Adolescent Drug Use in the United States

Abstract

The subject under the discussion is the Drug use or abuse, as one of the major concerns prevailing in the American society. The increasing number of youths addicted to drug use is surely an alarming sign and the issue needs to be addressed properly. Although there are a number of drug intervention programs in place, but they have failed to produce any substantial results depicting any decrees in the drug using trends among the adolescents. This paper discusses the pros and cons of drug use among the American youth and the factors that have influenced them to take up drugs. This paper also presents findings of an interview conducted from a sample of adolescents, who belonged from various ethnic groups. The findings will provide an insight into the contemporary trends of drug use among the American youths.

Adolescent Drug Use in the United States

Introduction

According to the definition proposed by the Center of Substance Abuse Treatment, adolescence as a period when an individual experiences vivid growth in his or her physical body size, social thoughts, and emotions (Simpson, 2007). This is a time when individuals seem to feel themselves independent enough to take their own decisions. Individuals between the age group of 13-27 years are categorized as adolescents.

Discussion

Factors influencing drug use among adolescent

There are many factors, social, economical, and emotional that influence an individual's through process during adolescence, eventually leading him or her to get addicted to drug use.

Ethnicity: During the analysis phase, it was found that ethnicity is one of the major factors that contribute to the prevalence of increased drug usage among individuals. It was found that Native Americans and Whites are more likely to use legal drugs, whereas other groups, more significantly, blacks and African Americans were found to be attracted towards using illegal drugs (Stevens, 2006). It is also an established fact that the number of male adolescents using drugs is much more than that of adolescent girls involved. This fact points out to another fact that adolescent males are more likely to go for drug abuse treatment as compared to girls.

Socioeconomic Status: Individuals, who belong to the families, living below the poverty line, are most likely to get addicted to drug use (Wallace, 2008). During the interview, it was found that Native American adolescents tend to use more drugs as compared to any other group. An interesting fact remains that the percentage of drug use among African American adolescents was low as compared to the adults of the same group.

School Dropouts: Education plays an important role in shaping the personality of an individual. The increase in the rate of school and college dropouts is yet another concern, highlighting the inadequacy of the American education system and more so the future prospects of individuals leaving out. During the interview, Asian Americans were found to be least interested in using drugs, citing commitment to their education as one of the prime reason. Apart from them, Blacks and Native American dropped ...