Incorporating a Strength-based Approach to Treat the Misuse of Drugs

Intervention Method in Human Services
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Introduction
In America, the element of substance abuse among the youths has turned out to be a public health crisis that costs the state billions of dollars in dealing with annually. It has been determined that the youths suffer from the abuse of substances for a myriad of issues through their life (Greene, Ennett, & Ringwalt, 2009). It is, therefore, essential to determine that this problem has exacerbated several social issues such as crime, poverty, and conjugal violence among other issues.
With these facts at hand, adolescents substance abuse therefore needs to be addressed as soon as possible since drugs have a long lasting effect that may interfere with the manner in which this generation relates to their families, including their peer relations and school performances (Greene, Ennett, & Ringwalt, 2009). Through an examination of several scholarly materials, this paper seeks to synthesize the rationale behind the misuse of substances irrespective of all the prevention efforts that have been utilized over the past decades. A description of scenarios where youths get involved in substance abuse will be provided with an applied strength-based approach incorporated to treat the misuse of drugs.
The Reasons Why Young People Are Misusing Substances
It is essential to determine that the effects of drug dependence may not only lie in the drug itself but the user as well. The mindset of the users of drugs and the settings in which these substances are used remains a crucial variable (Greene, Ennett, & Ringwalt, 2009). It has been determined that several young people take drugs for several reasons; for the purposes of finding pleasure; to conform to the values and attitudes of their peers; to relieve the elements of sadness and worries associated with their everyday lives; and to block the traumatic and painful memories they encounter as a result of heartbreaks and losses in the family.
Estimates from the 2010/2012 American Crime Survey provided that close to 60% of those aged 16-25 have used some illicit drugs during the course of their lives with almost 30% having used these illegal substances in the last month. Cocaine, tobacco, alcohol and heroin remain the most commonly abused substances among the young people (Greene, Ennett, & Ringwalt, 2009). Most of the young people who use these substances are prone to mental and substance abuse disorders which persist and cause constraints, disability, and distress that can last during their entire life. Associated with these disorders, the young people are also at risk of enduring disabilities in their school work, a factor that would result in failures. Some of the youths are also bound to encounter unstable employment and reduced social and family functioning as a consequence of the misuse of drugs in their lives.
These issues have therefore led to a dysfunction that can prove hectic in reversing. It is, therefore, critical to ascertain that there are several approaches through which the youths can benefit I order to stop their addictive practices (Lormand, Markham, Peskin, Byrd, Addy, Baumler, & Tortolero, 2013). As noted in several pieces of literature, substance ab...