kids in the butt :: essays research papers

Substance Use and Abuse Among Children and Teenagers During the past several years, there has been a renewed national concern about do drugs abuse, culminating in the current "war on drugs." In this retrospect, we emphasize that even though child or teenage drug use is an individual behavior, it is implant in a sociocultural context that strongly determines its character and manifestations. Our focus is on psychoactive substances both lawful (cig atomic number 18ttes and alcohol) and illegitimate (e.g., cannabis and cocaine). We feel that it is tiny to draw a distinction between use and abuse of drugs and to do so from a multidimensional perspective that includes aspects of the stimulus (drug), organism (individual), response, and consequences. Our selective review of substance use and abuse among children and adolescents covers epidemiology (patterns and extent of drug use), etiology (what generates substance use), prevention (how to limit drug use), treatment (intervent ions with drug users), and consequences (effects and outcomes of youthful drug use). In this abbreviated review, we selectively examine the recent literature and current status of substance use and abuse among children and adolescents. Our focus is on psychoactive substances both licit and illicit, including cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and other drugs. We examine the use and abuse of substances by children and teenagers from five perspectives epidemiology, etiology, prevention, treatment, and consequences (see Rogers, 1987 , for additional overviews and references). The United States is a drug culture. Drugs are used commonly and acceptably to brace up in the morning (coffee or tea), get through the stresses of the day (cigarettes), and relax in the evening (alcohol). The Marlboro Man and the Virginia Slims woman are widely seen models, and licit drugs are pushed to remedy all of the ills one may facestress, headaches, depression, physical illness, and so on. Children f ace a monumental task of sorting out the some images and messages regarding both licit and illicit drugs. Adolescents are quite adept at spotting hypocrisy and may have difficulty understanding a form _or_ system of government of "saying no to drugs" when suggested by a society that clearly says "yes" to the smorgasbord of drugs that are legal as well as the range of illicit drugs that are widely available and used. A few words are in order on the distinction between use and abuse of drugs. This differentiation is particular to such diverse topics as societal justification for limiting access to drugs (whether By legal or other means) or for considering psychological intervention.