Contemporary Issues for Teenagers – Substance Abuse

Contemporary Issues for Teenagers – Substance Abuse
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Contemporary Issues for Teenagers – Substance Abuse
One of the most prevalent issues in today’s teens is substance abuse. Adolescents are most prone to substance abuse because most in this age are in the stage of exploration, wherein they try various new experiences such as sex and drugs. Many young children are susceptible to the negative impacts and risks of substance addiction. This phenomenon is usually rooted in improper home dynamics, wherein the adolescent children tend to look for belongingness and fun outside of their homes (Kingston, Rose, Cohen-Serrins & Knight, 2017). When children, specifically adolescents, join the wrong kind of crowd, they could be swayed into trying various substances for fun. However, plenty of drugs and substances have a short and long term negative effect on the health of an individual.
Substance abuse happens when a person seeks the intake of a substance as a substitute for having positive experiences, instead of looking to the parents and family for guidance. Introduction to addictive substance usually happens with the wrong kinds of peers who peer pressure individuals into doing nasty things. Teenagers, at their age, need to have a sense of belonging and purpose, and it is important for them to find the right kinds of friends who can give them dynamic interaction from which they can gain educational experiences and relevant social skills. With the right friends, substance abuse among adolescents happens less likely because they can rely on other activities to get their fun (Gray & Squeglia, 2017).
Most of the time, adolescents who succumb to substance addiction are those children who do not have proper relationships with their families. Addiction basically happens when a person does not have the ability to create and integrate fun experience with the peers. Thus, they rely on the substance in order to feel “high”, or that this certain substance fulfills a void, a certain unfulfilled need within the individual (Feinstein, Richter & Foster, 2012). External stressors that are associated with this issue are plenty, mainly societal expectations, and peer pressure. Failure in academics, faulty relationships in the family, and influence of certain negative individuals are among the main reasons by which adolescents are hooked into substance abuse (EGGERT & HERTING, 1991).
In assessing teenagers who are affected by substance addiction, it is best to gather the most in...