Question

video:

Hi, I am Dr. Martha Watkins and I am a licensed School Psychologist with the State Department of Education.

I am working on an important project to help identify potential marijuana use among adolescents and I could really use your help.

How likely is it that a particular adolescent begins to use marijuana? Why?

Those are the questions you will answer when you Make A Decision.

To answer those questions you will Investigate the Evidence I collected from the life of a 15 year-old male high school student named George.

But before you Investigate the Evidence from George’s life, take a minute to Consult the Research I collected for you.

you will be able to come here to Consult the Research anytime you wish.

Researchers have found that certain types of parent, peer, and sibling relationships can place an adolescent at risk for marijuana use. Take a moment to Consult the Research on these factors.

Then you will Investigate the Evidence from the life of 15 year old George before you Make A Decision to predict his risk for using marijuana.Parenting has profound influences on the likelihood of adolescents engaging in drug use.

Both parental influences and sibling influences affect an adolescent’s decision to use or abstain from marijuana.

Parenting, even within the early childhood period, characterized by harsh, punitive and inconsistent discipline methods can be classified as a risk factor for later substance abuse (Dodge et al., 2009).

Parental monitoring (e.g. knowing where your child is) is associated with a decrease in marijuana use (Steinberg et al., 1994).

In fact, Sen (2010) found out that the more often adolescents ate dinner with their family, the less likely they were to have substance abuse problems.

Siblings affect whether or not adolescents will begin using drugs.

Siblings, specifically older siblings, play an additional role in substance use (Windle, 2000).

Frequency of substance use is also predicted by older sibling substance use (Vakalahi, 2002).

Older brothers have an especially salient impact on younger siblings’ substance use.

In fact, older brothers’ substance use has a stronger association with a younger brother’s drug use than does parental drug modeling (Bahr et al., 2005).

Furthermore, the older brother’s advocacy of drugs was associated with his younger brother’s use even if the older brother did not actually use drugs himself (Needle et al., 1986). Having peers and friends that use drugs increases the risk for an adolescent using drugs.

Adolescents specifically report that they choose to use marijuana for social reasons (Patrick et al., 2011).

Motivations include trying to fit in with peer groups and to have fun with friends (Cooper, 1994).

These social motivations to use marijuana seem to predict marijuana usage up to a year later, indicating some long-term impacts of social influences on marijuana usage (Newcomb et al., 1988).

Peers not only facilitate the acquisition of substance use but also its escalation over time (Dishion et al., 1995). You will Investigate the Evidence from a 15 year-old male high school student named George, who lives with his parents and his 23 year-old brother Michael.

You may continue to Consult the Research to learn about the risk factors for marijuana use. George: So what’s going on this weekend?

Alan: I heard there’s a house party happening Friday night.

Benjamin: Cool, let’s check it out

Any parents?

Alan: Nope.

Benjamin: K but I’m not drinking this time.

Last weekend I puked and felt horrible the next day.

George: I had the worst headache and my parents kept asking if I was getting sick, l o l.

Alan: Yeah, drinking sucks but weed doesn’t get you sick.

Cris: Sounds good.

I’ll ask if I can buy some off my older brother.

Alan: Sweet, make sure you get enough for all of us.

Benjamin: I dunno you guys.

Maybe we can do something else, or go to the party and just hang out.

George: My parents are really strict. I can’t go home smelling like weed.

They’d freak out.

Alan: No biggie you can stay at my house.

My parents are cool and won’t even know.

George: That might work but I dunno.

Alan: Come on guys it’ll be fun.

Not like you’ll get addicted from doing it once.

Cris: Really, it’s no big deal. It’s natural and even legal in some states. As long as your parents don’t find out, it’ll be a good time.

Alan: It’d be lame if we smoked and you didn’t George. Maybe you just shouldn’t come.

George: Well, I could hang out and just not smoke right.

Alan: I guess.... Question:

So how would you describe your parenting style?

Father:

I come from the old school, know what I mean? I tell the boys: “My house, my rules.” That's why Michael's on his way out. And George will be right behind him if he acts the same way - especially about drugs.

Mother:

We have seen smoking weed take all the initiative out of Michael and we are determined not to let the same thing happen to George, and he knows it. Question:

How do you monitor your children’s activities?

Mother:

With Michael it's hard; he's grown up now, at least legally.

Father:

With George, he has to check in every afternoon when he gets home. And when he's out, we know where. And we talk to his friends' parents a lot.

Mother:

And we have dinner together almost every night. And the computer… he doesn't know it, but we have the passwords and we check it, and he doesn't know it. At least… I don’t think he does. Question:

Tell me about George's brother Michael. What is his history with marijuana?

Mother:

Well! All he wanted to do in high school was party and hang out with his friends. He got busted once, and I'm pretty sure he's still smoking. He lost his job recently and will not give us a straight answer. And now where does that leave him? Still at home and no prospects.

Father:

I told him, he better work on finding a job fast. He didn’t go to college, so he needs to find a job or find another place to live... soon. We're done babying him.

questions:

1-----Using the evidence and research from the case, give reasons for why you assessed George’s marijuana use as you did. Consider the following factors in your reasons:

1-Parental monitoring and attitudes

2- Sibling factors

3- Peer factors

2---- What does George do?

a. Frequently uses marijuana

b. Occasionally uses marijuana

c. Never uses marijuana

Answer 1

There are several factor which give reason to aseess George's marijuana use :

1. Parental monitoring and attitudes : Parents of George are way straight forward and even though the elder brother of George came under substance abuse, they didn't get, how to deal with children at teenage. They set a positive attitude by having dinner with him and having a eye on his whereabouts and what kind of content he search for. But George's parents don't talk about or guide of disadvantage of substance abuse directly to him which is very important. A teenager know only superficially about drugs and other addictive substance by media which show these things as matter of show off and being cool. But its a parent's responsibility to guide children about dark side of substance abuse so that they resist to say yes to drugs even in peer pressure.

So due to absence of direct guidance their can be chances that George can also use marijuana.

2. Sibling factors : Siblings have important role to become role model for younger ones. If the elder one have a wrong way of lifestyle then their is much chances that the younger one follow the same path. Here in case of George, his elder brother Michael take marijuana which can impact George as well. He can think like if his elder brother can take marijuana then why can't he? And also can stole marijuana from his brother out of curiosity.

3.Peer factors : Peer factor play a major role in making a good future as well as ruining it too. Here in case of George, his friends think that drinking and taking drugs is a matter of fun and even though George have a fear of strictness of his parents, his friends have a solution for it making him more fearless about taking marijuana. If George went to house party then their is high chances that out of curiosity and peer pressure, he can take marijuana.

Ques 2. No, George never uses marijuana, he may had drinks which cause him severe headache but for marijuana, the conversation with his friends show that he don't have idea if he can smell like weed or being in his friend's home work or not which clarify that he never uses marijuana.