subject: Why Many Adolescents Abuse Substances [print this page] Adolescents are prone to asserting their freedom and experimenting. As they experience the transition into adulthood, often they are tempted to try adult activities. It is likely that they follow what their parents are practicing and suit themselves in a group of friends. Their intense desire to study things may result in addiction.
Young people misuse substances like alcohol or drugs because they are influenced by different factors. The risk of substance abuse is especially high in teenagers because these young people are already dealing with a lot of issues in life such as meeting their parents' goals, doing home and school tasks and adapting to hormonal changes. According to alcohol rehabilitation professionals,often teens are not educated about the risks of substance abuse.
Peer Pressure
Teens may end up with abusing drugs or alcohol in order to fit themselves in their groups. They will feel forced to do what others do and if one start to use alcohol or drugs, the rest will follow to fit in. Some alcohol rehab facility specialists claim that being in high school, teens are in an environment where young and curious people are present which raises the possibility that they will meet people who are already experiencing substance addiction.
Media Influence
Because of the popularity of the media, adolescents may also end up with abusing drugs or alcohol. This is because they tend to follow their favorite media personality's drinking behavior. Despite the move of the government not to permit television commercials for alcohol, it is still likely for young people to be exposed to images of drinking through television shows.
Life at Home
Most teens who don't have a steady family life may be influenced to abuse substances. Parents have a strong influence on their kids and they should make sure that their teens are not exposed to drugs and alcohol. This can be possible by setting a good example. Therefore, parents who do not exercise parental guidance may have children who are addicted to certain substances. Additionally, poverty may also contribute to the tendency of addiction among teens. Because of the need to earn more for the family, parents will have to work for extended hours and may not have the time to check on their children and be influential in their development. They may not have an idea on the routines that their teenagers are taking part in which makes it easier for these young people to misuse drugs or alcohol.
There are a lot of factors that influence teenagers to misuse drugs or alcohol. Being in a developmental stage, teenagers need parental guidance so that they will not be influenced by other people or by the media to use and abuse substances.
