Early and middle adulthood is a complicated period comprising of adolescents and young adults. This group is in a developmental stage going through physical, cognitive and social factors that can change their lives. This paper focuses on an article that discusses a topic relevant to early and middle adulthood. The article under consideration is titled Nonmedical use of prescription opioids among teenagers in the United States: trends and correlates . ( Sung et al., 2005). This is a research article that used national representative epidemiology data to document misuse of nonmedical opioid in teenagers and the associated risk factors. It examined the historical trends in trying to understand the risk factors that contribute to opioid misuse that would help in developing effective interventions
There seems to be an emerging epidemic of opioid abuse among teenagers, suggesting a growing problem that needs intervention. The article showed that more teenagers between the age of 12 and 17 are involved in the exploitation of opioids while in school for pleasure rather than medical reasons ( Sung et al., 2005) . Opiates can help in relieving pain or any form of stress or anxiety, thus helping them to evade any psychological distress. However, its misuse can lead to an addiction that can impact their quality of life and it is the reason why the Controlled Substances place a strict restriction on nonmedical opioid use ( Compton & Volkow, 2006).
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The article highlighted risk factors to opioid misuse among teens that comprised of females, blacks and those coming from the lower socio-economic status, as well as teenagers who have positive attitudes towards illicit drugs. For example, the study showed that most youths involved in opioid abuse were poly-drug users ( Sung et al., 2005) . Additionally, the article revealed that common correlates of risk factors such parents who rarely monitor their children and those children who have positive attitudes towards drugs such as those who have tried marijuana, alcohol or tobacco. This association between the prevalence and antisocial behavior was common among self-identified juvenile users. For example, youths who were involved in selling illicit drugs have higher risks of misusing opioids.
A psychological theory that can emerge from the study is their social learning which suggests that a person can acquire a behavior through observation and imitation of others. This theory states that individuals tend to be influenced by the surrounding environment and may develop a response based on their friends or exposures ( Akers, 2017). Social influences are the main factors associated with opioid misuse among teenagers by promoting experimentation or initiation of drug use. Their peers or celebrities may influence teenagers in pop culture who may promote positive attitudes towards opioid use. At the same time, most young and middle adults are prone to social influence and having friends indulging in opioid misuse can push them into the behavior through social and observation learning by Bandura.
This article was comprehensive and extensive in describing this emerging problem among teenagers and young adults. It presented scientific research assessing the trends in opioid misuse and why most teenagers are indulging in drug misuse. The data in this research came from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), giving it credibility and validity. The NSDUH is the primary source of information on the prevalence of substance use as well as the problems associated with it in the United States. The validity of the research was also achieved by using respondents who are involved in opioid misuse as well as using a diverse sample ( Sung et al., 2005) . Another good thing about this article was its attempt to suggest solutions to the growing epidemic in the country. In conclusion, the article indicated that current substance abuse prevention strategies might be useful in dealing with the pandemic, through creating new approaches that can focus specifically on preventing misuse of prescription drugs can achieve more results. This makes the article significant for scientific and educational purposes when looking to deal with the growing epidemic of opioid use.
References
Akers, R. (2017). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance . Routledge.
Compton, W. M., & Volkow, N. D. (2006). Abuse of prescription drugs and the risk of addiction. Drug and alcohol dependence , 83 , S4-S7.
Sung, H. E., Richter, L., Vaughan, R., Johnson, P. B., & Thom, B. (2005). Nonmedical use of prescription opioids among teenagers in the United States: Trends and correlates. Journal of Adolescent Health , 37 (1), 44-51.
