Quote of the Day

Among many adolescents, alcohol and drug experimentation is normal behavior, although certainly one fraught with risk. Jessor (1985) noted that experimentation may serve various functions during the developmental process. This can be a way of asserting autonomy by opposing adult authority, finding affiliation and connection with peers, coping with feelings of inadequacy, and relieving boredom and loneliness.
Research has demonstrated that the age when adolescents first start using alcohol, tobacco, and other illicit drugs is a predictor of later alcohol and drug problems. More than 40% of youth who start drinking at age 14 or younger develop alcohol dependence, compared with 10% of youth who begin drinking at age 20 or older. Tobacco use, particularly among girls, is a powerful predictor of future use of other drugs. For males, alcohol use can be a gateway to other drugs (Ericson, 2001).

As kids move into early adolescence, they change dramatically. The new developmental tasks involve establishing independence, developing a coherent self-identity, and adjusting to psychosocial changes associated with physical maturation. Adolescents begin to question adult standards and the need for parental guidance and increase their time with peers, and they begin to identify themselves with certain peers, while distancing themselves from others. They seek advice from friends who are understanding and sympathetic, and they experiment with new values with their peers-sometimes to seek adults' reactions to their experimentation.

Substance use increases in adolescence (Johnston, O'Malley, & Bachman, 1998) as smoking, drinking, and other drugs become a way to appear mature while fitting in with peers. For kids challenged by abuse and neglect, alcohol or drug use is likely to amplify risks to their health and wellbeing. There is an association between smoking, depression, and anxiety in teens, and teens who smoke report more symptoms of depression (Kandel & Raveis, 1989).
While the disease model was designed to assist substance abusing adults, adolescent substance problems differ from those of adults with chronic alcohol dependence (Bailey & Rachal, 1993; Kilty, 1990). Thus, very few adolescents and young adults meet the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence (Baer, Kivlahan, & Marlatt, 1995). Most young adults reduce heavy drinking as they learn their limits and begin to assume other responsibilities, such as work and parenting. Consequently, interventions for adolescents should be different from those we use with adults.

When we talk with kids about why they use drugs, they answer, “to numb the pain of abuse and neglect,” “to be accepted,” “peer pressure,” “to take control of my own life,” “for relaxation and pleasure,” “to chill,” “to improve my self-image,” “because I'm curious, stressed, or bored,” and “to assert myself.” It is obvious that adolescent substance abuse is not a younger version of adult substance abuse.

ERIK LAURSEN and PAUL BRASLER
Laursen, E.K. and Brasler, P. (2002) Reclaiming Children and Youth, Vol. 11 No. 3. pp 181-182