Problems of Adolescents Suffering from Substance Abuse - Essay Example

Needs of and problems related to adolescents with substance abuse problems Needs of and problems related to adolescents with substance abuse problems There has been extensive research on the substance abuse, such as alcohol and drugs, among the adolescent population segment. There is a number of generic factors that the substance abuse is blamed on and numerous after effects and problems related to the substance abuse that adolescents have to combat in the aftermath of this abuse. According to Deykin et al. (1987), most of the substances used for the abuse in question are depressants, thus due to continued abuse they lead the adolescent into a dark, depressive state from which it is very hard to emerge back into a happy healthy lifestyle. It has also been stated that adolescents and children who had been depressed to begin with were far more likely to indulge in substance abuse as a result. The linkage of depressive disorder and substance abuse in adolescent females was six times higher than it was in the male sample used for this study. It was also found that the patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) were more likely to fall prey to alcohol abuse after the onset of the disorder. However, it may not always be the case with respect to the chronology of the occurrence. This study summarizes that there is also a linkage between adolescents who have abused the usage of alcohol with those that abuse other substances and often the abuse may be carried out in adjunct of one another. Problem symptoms couple substance abuse with depressive symptoms and place these high risk individuals in a category in immediate need of mental health care. Sometimes, often when untreated, these individuals may carry the scars of their adolescence well into their adulthood. Disney et al. (1999) talks about how substance abuse and mental disorders can mix to form a dangerous cocktail in the impressionable mind of an adolescent. Specifically, it talks about how Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is linked to substance abuse in adolescents. This study found that if an adolescent did not have conduct disorder, but had ADHD, there would be no connection between the existing conditions and the probability that that adolescent would pick up substance abuse in the future. Conduct disorder however, was a strong determinant of substance abuse later on in the life of the adolescent, affecting 10 out of 11 in the studied sample. Adolescents who surrendered to substance abuse mostly displayed anti-social and/or aggressive behavior in their childhood, the probability being much higher in males than females. The longer these children displayed these signs as they grew up, the more likely they were to develop a substance abuse problem later on in the future. In the same vein, a study by Vega et al. (1993) talks about the same factors and determinants when applied to the scenario made of multi ethnic groups to see how these factors come into play as the ethnicity of the adolescents in question changes from the white American to other, colored ethnicities. According to theory, adolescents in different races and from different ethnic backgrounds are exposed to different levels of risk and danger in their lifetimes, depending on what country they’re from and what circumstances they have been exposed to on a routine. This study also relates that drinking alcohol with the intent to abuse was mostly seen in conjunction with signs of depression and low self confidence and low self esteem in the concerned youth. Children whose parents indulged in some kind of substance abuse; smoking, drinking etc would find that they had a higher chance of being hooked into substance abuse. Depressed individuals were also reported to have thought about, wanted to or having attempted suicide to put an end to their all engulfing depression. It also led to disorders of anxiety, sexual behavior and academic problems among these adolescents who would display them at that point in time, or later on in the future, either on their adolescence or adulthood. Another important factor, according to Liddle at al. (2001) was the role these young children’s families played in their lives, often a strong enough role to sway them towards or away from substance abuse. This study suggested different types of treatment that these adolescent and young children required as treatment for their substance abuse. This study looked at how effective multifamily and group therapies were for adolescents who had been involved in substance abuse. Problem behaviors for concerned individuals included a poor ability to control anger, mood swings, being sexually inappropriate, being unable to relate to other people and maintain connections with them. Another problem area for adolescents in this category was dismal academic grades, often straddling the line beyond which they would have failed. This study summarized that family therapy was by far the most effective way to treat children and adolescents who were involved in substance abuse as compared to other methods of treatment, with 42% of the afflicted showing significant improvement due to family therapy in terms of lessening of drug use. Williams et al. (2000) suggests that, although studies completed on the topic of treatment of adolescents regarding substance abuse are weak and often inconclusive, there are some conclusions that can be drawn from them most effectively. Studies show that after treatment there is a 32% chance that the individual will stay away from previous habits of substance abuse. With respect to the effectiveness of treatment methods, the study showed that evidence is inconclusive; however, family therapy seems to be the most effective with determinants of effectiveness being completion of prescribed treatment, social support, levels of abuse before treatment started, and other similar factors. In light of the research presented, we can see that there are a number of problems that the adolescent youth of today faces that lead it towards the drug abuse and worsens their life in the aftermath. It is also very important what kind of assistance this population group needs for treatment, and which course of action would be the most effective for them if taken up. References: Deykin, E. Y., Levy, J. C. and Wells, V. (1987). Adolescent Depression, Alcohol and Drug Abuse. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 77, No. 2. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1646826/pdf/amjph00253-0046.pdf Disney, E. R., Elkins, I. J., McGue, M. and Iacono, W. G. (1999). Affects of ADHD, Conduct Disorder and Gender on Substance Use and Abuse in Adolescence. AM. J. Psychiatry, Vol. 156, No. 10. Retrieved from: http://journals.psychiatryonline.org/data/Journals/AJP/3705/1515.pdf Liddle, H. A., Dakof, G. A., Parker, K., Diamond, G. S., Barrett, K. and Tejeda, M. (2001). MultiDimentional Family Therapy for Adolescent Drug Abuse: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial. AM. J. Drug Alcohol Abuse, Vol. 27, No. 4. Retrieved from: http://www.med.miami.edu/CTRADA/documents/HL_et_al_2001_MDFT.pdf Vega, W. A., Zimmerman, R. S., Warheit, G. J., Apospori, E. and Gil, A. G. (1993). Risk Factors in Early Adolescent Drug Use in Four Ethnic and Racial Groups. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 83, No. 2. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1694583/pdf/amjph00526-0027.pdf Williams, R. J., Chang, S. Y. and ACARG. (2000). Outcome of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, Vol. 7. Retrieved from: https://uleth.ca/dspace/bitstream/handle/10133/419/TxOutcome-CPSP-2000.pdf?sequence=1 Read More