Why Do Teen Abuse Drugs?

1088 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Role of family in preventing drug addiction

Drugs in the United States: why do teens abuse drugs? Over 23 million people who are 12 years of age and older need special care for an unlawful drug addiction, according to the 2009 Mental Health Services Administration’s survey on drug addiction. Only 2.6 million of the people who need treatment received it through a special facility (“DrugFacts: Treatment Statistics”). Drugs can have many negative effects on teens. There is a long list of reasons teens turn to drugs such as: popular media, rebellion, escape and self- medication, and peer pressure. The most popular reason teens abuse drugs is escape and self- medication. When teens are having a hard time with life, they want to find a way to cope with it, or escape, so they abuse …show more content…

Most teens have a fear of not being good enough, so if a buddy of theirs asks them to do something, even if it 's drugs, they do it in fear of not being good enough to for people. Bullying is also a big problem teens face, if a teen says no to drugs someone offers they may get bullied for a long time, no teen want to deal with that in high school. Peer pressure may not always be friends or other teens, it could be a parent or a friends parent. Parents play a big role in teens life and if they ask them to abuse drugs with them and say it is okay, the teen will most likely do it because no teen wants to disappoint their parents. Teens see drugs so much in their daily lives they start to think that it is okay. Drugs are becoming more readily available for teen to gain access to. When teens get close to someone they will do almost anything to keep that person in their life, even if doing drugs is what it take, because it is hard to find someone to bond with and build a friendship with. Rebellion is another reason teens abuse drugs. Teenagers will go to a high extent just to rebel their parents or authority. This extent is often drug abuse. When a parent makes rules or forbids something, it makes teens want to do it. Sometimes it may be a not very harmful drug like marijuana, or it may be something more serious like methamphetamines, meth, depending on the teen and how they are feeling and what has happened in their

Show More
Related

  • Prescription Drug Abuse Among Teens

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    While many teens abuse prescription drugs to feel a sense of euphoria and calmness, the short term and long term effects that come along with abusing the medication are not worth it. In the short term, commonly abused drugs such as narcotics

    Read More

  • Power Of Persuasion In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    People in this Era won’t go as far as killing, although few will. Instead they shame you until you follow what they follow, adults call it Peer Pressure. From drugs to alcohol we have seen what temptation and peer pressure has caused. Teenagers feel that doing drugs makes them unique, but how many teenagers don’t

    Read More

  • Addiction In Gabor Mate's 'Embraced By The Needle'

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone who has been peer pressured to do something knows that it is quite difficult to say no because you risk losing a friend or maybe you 're friends might not see you as “cool” anymore. An article about peer pressure and drugs states that when making a decision, teens think about both the risks and rewards of their actions and behaviours. The teen’s decision might be influenced by who is around and if they think others will be impressed (Teens.drugabuse.gov) Being peer pressured to do drugs is like being little and having your parents tell you to try a food you thought was disgusting, but once you try it you automatically fall in love with it, one may or may not like what they are pressured to do. Maté doesn 't mention anything about peer pressure but he does mention people who were forced to have undesirable actions towards them, including a 36 year old native who had dishwashing liquid poured down his throat at age 5 for using foul language, these are the unhappy moments that can cause people to try drugs with hopes of easing the pain. As I said before, drugs give the user a very pleasing and satisfying experience but most people unfortunately forget about the negative outcomes that can result from doing drugs. Peer pressure leads to experimentation

    Read More

  • Teenage Prescription Drug Abuse

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription painkillers to check out of reality. Pressures on teens are growing, to succeed in sports or to get high grades to get into a good college (Pressures on today’s teens, 2008, theantidrug). Furthermore, because prescriptions drugs are prescribed by doctors they are less likely to be seen as deleterious to teens’ health. A lack of awareness of the problem on the part of teens, parents and society in general, the over-medication of America, and the greater stresses and pressures put upon teens in the modern world have all conspired to create the growing problem of prescription drug abuse by teens.

    Read More

  • The Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    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”) .

    Read More

  • Drug Abuse Satire Essay

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, all kids have friends right ? Well most kids have that one friend or that group of friends that be trying to “ peer pressure” them into doing things such as drugs. Peer pressure is basically the pressure on you to do something that you don’t wanna do, but they are pressuring you into doing it. Anyways that’s a lot going on

    Read More

  • Substance Use in Adolescents

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every day the United States has seen a massive amount of substance use amongst the nation’s adolescent population. The National Institute for Drug Abuse (2012) defined substance abuse as “any illicit use of a substance as drug abuse; this includes the nonmedical use of prescription drugs” and substance addiction as “a chronic, relapsing disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences as well as neurochemical and molecular changes in the brain” (n.p.). Doweiko (2012) stated that when discussing substance use amongst teens, those terms are actually often used interchangeably. He went on to include the figures from the 2009 survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which detailed the rates of adolescent abuse and addiction. The agency reported 9.3% of teens surveyed are currently abusing some type of substance (SAMHSA, 2009 as cited in Doweiko, 2012). Breaking down the statistics further, Johnson, O’Mally, Bachman, and Schulenberg (2009) stated that a...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: The Dangers Of Prescription Drug Abuse

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens, students abuse prescription drugs for several reasons, but they are most commonly abused in an attempt to get high, reduce pain, or to assist them with their school work.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Teenage Drug Use

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    When teenagers are going through certain problems in their lives, they tend to turn to certain things to help keep their mind off whatever they are going through. “Teens drink or use drugs to check out family problems or issues with school/grades” (Look for signs and symptoms).... ... middle of paper ... ... Teenagers are teenagers, they’re going to experiment, that’s just how today’s society is, but you can help them be more aware of what they may choose to experiment with.

    Read More

  • Addiction in Adolescents

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Adolescences in particular can be easily influenced to abusing a drug or multiple drugs. I believe this happens because teens often lack education, live in an environment where drugs are readily available, are peer-pressured and the lack of proper growth of the frontal lobe. Many factors contribute to adolescences experimenting with drugs. As side from being a child, the adolescence stage is of great importance. Healthy habits and activities are supposed to be instilled within this stage of life. The adolescence stage can be very perplexing and what is made into a habit then is easily carried on into adulthood. Our genes act together with our environment to contribute to the addictive behaviors we are motivated to develop. If addiction is left untreated it can ultimately lead to de...

    Read More

  • Why Teenagers Rebel Against Their Parents Essay

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    They begin to be social and making new friends. After being around a certain friend for so long, they will do anything to remain friends will them. If they fail at a certain point, the teenagers start to imitate them. Then the teenagers will develop low self-esteem. That is where drugs, alcohol, tattoos and disrespect are put into effect. Amy Bobrow, of the Child Study Center at New York University School of Medicine stated in the Davis’s article, “Even fewer teens regularly use illegal substances -- less than 25% of those who try them -- which means the majority do not.” Teenagers without supervision can cause them to do plenty of horrible things such as coming in late at night, sneaking out, and illegal substance use.

    Read More

  • Teenagers and Drug Abuse

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Youth And Drugs Essay

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Each day drugs make a huge impact on our generation. Throughout this topic I would like to know what causes teenagers to try illegal drugs and how impacts their lives. Drugs can affect a person in different parts of their lives. For example their education, work, personal life, and can affect the relationship with their family and friends.

    Read More

  • Consequences: The Cause and Effect of Drug Use

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Illegal drugs are used by people as a way out when feeling down about themselves. As the effects of the drugs may stay the same throughout, causes show that there are a large number of reasons for use. Being lonely, isolated, and frustrated in life help start off the drive to escape. In many cases, using drugs is a coping mechanism, especially in teens. Emotions become numb as people try to escape the pain of reality. This is seen in the youth of today as they deal with everyday pressures.. Drug abuse can make people think they are re-creating their former negative self image. This rebellious action gives the attention that is desired. From trying to fit in to hiding from problems, people will always have a choice. In the end, the reality of drug use is damaging to the user's body, mind and relationships.

    Read More

  • Peer Pressure Among Teens

    362 Words  | 1 Pages

    Teens have more pressure to be cool, and to be accepted that's what makes them rebel of do what mom or dad had always told them not to do. They may know that it is wrong but it is all about looking cool for that second, or being safe and listen to your parents. Actually, when you are faced with a situation that you know is wrong you don't think about what your parents will think until you have already completed it and there is no turning back. Then there comes the punishment. That makes the teen rebel more and do more things to be "cool" and doesn't care.

    Read More

More about Why Do Teen Abuse Drugs?

Open Document