Substance Abuse in Teenagers

Running head: SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Substance abuse
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SUBSTANCE ABUSE 2
Substance abuse in teenagers and how it leads to impaired growth and development
Description of the issue
Substance abuse is the risky use of psychoactive drugs that change the normal function of
the brain according to Bivin & Riaz, (2017). The abuse of the drugs lead to temporary or
permanent change in one’s behavior, perception, consciousness, and mood. The abuse of
psychoactive drugs is a global challenge that many nations are suffering from around the world.
However, the population that experiences a high percentage of drug abuse in the world are the
youth. Consequently, the level of addiction to drugs among adolescents is affecting the countries
negatively. One of the reasons that make the issue a global challenge is that teenagers are the
people who contribute to a higher percentage of the country’s economy. The first step in
addressing this problem is identifying the causes of the drug abuse among the teenagers. The
countries that are affected by this problem list the following as some of the causes of substance
abuse among the teenagers:
i. Peer pressure- this is one of the primary reason of substance abuse among
teenagers. The children who join the adolescent group get influence from their
friends. For instance, a youth that identifies with drug addicts mainly end up to start
doing the same. The reason is that birds of the same feathers will always flock
together.
ii. Social media- almost every youth have access to a gadget that can access online
materials. Social media is full of every form of drug abuse and the methods of
obtaining the drugs according to Das, Salam, Arshad, Finkelstein & Bhutta, (2016).
Therefore, it promotes a higher level of abuse among youths.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE 3
iii. Lack of supervision from the parents- the high cost of living in many countries
have made the parents concentrate on how to make ends meet in their families. The
parents are always busy looking at how to pay fees and meet other basic needs in the
family. They like time to concentrate on the youths. Therefore, teenagers take
advantage of this freedom to abuse drugs. The parents only realize at later stages that
their child is hooked on drugs.
iv. Accessibility to drugs is easy- the sellers and suppliers of these drugs are known,
people. They connect with some people in the authority department to run these
illegal businesses, thus making it easy for the youths to access the drugs.
Drug addiction among youth takes various forms. DiClemente, (2018) argue that one may be
addicted to smoking, inhalants, pills or liquid drugs. However, the effects of each of these forms
differ depending on the drugs.
Behavioral or process, addiction and social norms about substance abuse among the
youths.
Norms refer to what is acceptable to a given society. There are behaviors in drug
addiction among the youths that goes against the standard in the community and the medical
sector. When it comes to behavioral norms, some drugs are for specific diseases. However, the
youth go against the purpose of the drugs to satisfy their own needs. For instance in medicine, a
small portion of alcohol is to ease digestion. However, youth takes excess alcohol to change their
moods and forget their problems. Such behavior is against the norms of society. Besides that,
there is an aspect of the social norm. The drug addict does not observe time and the place where
they abuse the drugs. For instance, a teenager who is addicted to smoking may decide to smoke