Needs of and Problems Related to Adolescents with Substance Abuse Problems - Essay Example

Needs of and Problems Related To Adolescents with Substance Abuse Problems This article is a study about youth young people and their engagement in the substances of abuse. It explores into the main causes of youth engagement in the misuse of drugs. Also, the study explores various problems associated with drug addiction among the young people. It has provided the intervention which should be taken by the states, healthcare providers, media, learning institutions and other community members in rehabilitating addict’s adolescents. Drug misuse is a common phenomenon among the young people in a global perspective. In the modern society, young people are more prone to substances of abuse such as alcohol, cannabis sativa, cocaine, tobacco, inhalants and so on. Some children start using these drugs when they as young as thirteen years of age (Freeman, 2001). There has been extensive research on the substance abuse, such as alcohol and drugs, among the adolescent population segment. There are a number of generic factors that the substance abuse is blamed on. Also, there are numerous after effects and problems related to the substance abuse that adolescents have to combat in the aftermath of this abuse. Various reasons have been assumed to influence young people into misusing those substances. It is very important to understand the reasons why adolescents indulge in habit of abusing substances and the stage which they have attained so that we can be able to device means to assist them overcome their habits (Connors,et.al., 2001). Some of the causes may be more than mere curiosity hence may require emotional or material support so as to solve the real problem. Intervention is required both at local and state level to save young generation from deadly effects of abuse of substances. According to Deykin et al. (1987), most of the substances used for the abuse in question are depressants. Therefore, due to their continued abuse, they lead 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 this depression. 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 (Freeman, 2001). 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. There is a problem because substance abuse symptoms couple with depressive symptoms and place these high risk individuals in a category of those with immediate need of mental health care. Sometimes, when these problems are left 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 the adolescent would pick up habit of 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 (Freeman, 2001). 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 (Connors,et.al., 2001). This study also relates that taking 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. One of the major causes of abuse of drugs among the youth is due to increased exposure to such substances and their availability. Adolescents are more adventurous in nature and always imitate what they see their seniors doing. This exposure to drugs by the young people is facilitated by several factors which are mainly external (Disney et al. 1999). One of them is the appealing yet misleading advertisement substances of abuse such as alcohol, cigarette and others by the media. These adverts lure young people to try and test them just to satisfy their curiosity. Also, young people are able to learn about those substances from their colleagues, through social media such as face book and twitter among others. This has been influence by increased usage of internet and sharing of email messages, videos, and photos via social media. These substances are readily available hence young people are able to obtain them easily and cost effectively. Out of peer influence, young people develop desire to experiment these drugs and finally they become addicts. When people utilize these substances for a long period of time, they generally develop a habit which is not easy to control. The victims will always have a strong craving for these substances which finally results to misuse of resources and eventually domestic conflicts. Also, once they get used to them, they find it hard to do without them and may only be able to stop the habit under medical care. People with problem of drug addiction have low response to social stimuli. They find it very hard to interact with their friends and family members or even engaging in social and economic activities (Connors,et.al., 2001). Most of these substances are illegal in many parts of the world, and being in possession with them is a crime which is tantamount to imprisonment or other legal action. When young people involve themselves in these activities, they also perform poorly in schools. This is because most of these substances have effects of lowering their ability to concentrate in reading apart from interfering with their memory. They retardate their mental ability hence hinder them from achieving any economic benefit from their consumption. Another reason why young people indulge in abuse of drugs is due to poor parental guidance. Most of the parents in the modern society are in working class, thus they have very little time with their children. Consequently, this has left the young people at liberty to make their own decisions including what substances to consume and what not to consume. Some parents and the community at large are not role models to their children and to the entire society. The rate of moral decay in the community is at highest level and therefore, young people have no one to emulate (Liddle et. al. 2001). As a result of this, the young people have to do what others are doing hence they find themselves in dangerous situations without anyone to help them. Children whose parents indulged in some kind of substance abuse like 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 to an end all their engulfing depression. Also, drug addiction led to disorders of anxiety, illegitimate 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. According to Liddle et. al. (2001), another important factor 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. Overreliance on substances of abuse results to health complications. They are also likely to fall victims of sexual violence either through sodomy, rape or incest. They may also commit suicide if their psychological problems are not solved. The abuse of drugs and other substance of abuse among the young people have both long-term and short term problems. If the situation is not arrested in time, these problems may get out of control hence resulting to low economic growth and early deaths of the young people. To help mitigate this problem, the state and individuals should understand the cause and consequences of abuse of drugs, and the intervention measures which should be employed to safe the young generation (Connors,et.al., 2001). The change of behavior may be one of the main indicators of overindulgence in illegal substances of abuse among adolescents. Young people may also be willing to share with their age mates about their experiences with drugs hence; interacting with them could help in identifying those addicts. Parents, guardians and other caretakers should be cautious when interacting with young people so that they can be able to identify any unusual behavior which could indicate their involvement in abuse of substances. Physicians are likely to identify the problems of drug abusers either due to physical damages which occur on their bodies as a result of drug effects. 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 (Petersen, & McBride, (2001). 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. The problems of drug abuse among the adolescents can be solved at the learning institutions whereby, they form associations to provide guidance and counseling among the drug victims. Also, the society, parents and media can provide education to the young people or engage them in constructive activities which will keep them busy hence limiting their opportunity to engage in drugs and other substance abuse (Liddle et. al. 2001). The state and all the stakeholders should take time to understand the problems of the young people and help them reform their deviant ways and engage in constructive activities of the society. Parents should have enough time with their children so that they can provide moral support apart from material support. In the light of research presented, we can see that there are a number of problems that the adolescent youth of today faces that lead them towards the drug abuse. These worsen their life situations long even after they stop consuming those drugs. It is also very important, to understand 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. Although the study has shown that there are many girls than boys who abuse drugs, it is very hard to notice girls who are addicts. This is because mostly boys become violent after using drugs, while majority of the ladies are very cool and hence hard to notice (Connors,et.al., 2001). Also, the study has shown that most of the people who consume alcohol misuse other addictive substances. Prolonged use of substances of addiction results to uncontrollable habit which is detrimental even to someone’s future life. References: Connors, G. J., Donovan, D. M., Diclemente,C.C., Mccrady B. S., (2001).Substance Abuse Treatment and the Stages of Change: Selecting and Planning Interventions. Guilford Press, New York. 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 Freeman, E. M., (2001). Substance Abuse Intervention, Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Systems Change Strategies: Helping Individuals, Families, and Groups to Empower Themselves. Columbia University Press, New York. 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 Petersen, T., McBride, A., (2001).Working with Substance Misusers: A Guide to Theory and Practice. Routledge, London. 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