The primary issue with substance abuse and the youth is that educational programs do not properly educate students on the psychological, environmental, and genetic factors that can lead to substance misuse. Psychologically, those who are mentally unstable are more likely to abuse substances. Environmentally, those who are surrounded by others who are abusers are more likely to misuse substances. Genetically, those who are blood-related to abusers are more likely to have substance abuse problems. Underage children and young adults are increasingly abusing drugs and alcohol without realizing the long-term effects that it brings to society. Society is affected economically and socially by substance abuse through decline in public health. Public health is affected because more funding has to come from the health budget to take care of those with substance abuse issues. To improve or eliminate substance misuse in the youth and the future, educational programs need to become more informative and drugs and alcohol needs to become less accessible to those who are underage.
Keywords: [substance misuse, substance abuse, youth, young adults, education, alcohol]
Statement of Problem
Substance abuse is a sociological problem in many communities. There is usually not one single cause of drug addiciton, as many factors play a role in substance abuse: environmental, psychological, and genetic factors. Environmentally, people are exposed to drugs and alcohol in their early teens, but sometimes earlier. Kids are exposed to substance abuse in school, at home, and in their community. By being exposed to harmful substances at a young age, the person’s likelihood of abuse is increased. Psychologically, people who are not mentally stable or have a diagnosable mental illness are more likley to develop a drug addiciton due to their instability. Genetically, people are more likely to have substance abuse problems if their family has had a history of issues with drug and alcohol abuse. Drug and alcohol abuse is a serious issue for young adults. According to a psychological journal for the Society for the Study of Addiction, “Globally, alcohol consumption caused 7% of death and disability among young people aged 10–24 years in 2004, the most recent year for which estimates are available” (Jernigan, Noel, Landon, Thornton, Lobstein 2016). As the rate of alcohol and drug abuse problems increase in young adults, society is faced with a large public health problem.
Negative Consequences of Problem
Illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are extremely costly to society as a whole. Not only is overall public health at risk, but there are also consequences to society with social and economic decline. According to Drug and Alcohol Review, the social costs of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco are high and consume a high amount of gross domestic product.
Substance abuse in teens and young adults is extremely high and on the rise. According to research done for Drug and Alcohol Dependence, “Alcohol is…used by adolescents in the United States (U.S.), with approximately 11.5% of 12–17 year olds having consumed alcohol in the last 30 days” (Rossheim, M. E., Stephenson, C. J., Thombs, D. L., Livingston, M. D., Walters, S. T., Suzuki, S., Weiler, R. M. (2017). As a public health concern, this is an enormous statistic for a population who is not even able to legally purchase alcoholic or tobacco products. Even though middle schools and high schools implement programs like the D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, it does not eliminate as much substance abuse as needed. 11.5 out of 100 underage kids consuming alcohol in the last thirty days is 11.5 too many. This is a dangerous statistic because people are more likely to abuse substances if they start consuming drugs or alcohol at a young age. By having 11.5% young adults having consumed an illegal substance (for their age) in the last thirty days, they are at risk to become abusers of harder substances later on. Their substance abuse problem may carry onto their adult lives and get progressively worse. As the youth’s substance consumption rises, the future of public health declines. By having a larger population of young adult substance users, more money will be needed for present and future funding in health. The public health system has limited funding and it would be possible to eliminate something like substance abuse. Although all substance abuse may not be able to be stopped, educating the youth is the first step to fixing this public health concern.
According to a journal in Alcohol Research Current Reviews, alcohol dependence and dependence on other drugs frequently co-occur and are influenced by genetic factors. Studies have been done with twins that suggest that the overlap between dependence on alcohol and on other drugs largely results from shared genetic factors. There have been identifiable genes that affect the risk for dependence on substances: alcohol metabolism, transmission of nerve cell signals, modulation of nerve cell activity, acetylcholinergic neurotransmission, endogenous opioid, and cannabinoid systems (Dick 2008). Although there is not much that can be done to control these genetic factors that can lead to substance abuse, society is in control of educating the public.
Clinical-Psychology-Oriented Cause/Explanation
Over-consumption of alcohol is a major concern for young adults. Even though programs through schools talk and approach the topic of drinking, many young adults are still unaware about the dangers of over-consumption. Some young adult groups stay at a consistent rate of binge drinking throughout the year, but many fluctuate. The availability and pressure of alcohol consumption for minors and young adults is larger than one might think.
In a clinical study done for Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, changes from 2005-2015 were examined for binge and high-intensity drinking. Seven age groups of U.S. 12th graders and young adults were examined to see the rate of high intensity drinking and alcohol consumption. A total of 6,711 participants from “Monitoring the Future” were used to examine excessive alcohol consumption and the study looked at ranges of five or more, ten or more, and fifteen or more drinks on the same occasion in a timespan of two weeks (Patrick, M. E., Terry-Mcelrath, Y. M., Miech, R. A., Schulenberg, J. E., O’Malley, P.M., & Johnston, L. D. 2017). The study reviewed the drinking habits and alcohol consumption of these seven age groups and recorded the results. The findings from the study were compared with statistics from yearly and monthly alcohol use for each age group. With the comparisons done with the yearly and monthly alcohol trends in binge and high-intensity drinking, the results were similar for yearly and monthly alcohol use for eighteen to twenty year olds, but changed as the older groups aged. This change in binge drinking may be due to the fact of the older young adults maturing. The study results also showed that women are more likely to start binge drinking than men. Because women are more likely to start binge drinking, society has a need to educate young women on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.
In addition to finding that women are more likely to binge drink than men, the study also showed that frequent binge drinking amongst young adults is constantly flucuating. The journal states, “Binge and high-intensity drinking among U.S. 12th graders and young adults are dynamic phenomena” (Patrick, M. E., Terry-Mcelrath, Y. M., Miech, R. A., Schulenberg, J. E., O’Malley, P.M., & Johnston, L. D. 2017). The fact that the binge and high-intensity drinking trends are likely to change over time has positive and negative possible outcomes. Because the trend could go either way, it is important to figure out what society can do to make this trend more controllable. The journal states that, “Prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing the harms resulting from 5+, 10+, and 15+ drinking should acknowledge and focus on differences in trends in these behaviors by age and gender” (Patrick, M. E., Terry-Mcelrath, Y. M., Miech, R. A., Schulenberg, J. E., O’Malley, P.M., & Johnston, L. D. 2017). The findings of this study show that to change binge drinking in young adults, society needs to approach and acknowledge that there are differences in the trends due to age and gender. By focusing on the age and gender groups with different approaches, society could help improve these trends. Overall, the study proves that age and gender play an important role and by not using these factors as weigh-ins to how one approaches the issue of substance abuse, society cannot improve this issue effectively.
Community-Psychology-Oriented Cause/Explanation
Community plays an important part in influencing young adults. By being in a classroom or learning environment, students are exposed to environmental factors that influence their behavior. By learning or not learning about substance abuse in school, a student’s future may be impacted. When a student is not educated on substance abuse, they are unaware of the consequences that come with it. By not being exposed to this important educational material, students may not know that because of their psychological, environmental, or genetic factors, they are more likely to have substance abuse problems.
In a community study done for Jordanian special education students, researchers examine Jordanian’s special education students and how they deal with substance misuse. According to this study, substance misuse is one of the most serious human health problems worldwide and groups of students with disabilities may have higher levels of substance misuse. Students with disabilities encounter a greater number of risk factors: medication and health problems, societal enabling, a lack of identification of potential problems, and a lack of accessible and appropriate prevention and treatment services (Al-Zboon, E. 2017). By not being properly educated on their lack of identification for potential problems and their lack of treatment services, those with disabilities are unable to get the help that they need. The school community lacks to inform the students of the important educational information regarding substance abuse. The stressors that students with disabilities are faced with may lead to higher possibility of nicotine addiction, alcohol addiction, or drug addiction (Al-Zboon, E. 2017). Students with disabilities have a variety of stressors that they deal with due to their disabilities. As stated before, a person with mental health problems is more likely to have issues with substance abuse. After analyzing the data from the study, the school found the need to emphasize the role of teachers in a preventive approach to substance misuse (Al-Zboon, E. 2017). Like Jordanian’s educational program, many schools lack the tools to properly educated the youth on the causes and effects of substance misuse.
One Clinical-Psychology-Oriented Intervention
For young adults, increased depression and stress are correlated with greater levels of alcohol problems. In a study done for Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the study attempts to explain different variables that might have some correlation to depression, stress and alcohol problems. This study includes variables such as alcohol demand, future time orientation, and craving. The study focused on 393 undergraduates (60.8% female, 78.9% White/Caucasian) who reported at least 2 binge-drinking episodes (4/5 or more drinks for women/men, respectively) in the previous month (Soltis, K. E., Mcdevitt-Murphy, M. E., & Murphy, J. G. 2017). Those participating in the study completed different self-report measures on stress and depression, alcohol demand, future time orientation, craving, and alcohol problems. In separate mediation models that accounted for gender, race, and weekly alcohol consumption, future orientation and craving significantly mediated the relation between depressive symptoms and alcohol problems. Alcohol demand, future orientation, and craving significantly mediated the relation between stress symptoms and alcohol problems. Conclusions: Heavy-drinking young adults who experience stress or depression are likely to experience alcohol problems, and this is due in part to elevations in craving and alcohol demand, and less sensitivity to future outcomes. Interventions targeting alcohol misuse in young adults with elevated levels of depression and stress should attempt to increase future orientation and decrease craving and alcohol reward value. (Soltis, K. E., Mcdevitt-Murphy, M. E., & Murphy, J. G. 2017).