Children experience numerous challenges such as violence and substance abuse. Substance abuse entails the persistent use of drugs or alcohol. Recurrent substance abuse results in a failure to accomplish obligations at home and at school. It causes poor health in children. Besides, parents who consistently use drugs or alcohol may affect their children negatively. Children with parents who are drug addicts portray increased academic challenges, experience reduced socioeconomic status, exhibit poor family and social functioning. Drug addict parents may expose children to direct and indirect risks. For instance, children may experience direct and indirect effects such as parental neglect or abuse and minimal household resources respectively. This paper presents an analysis of the causes of children and substance abuse in different social settings.
Background of the Problem
Substance and child abuse affect the mental and physical health of children severely. Particularly when children commence substance abuse in their early stages, they experience behavioral challenges and comorbid mental problems. The use of illicit substances has accelerated among adolescents throughout industrialized nations. Increased patterns of substance abuse among youths in North America and Western Europe have elevated societal concerns.
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Children with parents who are alcoholic may experience challenges associated with physical, cognitive, and psychological development. Besides, children from alcoholic families may face parental abuse such as battering, reduced household resource provision and sexual harassment. Over 35% of children with parents who use illicit drugs may develop substance consumption. While Johnston et al. (2019) hold that children whose parents consume drugs exhibit increased rates of internalizing and externalizing challenges like emotional problems, antisocial behavior, social isolation or attention deficit, Levy and Williams (2016) argue that children with drug addict parents demonstrate early commencement of drug consumption and consequently promoting substance use problems or disorder at an early stage compared to their peers.
The family environment may promote substance and child abuse. For example, family conflicts, problematic or challenging family relationships, and lack of supportive parents may promote instances of children and substance abuse. Lack of parental support stemming from the effects of poverty may encourage children to engage in hard labor or child prostitution to earn a living. Consequently, inadequate parental support promotes substance and child abuse.
The Affected Group or Population
Children abuse affects a section of a population ranging from seven to twelve years, whereas substance abuse affects adolescents mostly. Illicit drug consumption among the adolescent population results in delinquency, education academic performance, depression, and teenage pregnancy. Besides, unintentional exposure of children to illicit drugs may promote numerous medical complications such as altered cognitive or mental status, respiratory diseases, seizures, and death.
Furthermore, substance and child abuse may result from unfavorable family relationships and family conflicts, family settings may assist in curbing the persistence consumption of illicit drugs among adolescents and children abuse. However, family bonding, monitoring, positive communication concerning moral values and desirable family expectations may assist in minimizing instances of childhood abuse and illicit drug consumption among teenagers. Subsequently, parents act as the main influencing factor in encouraging children to overcome peer influence that may promote substance consumption.
Theoretical Perspective of Substance and Children Abuse
The attempts to evaluate and curb instances of children and substance abuse require comprehension and effective application of resilience theory. The paradigm entails the incorporation of two concepts or component: firstly, exposure of children to significant risks or stressors and secondly, the theory expect children to exhibit successful adaptation and competence in their behaviors. Comprehensively, resilience theory illustrates that cognitive assessment of children’s life with parents who consume the illicit substance, emotional, and behavioral strategies of withstanding difficult situations (children abuse) that stems from parental consumption of illicit substances influences their development. Resilience perspective assists to examine the challenges and prevention mechanisms related to adolescent substance consumption.
Recent Changes
Despite the governmental efforts to create awareness on social, physical, and psychological challenges associated with consumption of illicit substances, adolescent or teenagers continues to consume tobacco, alcohol, and various substances at a high rate. The drug consumption rate, particularly in North America, indicates increased use of cocaine, marijuana, sedatives, stimulates, heroine, and halogens among learners in their sixth and eighth grade (Wang et al., 2018). Presently, cigarettes and alcohol consumption represents the youths’ commonly used substances. Additionally, many adolescents particularly high school students engage in illicit substance consumption compared to adults recently.
Research Credibility
According to Johnston et al. (2019), youths whose ages range between 15 to 25 years engage in drug use because of their participation night clubs lifestyle. Youths use different substances at distinct rates. For instance, youths between the ages of 18 to 24 consume cannabis or marijuana frequently as compared to other substances in both America and Europe. Wales and England exhibit high drug prevalence in 2016 and 2017 among the youths of 20-24 years. Consequently, youths exhibit increased drug consumption or abuse.
General Consensus of the Problem
Research indicates an increased drug utilization among the youths of 18 to 25 years in different parts of the world. Comparatively, youths depict a regular utilization of illicit substance than the older persons (Johnston et al., 2019). Parents who use drugs tend to provide minimal support to their children which in turn encourages children labor and abuse.
Conclusion
Based on the discussion, the causes of children and substance abuse in different social settings. Substance and child abuse affect both mental and physical health of children severely. Substance and child abuse result from unfavorable family relationships and family conflicts. The resilience perspective examines the challenges and prevention mechanisms for substance consumption in adolescents.
References
Johnston, L. D., Miech, R. A., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., Schulenberg, J. E., & Patrick, M. E. (2019). Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2018: Overview, Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use. Institute for Social Research .
Levy, S. J., & Williams, J. F. (2016). Substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment. Pediatrics , 138 (1), e20161211.
Wang, T. W., Gentzke, A., Sharapova, S., Cullen, K. A., Ambrose, B. K., & Jamal, A. (2018). Tobacco product use among middle and high school students—United States, 2011–2017. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report , 67 (22), 629.
