Adolescent substance abuse is a major national public health problem. Research indicates that, despite a recent leveling-off of substance use by adolescents, the current levels remain high. Studies suggest that the younger an individual is at the onset of substance use, the greater the likelihood that a substance use disorder will develop and continue into adulthood. In fact, more than 90 percent of adults with current substance use disorders started using before age 18; half of those began before age 15.
A staggering 414 billion USD of tax payers money is being washed out to tackle the substance abuse problem.
This value represents both the use of resources to address health and crime consequences as well as the loss of potential productivity from disability, death and withdrawal from the legitimate workforce. The largest proportion of costs is from lost potential productivity, followed by non-health “other” costs and health-related costs.
Alcohol abuse alone costs nearly $166 billion each year.
Illicit drug users make over 527,000 costly emergency room visits each year for drug related problems.One dollar out of every $14 of the nation’s health care bill is spent to treat those suffering from smoking-related illnesses.
Many youth are not identified as being involved with substance use, until it progresses to abuse or dependence.
In the 1990's, as rates of frequent use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs escalated, the number of adolescents entering the treatment system increased by more than 50 percent.Despite this increase, this figure only represents one in ten youths who needed treatment.While it is clear that treatment benefits this population, adolescents present a unique challenge to the treatment community. Compared to adults, adolescents have greater problems with marijuana and alcohol, higher rates of binge use, and greater complications as a result of the developmental changes they are undergoing.Impulsive and risk-taking behaviors are more pervasive in this population as well, which complicates treatment. Treatment for adolescents must be tailored to these specific needs, as well as gender and race concerns.
Health care costs for employees with alcohol abuse problems cost nearly twice as much as those of other employees.
The “Monitoring the Future” study;an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes and values of adolescents and young adults in America;reports trends in substance use and abuse.
Some highlights of the latest data.
23 % of 8th grade students reported having been drunk at least once in their lives in 2001. Over one-fifth (21.5 %) of 8th grade students,39 % of 10th grade students and 50 percent of 12th grade students report current alcohol use;.
Over one-fifth of 12th grade students report smoking tobacco cigarettes on a daily basis.
Over one-half (54 %) of adolescents have tried an illicit substance by the time they have finished high school.29 % of 12th grade students tried an illicit substance other than marijuana.Among 8th, 10th and 12th grade students.
AngloAmericans reported substantially higher rates of use for both legal and illicit substances than their African American counterparts.Ecstasy was the primary drug showing an increase in use among students in all grade levels in 2001.
One person dies every 19 minutes from drug overdose in the United States. Opioid pain relievers are responsible for more over dose deaths than cocaine and heroin combined.
Alcohol use, in addition to its relationship to illicit substance use, is often associated with behavioral problems. A study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, suggests that there is a correlation between adolescent alcohol use and many emotional and behavioral problems including depression, intentional self-harm, aggressive behaviors and delinquent behaviors such as fighting, stealing, and truancy. All segments of society are affected, as no population group is immune to substance abuse and its effects. Men and women, people of all ages, racial and ethnic groups and levels of education drink, smoke, and use illicit drugs.
The most compelling data demonstrate that the younger a person is at the onset of substance use, the more likely he or she is to develop a substance use disorder and to continue that disorder through adulthood.
More than 90 percent of adults with current substance use disorders started using before age 18, and half began using before age 15. Of the 2.1 million people meeting criteria for alcohol or drug dependence in 1999, 791,581 (22 percent) were adolescents and 771,256 (21 percent) were young adults.
Research on factors and processes that increase the risk of using drugs or protect against the use of drugs has identified the following primary targets for preventive intervention: family relationships, peer relationships, the school environment, and the community environment. Each of these domains can be a setting for deterring the initiation of drug use through increasing social and self competency skills, adoption of pro social attitudes and behaviors, and awareness of the harmful health, social, and psychological consequences of drug abuse. Educating children about the negative effects of drugs, especially the most immediate adverse effects in their lives, is an important element in any prevention program. In addition, helping children become more successful in school helps them form strong social bonds with their peers, the school, and the community.” However, our negative perceptions of adolescents are counterproductive to the formation of these necessary community bonds. Media depictions of youth fuel negative public perceptions.
TV reinforces the notion of today’s teens as self-absorbed and interested only in trivial matters.
TV teens are seen as independent and isolated, living in an adolescent world whose problems are mainly social in nature;giving the impression that they do not require anyone’s help beyond their small immediate peer groups, and their parents are often portrayed as ineffective and problematic.
For most children, research has shown that the vulnerable periods are transitions from one developmental stage to another.
When children advance from elementary school to middle school or junior high, they often face social challenges, such as learning to get along with a wider group of peers. It is at this stage, early adolescence, that children are likely to encounter drug use for the first time. Upon entering high school, young people face social, psychological, and educational challenges as they prepare for the future. These challenges can lead to use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
For the public and for health professionals alike, much of the reluctance to commit funds and energy to researching and treating substance abuse/addiction stems from a lack of clarity surrounding the role of volition in substance abuse and addiction. Research has shown that while initial use is clearly voluntary, addiction/dependence of a substance is a chronic, relapsing disease in which brain chemistry becomes altered. Thus, the voluntary user may become the involuntary addict. As users progress through the severity continuum, the role of volition, or voluntary involvement with drugs, drastically declines.
This means that society, which is relatively tolerant in its attitude toward teen experimentation, tends to condemn an individual’s drug involvement just at the stages when it is no longer a question of “knowing better.” If anything, the role of judgment and volition are most heavily involved in the initial stages of use.
This calls for change; and an urgent need to change the stereotype that motivation alone is required to change substance abusing behavior.
Money denotes people’s blood and sweat: their hard work, their sacrifice of waking up in the morning and returning home late; missing a child’s school play,fighting with a spouse,getting divorced,having accidents at work,suffering from depression and countless hardships and failures that sustain life.Being demotivated here is an excuse;but an excuse that costs four hundred billion of tax payer money,is a serious crime.
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