Substance Abuse Amongst Adolescents: An Issue of Public Health Significance PMC

If you aren’t prepared to answer questions, parents might let teens know that you’ll talk about the topic at a later time. Some teens may feel like nothing bad could happen to them, and may not be able to understand the consequences of their actions. So if their friends use substances, your teen might feel like they need to as well. He was arrested on Dec. 19, 2023, at Cougar Field in Chatham Township, where he was found in possession of a controlled substance. Nafis Wiggins, 26, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of second-degree luring and one count of third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute.

Over 115 million pills containing illicit fentanyl seized by law enforcement in 2023

One of the adverse outcomes of adolescent substance use is the increased risk of addiction in those who start smoking, drinking, and taking drugs before they are of 18 years. Moreover, most individuals with Substance Use Disorders begin using substances when they are young [6]. Substance use disorders amongst adolescents have long-term adverse health effects but can be mitigated with efficient treatment [7]. A similar observation was made by Squeglia et al. (2015) in lateral frontal and temporal GMV in addition to attenuated white matter growth of the corpus callosum in heavy adolescent drinkers who were followed over eight years. Adolescent alcohol drinkers appear to exhibit poorer working and verbal memory (Brown et al., 2000; Hanson et al., 2011; Parada et al., 2012), suggesting that alcohol use during this critical window may predispose youth to memory impairments.

• From February through June 2022, the Monitoring the Future investigators collected 31,438 surveys from students enrolled across 308 public and private schools in the United States.
• Research has improved our understanding of factors that help buffer youth from a variety of risky behaviors, including substance use.
• However, marijuana can be harmful to teens because their brains are still developing.

Common Substances Abused by Teens

• Unfortunately, this has the effect of passively enabling the unhealthy behaviors.
• The development of different brain regions follows different time-varying trajectories.
• An earlier age of first drinking onset predicted worse psychomotor speed and visual attention functioning, but only when the model accounted for drinking duration (Nguyen-Louie et al., 2017).
• But SAMHSA officials cast the increase as a positive development, arguing it mostly reflected increased treatment availability and reduced stigma, rather than an overall decline in teen mental health.
• Drug and alcohol use can lead to substance use disorder as well as the specific health risks of the substance being abused.

“So it’s not just educators in schools. It’s parents and families. It’s the communities themselves. It’s every level of government. We have to come together. Too often, the ills of society find the way to our schoolhouse doors, but the resources of society don’t follow them.” But Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, warns schools are just one piece of the puzzle. Lauren Tanz, an epidemiologist who studies overdose prevention at the CDC, says a number of factors contributed to these alarming numbers. Griffin, Sienna and Laird’s deaths are part of a grim crisis happening all across the country.

Support for Me and My Family

Among only users too young to legally use marijuana — which is illegal under age 21, even in states that have otherwise legalized it — SAMHSA found that underage use has decreased to 18.4%. There are five main factors that contribute to a heightened risk for addiction, spelling out https://ecosoberhouse.com/ the acronym FACTS. People in need may turn to readily available items like Iodex sandwiches, fevibond, sanitizer, whitener, etc., for comfort due to poverty and other circumstances to stop additional behavioral and other changes in youth discouragement is necessary [42-44].

Many teens who struggle with addiction also have a co-occurring mental health disorder, such as anxiety or depression. The most effective treatment integrates care for both issues, so look for outpatient or residential/inpatient treatment centers with licensed professionals who are trained to address co-occurring substance use and mental health treatment at the same time. teen drug abuse It’s important to recognize that one disorder does not cause the other; they occur at the same time. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare developed Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram for teenagers aged 10 to 19, with a focus on improving nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, preventing injuries and violence, and preventing substance abuse.

• At this age, a friend’s opinion has power, so it’s more important than ever to keep the lines of communication open with your son or daughter, rather than relying on their friends to intervene.
• Help prevent teen drug abuse by talking to your teen about the consequences of using drugs and the importance of making healthy choices.
• The increase amounts to more than 500,000 additional adolescents getting treatment in 2023, SAMHSA said.
• These products may contain nicotine or other synthetic substances that damage the brain and lungs.

Early Warning Signs of Teen Substance Use