Substance Abuse in Adolescents - Essay Example

Substance Abuse in Adolescents Order No: 207909 No: of pages: 4 Premium 6530 Introduction: Illicit drug use in adolescents has always been a perennial problem that brings many other problems to the surface such as health and other social problems. It is also highly associated with the transmission of Aids, Hepatitis and other deadly sexually transmitted diseases. As Winfred Wu and Amy J. Khan state, “Illicit drug use accounts for approximately 17,000 deaths annually in the general population of the United States”. (Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JK) The repercussions of adolescent drug abuse is rooted or linked to sheer neglect, violence in the family and homelessness. Latest Research Findings: Based on the findings in the research carried out on drug abuse, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2005) stated that “Drug abuse has been identified as one of the most serious problems faced by Americans”. According to the report of the (NHSDA) National Household Survey on Drug Abuse in 2002, “Increased risk for depression and suicidal behavior has also been associated with adolescent drug use”. (The NHSDA report -2002) A survey on adolescent drug abuse conducted in 2004, Monitoring the Future indicated that by the time adolescents reach or complete high school, over half of the teenagers have experienced illicit drug use. Methodology of the Research: “The fact is, drug addiction is a brain disease. While every type of drug has its own individual “trigger” for affecting or transforming the brain, many of the results of the transformation are strikingly similar regardless of the addictive drug that is used”. ---Alan I. Leshner, scientist. During the past decade, getting drugs over the internet has increased the risk of drug abuse, not only in America but also in other parts of the world. The methodology used to keep this situation under control has proved futile. Doctors, researchers, scientists and psychologists are constantly trying to bring in new methods to treat this disease. Volkow and others proposed the “Theory of Dopamine” where Dopamine plays a significant role in allowing other drugs to hijack the brain which also includes the nucleus accumbens (NA). According to them, when the drugs reach the brain, five times more Dopamine is released through the NA which has a greater impact on the brain of the person taking it. “The amygdale appears to play a very large part in the decision – making process during adolescence”. (Winters, 2003) Since teenagers experience high levels of stress during the teen phase, an imbalance is caused between the pre-frontal cortex and the amygdale and the adolescents thinking, reasoning and decision making is badly affected. Health Programs addressing the Issue: Our day to day lives are stressed filled with all kinds of issues, but how best one deals with it is what we are about to discuss. Teens or adolescents are the most vulnerable group of people and as such need special attention in order to help them cope with their feelings. Their common reactions to stress filled situations are anger, confusion, anxiety, sadness, or even guilt. Any stressful situation for that matter could have a bad impact on them and affect them mentally, physically and emotionally. When an adolescent is unable to cope with tragic situations he finds momentary solace by taking drugs. There are many health programs that address this issue but before that it is his immediate family and friends who should lend all the support they can by convincing him that he needs medical help. They should show their love by understanding his feelings and supporting him in every way possible. According to the Guidelines for the Treatment of Alcohol – and Other Drug – Abusing Adolescents a revision was made by the Revision Panel to review Tip 4 and they brought about better changes for treatment of Drug abuse. Research is also being conducted by CSAT on Drug abuse in adolescents who say that the first step in this direction would be to determine the severity of the disorder and then necessary treatment should be rendered. They recommend the 12 Step – based treatment along with family therapy. This program is tried and tested and has proved to be successful. The philosophy of the 12 Step Program is to lay the adolescents fears behind by providing a platform where he could mix with people suffering from similar problems and share their doubts and experiences. They also provide the adolescent with a sort of guide or a sponsor to help put him on the right track when the urge to go back to drugs or drinking arises. During the Primary treatment, the 12 Step Program focuses on the first five steps while the other steps are taken into consideration during the after care period. The first step includes the adolescent realizing that his life is gone out of bounds and he needs specialized care. The second step would be to make them believe that treatment is available that would remove them from their misery and make them whole once again. During this phase, other people who have been successful in getting rid of their habit are made to interact with them and constantly remind them that the habit of drugs is not worth it at all. Step 3 allows them to feel good that it was their decision to turn their lives around and also helping them to try and make decisions in a different way or by taking advice from others. The 4th and the 5th step would be that the adolescents realize their mistakes involving past behavior and they accept each other despite all their wrong doings. Besides the above treatment, therapeutic Communities where peers, social environment and staff play a major role serve as a sort of psychological support to the adolescent who takes an interest in self development by becoming more responsible due to taking part in group activities, chores, seminars, meals and various other interaction with staff and peers. Since this therapeutic Community functions like a family unit, it is all the more crucial to the adolescent because most of them come from problem families. The family is also involved in the program and is advised to attend seminars that brief them on how to lend their support to the drug abused adolescent. They are advised to be extremely caring showing concern for their problems at every stage. Therapy of family members and the adolescent is carried out in order to remove all the pent up hurt feelings. Once treatment is completed follow up programs should be conducted to see that they are on the right track. screening should be carried out on a regular basis and if possible pre-vocational or vocational training should be encouraged. References: Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JK. Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004;29:1238-1245. The National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2005). Drug Abuse and Addiction: One of Americas Most Challenging Public Health Problems. Available at: http://www.nida.nih.gov/about/welcome/aboutdrugabuse/magnitude/ Accessed August 31, 20 Office of Applied Studies. (2002). The NHSDA Report. Academic performance and youth substance use. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Available at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k2/academics/academics.htm Accessed August 29, 2005 National Mental Health Information Center www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/managinganxiety/reducinganxiety.asp Treatment of Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders www.athealth.com/practitioner/ceduc/health_tip32c.html Read More