Teenagers are often the target demographic of drug abuse and underage drinking awareness campaigns. They represent a vulnerable population that’s dealing with a variety of emotional and social pressures, and may also have easy access to potentially addictive substances like prescription pills.
A research study, Monitoring the Future, follows the trends of behaviors and attitudes of secondary school students, college students and young adults. The study has provided important addiction statistics since 1975, producing research that helps tailor anti-drug campaigns, law enforcement crackdowns and similar tools designed to help fight teen addiction and alcohol abuse.
Data for 2010 shows mixed results in terms of teens and addictions. Some drugs are on the rise, as is alcohol consumption, but the study also shows that tobacco use has decreased.
Prescription pills and marijuana are the most frequently abused drugs by today’s youth. Doctors typically attribute these addictions to a teen’s maturity level, which hasn’t fully developed. The teen, therefore, may be unable to make good choices when it comes to drug and alcohol use.
Young adults cannot make the same choices as a developed adult. Consider this example, as cited in a story about the study on RenewEveryday.com A teenaged girl was caught with prescription drugs at school and was sent to the principal’s office. She was so concerned about getting caught that she ingested all the pills and nearly killed herself. This sort of scenario illustrates a teenager’s immaturity; a more developed mind may have thought to flush the pills down the toilet.
Teenagers are undeniably impulsive, and their decisions are molded around this behavior. Many teens now perceive marijuana as a “safe” drug, a perception that’s resulted in an increase in marijuana use. The same theory applies to prescription drugs. Because they’re available from doctors, teens consider them safe or harmless as opposed to “harder” drugs like cocaine, heroin and meth, which are more likely to be turned down.
Results shown in the Monitoring the Future study align with this thinking. An emerging trend in 2010 is an accelerated addiction to prescriptions such as Percocet, yet the study also shows that most teens that turn to prescription drugs started with marijuana.
Perception drives use, an important realization that can be used by parents and influential adults. A teen’s family can make a big difference in changing the teen’s perception of drugs and alcohol, and this sort of education is key in helping a teen avoid destructive choices. Consider the ongoing anti-tobacco campaigns that have targeted teens. They’re proving to be effective, as shown in the Monitoring the Future survey. Tobacco use has dropped from 75 percent of kids having tried a cigarette in 1976 to 42 percent in 2010.
The key to changing these trends not only understanding how the teenage brain works, but also being present in the life of a teen close to you so that you can help mold that person’s perception and give them the mental tools they’ll need to avoid drug and alcohol use.
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