Awareness of an Issue: Adolescents and Drug Abuse

Adolescents and Drug Abuse 

Definition of the Problem 

Drug and substance use by the teens is on the rise today. Many teens are currently abusing drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine and other types of drugs. The drug use has put the adolescents at a high risk both short term and long term problems. The effects range from accidents, overdose to mental health disorders, and poor performance in schools (Kaminer, 2013). 

Statistics of the Problem 

Data on substance and drug use among the adolescents has been documented by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Surveys. It has also been recorded by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse conducted in the year 1996. The data indicated that in the mid-1990s, the number of eighth-grade adolescents who were reported to be using drugs had doubled from eleven to twenty-one percent (Kaminer, 2013). The survey also showed that 12 percent of the students from the 10th grade and 39 percent of those from 12th grade were reported to be using illicit drugs in the preceding 12 months (Kaminer, 2013). The research also indicated that fifteen percent of the 8th graders, thirty percent of the 12th graders and twenty-four percent of the 10th graders drunk alcohol in the preceding two weeks. It also showed that an estimate of a half of the high school students who were in grade 9 to 12 drunk alcohol (Kaminer, 2013). The study also estimated that nine percent of the girls and twenty percent of the boys in the teenage meet adult diagnostic criteria for the alcohol use disorder. Additionally, smoking among the senior high school students has also been a major problem in America. The studies further found that the availability of drugs among the adolescents has been increasing and it is estimated that 61 Percent of the teens abuse marijuana (Kaminer, 2013). The use of marijuana among these various grades rose by eleven percent in the preceding years (Kaminer, 2013). 

Biological Systems 

Typical Biological Development 

Typical biological development refers to the physiological developments that occur within an individual leading to maturity. It includes aspects such as hormones, genes, nutrition, and others. The biological development is concerned with the human body and how it develops (Chance et al., 2013). 

Developmental Milestones 

Developmental milestones is the behavioral or physical signs of development and maturation among the children. It may also refer to the abilities which the children must reach a certain age. They involve the social, cognitive, physical, communication, emotional skills. The milestones are acquired at specific times. If a child does not the developmental milestone at the required time, then it might be a sign of abnormal development (Chance et al., 2013). Therefore, it is the role of a parent to start looking for early intervention so that the child may get the appropriate support. For instance, for the girls who are between nine to sixteen years, people expect to see the physical changes that are expected at such an age (Chance et al., 2013). For example, they also expect to see the growth of breasts, enlargement of hips, less muscle development, among others. For the boys who are within ages 12-18, people expect voice change, muscle development, among other changes (Chance et al., 2013). For the both genders, abstract thinking is also expected. If the adolescents do not reach the developmental milestones at the required ages, then such children should be given special attention. 

Comparison of Typical and Atypical Development 

According to Chance et al. (2013), typical development refers to the standard development of children. However, there are some cases whereby a child delays or goes ahead of the typical peer progress regarding social, cognitive, physical or adaptive skills of life. This is what regarded as atypical development is an example of a typical development is the onset of puberty among the children. Puberty among the girls starts at the age of 10 (Chance et al., 2013). Some other girls get it at thirteen years. For the boys, it starts at the age of nine to fourteen years. If the males and the girls reach puberty at this age, then that is a typical development. If a girl or a boy starts puberty earlier or later than the recommended ages, then would be a sign of atypical development. Likewise, breast development in girls is the first sign of puberty. If menstruation begins before breast development, that is also a sign of atypical development (Chance et al., 2013). Both typical and atypical development are developmental stages that explain how children develop in comparison with the other peers. 

Effect on Typical and Atypical Development on the Adolescents 

Typical biological development is the normal development and thus, children who have this kind of development are considered as normal children. If a child exhibits atypical development, then this becomes a problem and proper attention should be given to the child. This affects the biological development of a child. For example, if an adolescent who is between ages twelve to eighteen has not fully developed his or her cognitive skills, then this is a sign of abnormal development and thus, this may affect the normal biological development of a child (Chance et al., 2013). 

Psychological System 

Erick Erickson’s Developmental Stages 

According to Mooney (2013), Erick Erickson, who was a psychologist, came up with eight stages of development. He argued that every individual must pass through the eight stages of development which he developed. The first stage is trust vs. mistrust that occurs among the infants. Autonomy vs. Shame is the second one and it occurs among the toddlers. The third stage is Initiative vs. Guilt and it occurs among the preschoolers. Industry vs. Inferiority is the fourth one and it is experienced by the school-age child. The adolescents experience identity vs. identity diffusion. The sixth one is the intimacy vs. isolation that is encountered by the young adults. The seventh stage is the generativity vs. self-absorption that occurs in the middle-aged adults (Mooney, 2013). The last phase is integrity versus despair that occurs in the older adults. 

Identity vs. Identity Diffusion occurs between twelve to eighteen years. The development at this stage depends on what an individual does. This is the stage where the adolescents struggle to discover their identity. They also struggle with socialization issues and develop the sense of the right and the wrong behaviors. Some of the adolescents withdraw from their responsibilities and others delay to enter adulthood. The adolescents who do not pass this stage successfully tend to exhibit role confusion. Many are affected by this stage. For instance, this is the time when they engage themselves in drug and substance abuse (Mooney, 2013). Peer influence is high at this stage and many of the adolescents who indulge themselves into drug addiction claim that it was due to peer pressure. The teenagers struggle to be identified with a particular group and are much concerned with how they appear to the other people. This concern is what makes them indulge themselves into dangerous behaviors such as drug abuse because they struggle to identify with their peer. Therefore, if one has friends who abuse drugs, he or she may end up abusing them (Mooney, 2013). 

How this Issue Hinders Healthy Physiological Development 

Substance abuse hinders the healthy development of an individual. Drug abuse may affect the physiological development of the adolescents. Such individuals may have impaired judgments, hearing problems, their perceptions and emotions may be altered. They may have long-term problems such as liver damage, skin problems, loss of appetite, among other problems (Mooney, 2013). All these effects hinder the physiological development of the adolescents. 

Social Systems 

How Social Systems Affect Drug Abuse 

Race and ethnicity have been known to affect drug and substance abuse. People from different ethnic backgrounds and races have are likely to abuse drugs than others. For instance, the Mexicans abuse marijuana as compared to other ethnic groups. In America, research that was carried out by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism indicated that American Indians, Hawaiian Natives and Natives Alaskans abused alcohol at a high rate than the other ethnic groups (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). For the adolescents, Hispanic Americans were the heavy drinkers followed by the white Americans. For the case of race, there is high drug use among the Caucasians than the African Americans (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). 

There exist some connections between socioeconomic status and drug abuse. People with high level of education tend to abuse drugs more than those with low levels of education. Additionally, the neglected adolescents from various socio-economic backgrounds abuse drugs as compared to those who are not neglected. The youths from backgrounds that are affected by poverty also engage themselves in drug and substance abuse. The high drug use among the Caucasians may be attributed to the high income which they get (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). 

How Social Systems have an Impact to an Individual 

The social systems nay have a positive or negative influence on a person. For example, if a person is from a healthy background, he or she will have money at his or disposal which may be used to purchase drugs. Those lacking money may tend not to engage them-selves in drug use due to lack of finances (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). Therefore, people with high levels of education may become addicted to drugs because they have finances at their disposal. 

Mezzo Level of Intervention 

This level contains prevention and intervention plan. It is a group approach which is the most method used by the social workers in dealing with issues. The prevention program focuses on the affective model. Concerning the affective model, the social workers can divide the adolescents into groups and train them on skills that are related to drug abuse (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). The intervention plan concentrates on group treatment. This is whereby the social workers emphasize on peer interaction. In reference to Wessells (2007), Group treatment may stimulate the teens who are struggling with drug abuse share with others and understand their addiction and how they may deal with it. 

Strengths 

This approach has the capability of improving the self-image of the adolescents, improves their interaction skills, and can equip the individuals with problem-solving skills. Additionally, this model strengthens the confidence of the adolescents and improves their competencies of dealing with situations (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). Further, with the group treatment, the adolescents may feel free to share their experiences of drug abuse with others. 

Weaknesses 

This approach has some shortcomings. For example, some of the adolescents may not be willing to participate in the groups. Secondly. The social workers may not have experience in drug taking and thus, they may provide little information to the adolescents on the issue of drug abuse (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). 

Macro Level Intervention 

This intervention deals with the prevention plan. Concerning the information model, this intervention requires the efforts of the school, media and the society. The schools should ensure that they educate the adolescents on the effects of drug abuse. They should teach them verbally, give the written information, and also show them films that revolve around drug abuse (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). The society plays the same role as the school preventing adolescents from engaging themselves in drug abuse. However, the societies also focus on families of the adolescents whose parents have drug abuse issues. Lastly, the mass media may discourage drug use among the adolescents through introducing programs that concentrate on drug abuse. 

Strengths 

This intervention plan can reduce drug use among the adolescents. When awareness is created by schools, societies and media to the adolescents about the effect of drug abuse, the number of the adolescents abusing drugs may drop. The knowledge acquired by the adolescents may make them change from a negative to a positive behavior (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). 

Weaknesses. 

Since this model informs the adolescents on the dangers of engaging in activities such as drug abuse, some of them may decide to try out drug use to look whether they will experience the effect which they learnt (Wessells, & Dawes, 2007). 

References 

Chance, B., Devault, D. C., & Frauenfelder, H. (Eds.). (2013). Tunnelling in Biological Systems: A Colloquium of the Johnson Research Foundation. Academic Press. 

Kaminer, Y. (2013). Adolescent substance abuse: A comprehensive guide to theory and practice. Springer Science & Business Media. 

Mooney, C. G. (2013). Theories of Childhood: An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget & Vygotsky. Redleaf Press. 

Wessells, M. G., & Dawes, A. (2007). Macro-level interventions: Psychology, social policy, and societal influence processes. Toward a global psychology: Theory, research, intervention, and pedagogy, 267-298.