Substance Abuse Resonates with the Teenage and College Culture

Substance abuse is popular among teenagers and college students across the globe and in the United States. Efforts have been made to end the habit in schools including banning the students from taking substances at school and subjecting victims to severe punishment such as expulsion from school. Nevertheless, such efforts do not seem to be effective as the number of student consuming substances at school is still high. Consequently, it becomes essential to evaluate the reasons why substance abuse resonates with the lives led by teenagers and college students. The knowledge can help in identifying effective solutions that will end the habits from this group and protect individuals that are yet to be exposed. Substance abuse resonates with the teenage and college culture because they can make informed decisions on the need for self-regulation, a thought process that accommodates the habit, serves a specific purpose in their lives, and as a hereditary habit. 

Prevalence

Over a prolonged period, college students have demonstrated a tendency of indulging in substance abuse, with alcohol being the most used drug. The prevalence on drug use differs from one substance to the other among the teenagers and young adults. Nevertheless, it is essential to note that the trend of alcohol has remained constant among the college students. Some factors that determine whether college students will abuse a specific substance include change in the perception of society concerning the drug (Ulbrich, 2010). For instance, when a certain substance is initially introduced in a society, people are worried about its impact depending with the myths spread concerning the substance. However, after its use, members of society might realize that some of the myths are false and therefore the fear they had concerning it reduces. Consequently, the stigmatization and creation of awareness opposing the use of the drug will reduce and this increases its use. Similarly, changes in legislation can also influence the shift in the amount of a drug that people consume. If the penalties on those caught increases, it is likely that consumers will respond by minimizing the use. On the other hand, if penalties and possible incarceration term reduces, more of the substance will be consumed among the college students. Additionally, the availability of a drug influences its prevalence among the college students and teenagers. A more accessible substance has higher chances of being abused unlike other drugs that are not easily accessible. Due to these factor, the prevalence of a drug is cyclic because when its use is optimum, members of society will tend to condemn its use. Consequently, the teenagers will respond by reducing its intake and shift to another substance. Eventually, they are likely to resume consumption of the abstained drug when little attention is paid on it. 

It is essential for the college administrators and parents to be keen and identify whether their children are abusing drugs so that they can provide them with the required help on time. There are multiple signs and symptoms that the parents should try and identify to offer possible help to their children. For instance, a teenager that suddenly loses interest in class or extracurricular activities is likely abusing drugs. Additionally, it is essential to check on the general hygiene of the learner as well as social activities. Drug users are likely to be untidy and they also isolate themselves from their friends, which makes it difficult to give them the needed help. Moreover, a sudden change on a teenager’s personality without any reason is a red flag and parents should be keen to ensure that they identify such signs and symptoms and try to access the required help. Finally, sudden weight loss and changes in sleeping patterns should be seriously evaluated to assess whether the young adult is engaging in drug abuse. Looking out for these signs and symptoms is essential because it will help parents and teachers identify students that need help so that they quit the habit on time. Having analyzed the prevalence as well as signs and symptoms featured by teenagers and college students abusing drugs, it is essential to analyze the reasons why the culture of substance abuse resonates with college students. 

Rationale choice

Teenage students make the decision to engage in substance abuse because the habit resonates with their interests at the time. It is essential to note that even though substance abuse might make little sense to one individual, it might be absolutely meaningful to another depending with once reasons to engage in a certain behavior. Moreover, under the rational choices, it is evident that the teenager or the college student will analyze the costs, benefits, and consequences involved in substance abuse. Consequently, given that majority of the teenagers and college students are still dependent, they will only engage in drug abuse when there are substances that fits in their budget. Therefore, the availability of cheap drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana increases the culture of substance abuse among the learners. Notably, the issue of cost also relates with the issue of accessibility. More accessible drugs are cheap to acquire among the college students and teenagers, which increases substance abuse among these group.

Furthermore, the students will also evaluate the benefits of drugs upon consumption, which basically triggers their interest to engage in the practice. The primary reason why college students engage in substance is peer pressure where they hope to fit in among their friends that engage in similar habits and feel valued. However, there are other reasons such as wrong prescriptions, legality, depression, exploration, and availability (Welsh et al., 2019).

Furthermore, drugs are associated with a feel good feeling and learners might be tempted to engage in the practice aimed at achieving the pleasurable feeling. Finally, the teenagers will also evaluate the consequences of using the drugs (Yi et al., 2017). Nevertheless, they are unlikely to evaluate the possible side effects that the drug they are abusing will have on their bodies. Some of the consequences that they consider include possible incarceration and penalties involved when one is caught. 

The rational choice model demonstrates that the college students are aware that involvement in substance abuse is likely to have negative implications in their lives and yet they still choose to either engage in the habit or refrain. The individuals take their time to assess whether substance abuse will result into some substantial benefits or it will only be an immense loss for them (Krstić, 2014). Moreover, involvement in substance abuse as a rational choice demonstrates that the individual makes the decision from an informed point of view and it becomes possible to determine the consequences of indulging in the behavior. The students always have a feeling that they can control themselves from getting into a point of addiction where they consider the substances to be harmful to their bodies. While a great number of college students engage in substance abuse, majority of them are able to protect themselves from addiction, which demonstrates that they make informed decisions on when to or not engage in substance abuse. Hence, the capability of the college students to access information that determine the implication that consuming a certain drug will have on their body makes them engage in substance abuse, especially on substances believed to have mild effects on their bodies. College students that make rational decisions to engage in substance abuse are likely to have a low time preference on engaging in the habit to satisfy their interests. Furthermore, it is essential to note that involvement in drug abuse following this model demonstrates lack of self-control among this age group because they act against their own judgement because they regulate the amount to intake because they are aware of the possible dangers of their behaviors. 

Cognitive Learning Model

The cognitive learning model demonstrates that involvement in substance abuse depends with the thought process of the victim, whereby the individual develops some thinking that justifies the use of the drugs. Nevertheless, the thought process might fail the individual and make one admire involvement in undesirable practices that might lead one to addiction. Consequently, self-regulations plays an essential role in ensuring that the individual will be capable of making choices that will have no negative implications on one’s health. However, if the ability to self-regulate is not present, the individual will make decisions that will be harmful to his or her well-being. For instance, individuals who lack the capability to regulate their emotions find it difficult to regulate their emotions, cravings, and desires (Giovazolias & Themeli, 2014). Consequently, college students that lack self-regulation are likely to engage in substance abuse to just meet their desires and cravings. Moreover, lack of self-control will also make a teenager engage in substance abuse because other peers within one’s peer circle are also willing to engage in the habit. Moreover, it is essential that self-regulation is essential because it enables the learner determine that it is time to stop indulging in a specific substance. Therefore, even though one would act of out influence, it will be possible to stop the habit after the realization of what one got oneself into. However, lack of self-control means that even though an individual might realize that involvement in substance abuse is not helpful, the student will not garner the courage to abandon the habit and mend his ways (Jalilian et al., 2015). Lack of self-regulation when engaging in substance abuse is risky because it increases the chances that the individual will become addicted. 

Individuals that are likely to lack self-regulation as they indulge in substance abuse have experienced some traumatizing scenario in the past that threatens their lives. Individual’s that have had tough childhood where they were subject to sexual abuse or domestic violence are likely to be more prone to indulging in substance abuse, which might have more negative implications on their well-being. Trauma causes the victim to experience a wide range of negative emotions and one might constantly target to overcome such bad feelings. On the other hand, substance abuse makes individuals have a light mood that helps them to escape from their reality for a while. Based on this aspects, it is therefore likely that more young individuals will overlook their intuition and self-regulation to indulge in a habit that gives them some pleasure, which is likely to lead them into addiction (Abolghasemi & Rajabi, 2013). Moreover, it is essential to note that the knowledge that one will get pleasure and have some relief from the traumatized feelings will overcome the knowledge about the possible implications of engaging in substance abuse. Consequently, trauma experiences, depression, and anxiety serve as motivation factors on why the individual should engage in drug abuse despite the possible implications (Köpetz et al., 2013). Consequently, addressing drug abuse in colleges requires an intentional decision to establish structures that will help the traumatized student’s access help. 

Psychology Resource

Some college students and students engage in substance abuse because the habit fits with their individual interests and needs. The psychology resource theory suggests that some individuals have an addictive personality and they will engage in any behavior that seems to fulfill their individual needs and interests (See, 2013). Consequently, the drug acts as a psychology resource because it seems to have some value in their well-being and have the sense of control on what happens to the individual’s life. Hence, even though the individual might have the knowledge that drug abuse will have some negative implication on one’s life, it becomes impossible to resist from engaging in such substances (Lander et al., 2013). Nevertheless, unlike other resources, engaging in drug abuse denies the teenagers and the youths the right to regulate their indulgent in such substances and it becomes impossible to regulate the amount that one will intake, which can lead to addiction. Moreover, failure to regulate the amount of drugs that a teenager can result into more adverse effects that can include loss of lives. Subsequently, even though it is difficult to rehabilitate individuals in this category because they end up getting back into substance abuse, it is essential to provide them with the necessary help to ensure that they progress with their normal lives. 

College students that consider drug abuse as a psychology resource that intends to serve a specific purpose in their lives. Hence, despite the dangers involved in consuming the drug, the teenagers and the youths will still consider consuming the substance. According to Eysenck, there exits three different personalities that accommodates the use of drugs amongst themselves because they consider it to serve a specific purpose. Among them is Psychoticism, which refers to a personality where the individual suffers from personality disorder. Consequently, such individuals tends to be aggressive, impulsive, cold, and egocentric. Nevertheless, these individuals also tend to be creative and have several ideas that they can exploit in addressing some of the challenges that they experience in life (Poudel et al., 2016). Another personality of people that use drugs as their psychological resource is described as neuroticism. Individuals that fall under this category have challenges in regulating their emotions. Examples of character traits associated with this personality include easily irritable individuals, moodiness, and anxiety. Consequently, such individuals engage in substance abuse aimed at regulating their moods and emotions. Finally, extraversion is another personality trait associated with personality traits reliant on substance abuse for their existence (Bookwala & Fekete, 2009). Such individuals have their genetic component playing an essential role in increasing their reliance on substance abuse and facilitating their lives. It is essential to note that this group plays an essential role in influencing their peers to engage in substance abuse because they cannot survive without abusing substances for their existence. 

Biological factors

Some college students find it suitable to engage in substance abuse because there are some biological factors within them that plays an essential role in facilitating the acceptance of the behavior amongst them. Drug dependence under this category can be explained as either due to the existence of genetic factors that support the consumption of drugs (Potenza, 2013). On the hand, it is also possible that college students will participate in substance abuse because there are some changes in their brains that make them develop some craving towards substances. In either of the two cases above, it is evident that some biological factors can increase the dependence of college students on substance and make them forget about themselves and their well-being for a while. 

College students that acquire the habit of engaging in substance abuse might suffer in such a way that their brain is altered to accommodate the substance, which leads to addiction. For such individuals, it becomes impossible to engage in any meaningful activity without having to consume the substance they have been abusing. Moreover, addiction will also make the individual develop some craving for the substance for the body to function normally. Such a scenario demonstrates a biological factor because the mind of the individual has been changed to accommodate the new substance in the patient’s body (Wlodarczyk et al., 2017). Similarly, the doctors might prescribe a medication that will alter the normal functioning of a patient’s brain. For instance, a patient might be prescribed some medication that will influence one to sleep aimed at facilitating a resting period and ease the suffering. However, the patient’s mind might become conditioned to only sleep when under such medication. Such a scenario will influence the individuals to abuse drugs and increase its use even when it is not under prescription (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018). Hence, doctors must be keen to observe the reaction of their patients to certain drugs and change the prescription if the drugs seems to disrupt their biological functions. 

Under the genetic factor, it is possible that a college student acquires the habit to be dependent on some substances from once parents. Several scholars have conducted studies to verify whether it is possible for a person to be dependent on substance abuse following genetic hereditary, which has proved to be true. According to Whitesell et al. (2013), it is evident that some teenagers and college student will develop the habit to be reliant on substance abuse because their kins are also dependent on a specific substance. Hence, it is possible to find that a certain family suffers with addiction to alcohol or any other substance because that is a habit that runs within their genetic composition. Nevertheless, the study also suggests that it is essential to consider that environmental factors also play a role in influencing whether an individual will engage in substance abuse or not. Hence, such a perspective explains why it is possible to find that a family that engages in substance abuse will also have the adopted children or even employees spending most of their time in the environment also become abusers of the same substance. That means that individuals growing up in an environment where the dwellers have developed a habit of abusing substances, they also become vulnerable to engage in similar habits. Research in the genetic factors that play a role in facilitating drug abuse among members of the society reveals that genes involved in dopamine regulation increases the chances that an individual will develop some craving for tobacco smoking. Hence, individuals that have the substance released in large amounts will find themselves engaging in substance abuse. 

Recommendations

Addressing the issue of substance abuse in colleges and among teenagers require that the policymakers, parents, and school administrators understand the factors that make the habit resonate with the culture of the victims. Identifying the reason why the college students and teenagers engage in substance abuse will help in developing a suitable strategy and solution that will help in eliminating the habit. For instance, if it is acknowledged that that the students engage in substance abuse because they make rational choices, policymakers should determine how possible it will be to make it difficult for them. Hence, it will be possible to review the existing regulations and recommend terms that will make the penalties and imprisonment term more fierce. Similarly, the school administrators will increase spreading awareness about the dangers of engaging in substance abuse because such practices will facilitate informed decisions. Alternatively, parents and guardians will also establish that the living environment influences the choices of the learners in engaging in substance abuse and motivate them to serve as good examples following the biological model factors. Notably, failure to understand the trigger to engage in substance abuse among the teenagers and college students will make absolutely difficult to identify a suitable solution making the process cyclic. 

Conclusion

The analysis above reveals that college students and teenagers engage in substance because it resonates with their culture based on multiple factors such as rational choices, psychological resources, cognitive factors, and biological attributes. Under rational choice, it is evident that college students and teenagers engage in substance abuse because it is affordable, accessible, and they can regulate their intake to inhibit the likely implications. On the other hand, the cognitive theory suggests that college students engage in substance abuse following one’s thought process. Individuals that have undergone under traumatic events in their lives are more likely to engage in substance abuse under this category as they try to forget their unfortunate experiences and hope for change. Similarly, the psychological resource model suggest that college student engage in drug abuse because they find the specific substance to serve a specific purpose in their lives. Consequently, it is extremely difficult for teenagers under this category to control their intake since they will continually have intense cravings. Finally, the biological factors such as genetic composition and changes in brain functioning can influence the desire for college students and teenagers to engage in substance abuse. Addressing the issue of drug abuse among teenagers and college students will depend on the specific trigger facilitating the habit among the victims since a generalized approach might not be effective in some scenarios. 

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