Causes and correlates of adolescent drug abuse and implications for treatment

Abstract

On the basis of the literature, the following risk factors for drug abuse by adolescents were identified: biological predisposition to drug abuse; personality traits that reflect a lack of social bonding; a history of low quality and consistency of family management, family communication, family relationships and parental role‐modelling, a history of being abused or neglected; low socio‐economic status; emotional or psychiatric problems; significant stressors and/or inadequate coping skills and social supports; inadequate social skills; history of associating with drug‐using peers, rejection by prosocial peers due to poor social skills; a history of low commitment to education, failure at school; a history of anti‐social behaviour and delinquency and early initiation to drug use. Models for conceptualizing the aetiology of drug abuse are discussed, namely Jessor's problem behaviour syndrome and Rhodes & Jason's Social Stress Model. It is clear that the path to drug abuse is complex, so simple solutions to the problem are unlikely to be effective. [Spooner C. Causes and correlates of adolescent drug abuse and implications for treatment. Drug Alcohol Rev 1999;18:453–475]

Experiences of victimization among adolescents with Substance Abuse Disorders in Sweden

“…A history of victimization is also strongly tied to current psychiatric symptoms of various kinds among adolescents, including depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, violent behavior, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, and self-harming behaviors; this finding is consistent with the results of earlier studies (2,3,7,22,27). Nearly one third of the study population had taken prescription drugs for these or other psychiatric disorders.…”

“…Because the causal connection is unclear, some researchers argue that victimization primarily results in various psychiatric symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, conduct disorder, risk taking of various kinds), which in turn may lead to both experimental drug use and later to addictive disorders of a more serious nature (3,7,22,27). The degree of victimization is often related to the degree of psychiatric disorder (2,28).…”

“…A history of various forms of abuse may have a negative impact on adolescents' commitment to treatment; these individuals tend to have a higher dropout rate (2,3). Some studies show that treatment outcomes of adolescents with a history of victimization do not generally differ from the outcomes of those who do not have such a history (13).…”

“…Victimization during childhood is a serious risk factor for future substance abuse disorders (1)(2)(3)(4), and adolescents who present for drug and alcohol abuse treatment frequently have a history of exposure to violence in the form of physical, psychological, or sexual abuse earlier in their lives (5). These experiences can have significant adverse consequences that may impact the lives and social functioning of these individuals.…”

Preventing drug misuse by young people: we need to do more than ‘just say no’

“…Research on the aetiology of drug use (Hawkins et al 1995;Spooner 1999) has shown that it is one of a number of types of problem behaviour in adolescence (Jessor 1998) that includes crime (Jessor 1998;National Crime Prevention 1999;Loeber & Farrington 2000) and poor mental health and school dropout, all of which share common antecedents and impair preparation for adulthood. Shared risk factors for drug use and other problem behaviours include: individual characteristics (e.g.…”