American Youth Substance Abuse

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American Youth, Substance Abuse, and Proposed Solutions American youth are abusing alcohol and drugs at an alarming rate. Every generation has this problem to a certain degree, but the current one is of utmost concern. American’s have turned to harder and harder drugs with greater potential for serious harm and death. Psychologist Sean O’Hara, who specializes in adolescent substance abuse, claims that today’s young people not only use “more lethal forms” of drugs such as pain medication and tranquilizer combinations but in the coming years ahead we will likely see a “sharp increase of overdose death.” Why and where these problems come from are two important questions that need to be asked by professionals, children, and parents alike.…show more content…
Many of today’s families are less connected and are not as involved with one another as they should be. Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation to familial interaction and drug abuse: the more engaged the family is with one another, the less likely the children use drugs and/or alcohol (Conger). There are many reasons for family interactions to be weak and one of them is due to the number of single parents. Single parents are often not available to talk or spend time with their children for pleasure because of all the responsibilities they have. This differs from two-parent families in that there is only one adult to take care of all of life’s responsibilities rather than two. Bills need to be paid, food needs to be taken care of, etc. These two responsibilities alone take a good amount of time to complete and once finished, the parent is usually too tired or stressed to engage in healthy interaction. Not to say that this is not the case in two parent families, but it’s magnitude has greater effects on single parent…show more content…
Positive relationships between students and teachers, children and parents, and peers-to-peers are crucial to strength, self-esteem, and wellbeing. The relationship between a student and a teacher can greatly effect the way children deal with peer pressure. The benefits of having a role model are clear; however often times teachers are not able to connect on a personal level where they can be of help. Neil Miller, an experienced observer of gay/lesbian studies wrote the essay “Gay Teachers, Gay Students,” which gives a look at why it is important for authority figures to be honest: “Openly gay and lesbian faculty offer a variety of responses as to why it is important for teachers to come out in school: to provide role models to both gay and straight students” (238). Although this issue does not center in substance abuse, it is another taboo subject that should be taken into account and its principles directly applied. A positive relationship between parents and their children is very helpful in establishing a communicative practice and it is also a healthy way of relieving stress. If a child is comfortable explaining and expressing many aspects of their daily life with their family than they are more likely to avoid trouble and stay away from negative influences. Not only does it help with prevention; it is valuable to possible intervention in the future. My whole life I was brought up to talk to my
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