The myth about single parent household and the teens substance abuse

Introduction

Many people believe that substance abuse is the result of a complex interaction of individuals, families, colleagues, community and social factors. Recent studies have shown that this is not the case. A coherent overall result is that substance abuse does not occur in families. A family history of substance abuse and substance dependence does not increase the risk of such problems among members. The same pattern occurs with alcohol abuse and dependence (Nutt¸11).

Discussion and Analysis

Although genetics play an important role both in the alcohol, but the family does not play a role in both the promotion and protection from abuse and substance dependence. This section reviews some of these factors. Due to the limitations of research designs, many of these findings are of correlation and causality.

Although much of the research is limited in design (e.g., retrospective, clinical samples), childhood abuse appears to be a risk factor for substance abuse. Women who were physically or sexually battered children are at risk of alcohol abuse in adulthood. Child sexual abuse does not increase the risk of drug abuse among adolescent girls. Tracey Jarvis and his colleagues speculate that drug use may be an attempt to self-medicate the emotional pain associated with abuse.

Although peer influences are important in explaining substance use among youth, family attitudes and practices are not significant at all. Among Hispanic and Latino youth in particular, parents have been more influential than their peers (Coombs, Paulson, and Richardson, 1991). Family attitudes about the use of substances that influence the use of time when young people of substance. For example, an analysis of household survey in 1997 on the use of substances found youth from twelve to seventeen years of age who perceived that their parents would be "very upset" with marijuana, cigarettes, excessive alcohol consumption and those showing a lower prevalence of substance abuse in the past year. Similarly, the protective influence of the family of strong sanctions against alcohol consumption reduces the use of the substance among girls in Hungary.

The level of influence seems to extend to the brothers. In the study of a home in Canada, increased drug use among siblings, but the drug use of parents, was the dominant influence of substance use among young people.

Family and social conflicts are not at increased risk of substance abuse. The national survey of households in the United States found that teenagers who argued with their parents for at least several times a week has not used marijuana in the last year that he had discussed with their parents once a week to once a month . Internationally, family conflict and lower perceived family care does not increase the risk of substance abuse in adolescents.

According to popular belief, civil and family conflicts appear to increase the risk of alcoholism among women in Zagreb, but researchers have shown that it is only a myth. More than three quarters of the 100 men admitted for alcohol abuse in Scotland, attributes his ...