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Addiction affects adolescence development
Addiction to drugs and alcohol by teenagers
Drug abuse and its effects
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The conversation concerning development continues with addiction in adolescence. Childhood is characterized as an individual between 4 to 11 years of age. The developmental period that is defined in this essay as adolescence is between the ages of 12 to 18. This age bracket is associated with major developmental milestones including cognitive and physical advances. ((Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. 2015) Physical changes that this age group experiences include body shape, mood swings, and social issues. This is also a period of their development where social identity is forming as the child begins to break away from the parental control and explore their world and construct their own belief system. Often children begin to change social …show more content…
(Principles of Adolescent Substance, 2015) Multiple exposures to abusive patterns can lead an individual desiring an escape from their current state of discomfort to an alternate reality free of pain. Addiction is a continued pattern of negative behavior such as gambling or drug abuse. This process begins with experimentation and after continued exposure transitions to addiction. It can occur from an initial experience, but most often develops over a period time. Addiction tends to run in families, but scientists are finding that there is no simple 'addictive personality'. Instead, factors that include genes, character traits and early life experiences combine to make the inheritance of addiction a complicated problem. Owens (2015). The dangers of addiction during this period of life is tremendous. Drugs can have long-lasting effects on the developing brain and may interfere with family, positive peer relationships, and school performance. (Principles of Adolescent Substance, 2015) During the process of addiction the release of dopamine and synaptic response to the foreign stimuli can cause the body to crave and believe that this substance is needed for normal body functioning. Drugs of abuse have a multitude of molecular targets in the nervous system, with ethanol being the most promiscuous. These targets include receptors for neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, as well as various channels and transporters. (Everett, 2013) The effects of a drug addiction can alter a person socially, emotionally, and even on the molecular level. Should a young person engage in such behavior inpatient/outpatient treatment and counseling is strongly recommended before permanent damage or even worst death
Gabor Mate 's essay “Embraced by the Needle” addresses important issues on the negative effects that childhood experiences have on the development of addictions, and the long term effects that drugs play throughout an addict 's life. The author states that addictions originate from unhappiness and pain that is often inflicted upon addicts at early age such as infancy. In Mate essay, he uses many patients past childhood experiences to help create a picture of the trauma that an addict faced as child and the link it plays with who they are today. Mate builds an impressive argument based on the way he organizes his ideas on what addiction is, and how it corresponds to a person 's childhood experience. The author does this effectively
Pagliaro, L. & Pagliaro, A. (2012). Handbook of Child and Adolescent drug and substance abuse: Pharmacological, Developmental, and Clinical Considerations. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons, Inc.
The multi-causal model of drug abuse takes into account social and individual causes of addiction, both distant and immediate, that lead to a disposition to using drugs, drug use and the social and individual consequences. Why a person becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol is different for everyone. Some are genetically predisposed, some learn it from their environment (i.e. family or friends), and still others use it to avoid a trauma they have experienced. The case history describes a client that had both social and individual causes for her alcohol use and subsequent dependence.
There are many contributing factors and political issues that address substance abuse. Throughout the years, many researchers have designed many interventions and social policies designed to treat people who have used, abused, and became addicted to substances. Today, there are many new studies that address substance abuse at the individual, group, family, and community or policy levels. Today, there are many services that are effective for decreasing recidivism in youth who have completed a substance abuse program. A substance abuse treatment program or center is the best way to treat individuals who have abused substances.
The most commonly abused substances are Nicotine, Inhalants, Alcohol, Cocaine, Amphetamines, Prescription medications, Heroin, Ecstasy and Marijuana. 1a(National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2011) Initially, a person may find themselves using substances voluntarily and with confidence that they will be able to dictate their personal use. However, over the period of time that drug use is repeated, changes are taking place throughout the brain, whether it is functionally or structurally. Drugs contain chemicals that enter the communication system of the brain and disturb the way in which nerve cells would typically send, receive, and process information. The chemicals within these drugs will cause a disruption to the communication system by either imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers or by over-stimulating the brains “reward system” by sending mass amounts of dopamine. As an individual prolongs his or her use of these substances, they may develop an addiction.
Wetherill, R., & Tapert, S. F. (2013). Adolescent brain development, substance use, and psychotherapeutic change. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(2), 393-402. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0029111
Drugs cause an overall disturbance in a subjects’ physiological, psychological and emotional health. “At the individual level, drug abuse creates health hazards for the user, affecting the educational and general development of youths in particular” (“Fresh Challenge”). In youth specifically, drug abuse can be triggered by factors such as: a parent’s abusive behavior, poor social skills, family history of alcoholism or substance abuse, the divorce of parents or guardians, poverty, the death of a loved one, or even because they are being bullied at school (“Drugs, brains, and behavior”) .
All decisions have consequences, either positive or negative and reflect on the person’s quality of choices. Negative decisions lead to negative consequences and all positive decisions lead to better improvement of a person’s life, especially young adults in high school. Drugs abuse and alcohol abuse are destroying the men and women parents are molding for the future.
The National Center of Addiction and Substance has labeled adolescent substance use “American’s #1 public health problem.” (Straussner, 2014). According to Straussner (2014), nearly all adults who meet the medical criteria for substance use disorder (SUD) started experimenting with alcohol and other drugs at some point in their teenage years. Adolescent substance use is an issue because adolescent brains are not fully developed, making teens much more vulnerable to developing an addiction than adults. Adolescent substance abuse could be explained by social learning theory, which explains how the environment influences one’s behavior. This behavior could be learned at home, from their peers, or within the community the adolescent lives. The social learning theory will show how what an adolescent is exposed to becomes their social norm and can determine whether or not he or she
In the United States today, drug use, substance abuse, and addiction are consistently growing dilemmas! At a young age we are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Answers vary from doctor, police officer, astronaut, etc.; it is hard to image an individual saying, “I want to be addicted to drugs.” However, society witness’s individuals tumbling into drug addiction or other forms of addiction daily. This, in consequence, can cripple and prevent any person from accomplishing their childhood dreams.
...olescences to abuse drugs depending on the influencing stimuli. We must educate the adolescences on respectable behavior and consequences to drug seeking behaviors and addiction.
are often at a loss. For this age group (roughly ages 13 to 23), traditional
However, in my opinion, adolescence is where addiction can grab a hold of one’s existence and run. High school and the first few years of college is when we see the majority of those who do drugs and socially drink increase their amounts of recreation. Whether it is to impress their friends, or prove to themselves they can control their actions, addiction is sneaking up on the individuals slowly yet surely. During adolescence, peer pressure is a huge issue; the struggle to be “the cool kid” at school or to impress that girl or guy who you have your eye on is all to real when it comes to doing the “cutting-edge” thing. What kids in adolescence refuse to recognize is, though the temporary buzz or high that comes with drinking and smoking might be worth the hangover or the morning after, this behavior is all to risky for more than just their future. I personally, have chosen not to partake in drinking or recreational drugs because I second handedly have experienced this through my family. Their addiction not only corrupted their life as individuals, but it took their father away from their children, their spouse away from their wife, and their mother’s sons away from her. I feel as though if their environment in adolescence was more supportive and attentive that their addiction would not have grown to where it has them
It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.
Oftentimes, there are underlying mental health issues that are undiagnosed or existing conditions that are medicated, which can invariably lead to an increase in adolescent alcohol and substance use disorders. There are a myriad of cultural and societal risk factors that contribute to adolescent alcohol and drug use. A risk factor is defined as “any attribute, characteristic or exposure of an individual that increases the likelihood of developing a disease or injury”. These risk factors can be identified through family history of substance use disorder, sense of inferiority, pleasure seeking, low self-esteem, unemployment, poor social support, desire to experiment and poor social support (Thomas, N. L., Naregal, P. M., Mohite, V. R., Tata, S. H., Karale, R. B., & Kakade, S. V. (2015). The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Second Risk of drug abuse increases greatly during times of transition, such as changing schools, moving, or divorce.