Question

What are some of the risk factors associated with teenage drug abuse? Why do you think so many adolescents abuse drugs? What are some ways this can be prevented?

Answer 1

Drug abuse has become very common among the teenagers and younger adults. The risk factors associated with drug abuse are as follows:

• Academic failure or lack of academic motivation
• Early aggressive behavior
• Drug availability in the community
• Loss of control/external locus of control – feeling that their lives are beyond their control
• Low socioeconomic status

Adolescents experiment with drugs or continue taking them for several reasons. Some of the reasons are as follows:

• Many teenagers use drugs because others are doing it or they think others are doing it. They fear not being accepted in a social circle that includes drug-using peers.
• Some adolescents suffer from depression, social anxiety, stress-related disorders, and physical pain. Using drugs may be an attempt to lessen these feelings of distress. Stress especially plays a significant role in starting and continuing drug use as well as returning to drug use (relapsing) for those recovering from an addiction.