Did you know that about two-thirds of American students try alcohol by the 12th grade? On top of that, about half of high school students in the U.S. report having used cannabis at least once.

When teens use drugs it can impact their development and growth, particularly their brain development. It can also lead to health consequences later on in life.

Substance abuse prevention for youth is crucial to help teach teenagers to start making healthy choices while they are young.

Let’s take a look at what you need to know about how to prevent substance abuse among kids.

Substance Abuse Among Youth: Why Teens Use Drugs

There are a number of different factors that can lead to both drug use and misuse by teenagers. It is common for first-time use to occur in social settings with substances that are easy to access, such as cigarettes and alcohol.

When teens continue to use drugs, it might be a result of a desire for social acceptance or insecurities. Teenagers also might take dangerous risks with drugs because they don’t consider the consequences of their actions.

Some of the common risk factors for teenage drug abuse include:

Risk-taking or impulsive behavior
Substance abuse in the family history
A history of traumatic events
A behavioral or mental health condition, such as anxiety, depression, or ADHD
Feelings of social rejection or low self-esteem

There are a number of negative consequences of teen drug abuse that can affect a teenager’s well-being and health.

If someone you love is suffering from a substance abuse issue, you can learn more about our detox program here.

Substance Abuse Prevention For Youth: The Different Concepts of Prevention

There are a number of different prevention concepts that deal with substance abuse among youth. However, you don’t want to rely on your child’s school or the community to prevent drug use. It’s also important to talk to your kids about the consequences of drug use.

The Risk Factor Approach

The risk factor approach for substance abuse prevention for youth focuses on emphasizing educational approaches. The goal is to modify specific attitudes and beliefs concerning drug use, self-esteem, and other related factors.

It is understood that a number of different risk factors exist for teen drug abuse. Some of these weigh more heavily than others and some are easier to change than others. On top of that, risk factors can add up and contribute to a higher likelihood of drug abuse.

This approach focuses on risk factors that tend to be more influential on teen drug abuse as well as those that are easier to change.

These risk factors include:

The Developmental Approach

This approach focuses on the interaction within the family during early childhood. It also emphasizes interactions within common environments such as school. This is particularly the case between grades one and six.

The developmental approach focuses on educational potential, positive motivation, and prosocial behavior. It also concentrates on correcting environments that reinforce undesirable patterns of belief, affect, or behavior.

Human development occurs across one’s entire lifespan, but the most significant developments occur in childhood and adolescence.

It’s important to increase a teen’s capacity to:

This is a population-based approach to substance use prevention. It recognizes the important role that peers play in both the initiation and progression of teenage drug use.

There are four core aspects to this social influence model, which are:

1. Providing information on the short-term physiological consequences and negative social consequences of smoking
2. Correcting the inflated perceptions of how common smoking and other drug use is
3. Modeling, training, reinforcement, and rehearsal of how to resist social influences to smoke or use drugs
4. Providing information on the social influences that lead people to use drugs or smoke

This type of intervention mostly concentrates on students between grades six and ten.

The Community-Specific Approach

Another perspective on how to prevent substance abuse for youth is the community-specific approach.

This approach actually tries to encompass aspects of the previous three approaches. It is oriented towards investigating community variations and population differences. This information allows resources to be distributed and mobilized accordingly.

What Are the Consequences of Teen Drug Abuse?

There are a number of negative consequences that can come from teen drug abuse.

Negative consequences of teen drug use include:

Poor judgment in personal and social interactions
Drug dependence, which can put them at an increased risk for serious drug use as they get older
The risk of mental health disorders increasing or complications to existing disorders
A higher risk of high-risk sexual activity, unplanned pregnancy, and unsafe sex
A decline in academic performance
Impaired driving

Drug use can also result in several negative health effects.

Different drugs are associated with different risks, including:

Ecstasy: Risk of heart and liver failure
Cocaine: Risk of stroke, seizures, and heart attack
Methamphetamine: High doses or long-term use can lead to increased risk of psychotic behaviors
Cannabis: Risk of learning, memory, concentration, and problem-solving impairment among other things
Vaping: Risk of nicotine dependence and exposure to harmful substances
Opioids: Risk of death from overdose, immune system suppression, and mood complications

When teens use drugs, they are putting their own safety and health at risk and sometimes the health and safety of others as well. Talking to your teen about the importance of making healthy choices and the consequences of using drugs can help prevent teen drug abuse.

Signs of Substance Abuse in Teens

The teenage years are a time of change. If your child is experiencing mood swings, it might just be their rapidly changing hormones. However, you want to pay attention to ensure that their behavior isn’t indicative of drug use.

Some signs to watch out for in your teen include:

Dropping their old friends for a new group
Losing interest in things they used to love
Breaking rules
Sleeping more than they usually do
Acting aggressive, angry, or despondent
Showing physical changes like shakes and tremors, watery or bloody eyes, frequent nosebleeds, or sudden weight loss

These signs might indicate that your child is using drugs, drinking alcohol, or misusing medication.

Does Someone You Love Have a Substance Abuse Problem?

Substance abuse prevention for youth is essential. It can help ensure that today’s children grow into healthy and capable adults of the future. If someone you love is suffering from a substance abuse issue, there is help available.

Are you looking for a program that is specifically tailored to your needs or the needs of your loved one? If so, contact us today!

Sources

1. Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health. (n.d.). 3.2 the Youth Development Model. Department of Health | 3.2 The youth development model. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/drugtreat-pubs-front2-wk-toc~drugtreat-pubs-front2-wk-secb~drugtreat-pubs-front2-wk-secb-3~drugtreat-pubs-front2-wk-secb-3-2
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, February 10). Teen Substance Use & Risks. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/features/teen-substance-use.html
3. Harvard Health Publishing. (n.d.). Mental Health. Harvard Health. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/mental-health
4. Partnership Staff. (2021, April 7). Preventing teen drug use: Risk factors and why teens use. Partnership to End Addiction. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://drugfree.org/article/risk-factors-problem-use-addiction/

A Guide to Substance Abuse Prevention for Youth