How to Determine Risk Factors for Teen Substance Abuse

As a society, it is evident what the effects of teen substance abuse can have on families and communities. Early intervention and programs aimed at preventing teens from drinking alcohol and doing drugs to begin with are essential to reduce the incidence of teen substance abuse. However, the effectiveness of prevention lies heavily in the ability to screen and determine the risk factors for teen substance abuse.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Look for a genetic predisposition with regards to substance abuse. When there is a family history of substance abuse, it can genetically predispose a teen to abusing drugs and alcohol themselves, especially when the environment they live in also reflects the acceptability of drug and alcohol use.

2. Be on the lookout for untreated mental illnesses and medical conditions. Sometimes teens that have untreated mental illnesses and conditions will seek to numb and self-treat by using alcohol and drugs. Mental illnesses often go hand-in-hand with compulsive addictions to substances. So look for symptoms related to ADD/ADHD, anxiety disorder, depression and even post traumatic stress disorder.

3. Identify certain temperaments and personalities. Though the classic rebellious teen may not always choose to do drugs and alcohol, it is still a trait to identify as a risk factor. Teens that have issues with authority, have low self-esteem or feel like a failure often have voids to fill, and filling those voids become comfortable and easy through substance abuse.

4. Look at the teen’s home environment. A teen that lives in a household where parents do drugs or abuse alcohol are more likely to use themselves. Also, when parents promote a positive attitude toward using drugs and drinking alcohol, the teen will see this as a permission slip to use and abuse.

5. Be on the watch for mental, emotional, physical and sexual abuse in the home environment. These types of situations create psychological stress, and often make the teen feel alone and isolated, and turning to substance abuse becomes their outlet and possible cry for help.

6. Watch for teens that come from homes where there is a lack of parental involvement. These teens are more than likely not supervised very well. It makes it easier for the teen to get away with doing drugs and alcohol.

7. Look at the community and neighborhood the teen lives in. Communities and neighborhoods where alcohol and drugs are readily available and easy to acquire can encourage substance abuse.

8. Identify problems with peer pressure. A teen that gravitates to peers that do drugs and drink alcohol are more likely to cave into the pressure, because they are trying to fit in and belong. It used to be easier to identify the cliques of teens that generally were known as the “partiers" or "stoners,” but today the entertainment and music industry has done a great job at glamorizing these negative behaviors. Add that in with the increase of dysfunctional homes, and it gives substance abuse a wider reach. So now the jocks are partying, the popular kids are partying, along with so many other types of cliques. Substance abuse has somehow become acceptable behavior.

[JanCast2007]

on 5/8/2008 In my opening paragraph I answered the "now what". The problem is that there are all these great school and community wide programs already in place to help prevent and or treat in these situations. But, there remains a consistent problem across the board when it comes to this issue---too many teens not being identified because too many adults are not aware of the risk factors that help identify teens that should be monitored and or offered help. Many of these teens "use and abuse" because they are crying out for someone to say, "Hey, that kid needs some intervention on so many different levels of their life." This doesn't always happen, and many of these kids are not identified and therefore "now what", or should I say prevention and treatment, are never offered. What good is it for schools and communities to have these resources available, but too many teens still fall through the crac

[sixstring2slim]

on 5/8/2008 Hi Jan.. Great Advice.. but, now what? ..if somebody has a few of these "Lookout for " and Identify this" things, then what? I am not sure how much that can help if you don't add something substantive in the article about "What to do.." Not just, "if you see this, that's it! But what excellent observations you have made and I stand by those as well..
I would love to be your friend, you made me stop and think.. Carson Bailey aka sixstring2slim