to that information, 15 percent of them met the standards for lifetime alcohol abuse and 16 percent could be considered drug abusers.

Part 2:

Early Puberty Tied to Higher Odds of Substance Use in Teens

HealthDay October 9, 2012

When teens go through puberty at an earlier age then usual there is a more likely chance they will experiment with alcohol or drugs. Kids aged 11 to 17 were surveyed and asked about their substance use in the past 3 months and also determined when they began puberty. In the article Cance said, "While puberty is often thought of as a solely biological process, our research has shown that pubertal development is a combination of biological, psychological and social processes that all likely interact to influence risk-taking behavior like substance use." Even though they found that puberty did affect substance use, they did not find the cause.

Part 3:

Identify the differences between the two media’s portrayal of the same event.

In the two different ar...

... middle of paper ...

...nt?

People did not overreact to the event; teen drug abuse is not something that should be taken lightly. It is very dangerous and very serious. Nothing will ever solve the problem completely as long as drugs and alcohol do exist but people should never stop making an effort to fix it.

Work cited:

Castillo, Michelle. "Survey Reveals Shocking Levels of Teen Drinking, Drug Abuse." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 3 Apr. 2012. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.

"Puberty Tied to Higher Odds of Substance Use in Teens." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.

"New Substance Abuse Treatment Resources Focus on Teens." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2014

Reavy, Pat. "As Marijuana Laws Change, More Teens Think Drugs Are Safe." DeseretNews.com. Deseret News, 8 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.

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