However, in understanding the factors that exist in most substance abuse cases, preemptive solutions to the problem such as education and awareness, as well as early interventions in recently-onset cases can help to curb the issue significantly.
Proposed Solutions
The key to preventing substance abuse, as proposed by researchers and laymen alike, is awareness and education regarding substance abuse. Beginning in schools, religious organizations, and at home, individuals are better adept at understanding the struggles that stem from substance abuse, and such knowledge can help to eliminate a problem before it arises.
For those individuals who find themselves in the throes of substance abuse as adolescents, research has further found that early intervention or punishment can help to put the severity of the problem into the forefront of the abuser's mind in order to show the consequences of such abuse. For instance, increasing evidence has shown that specific, immediate and brief sentences (i.e. overnight) for positive drug tests or altercations produces substantial reductions in drug use and offending in adolescents (Strang, 2012, p. 75). Through fully understanding the repercussions of one's actions, adolescents in these circumstances are shown exactly what substance abuse can lead to, and in having this type of law enforcement altercation early on, many individuals are essentially scared into quitting.
Other solutions on and individualized basis can stem from that individual's religious affiliation. Religious institutions offer increased opportunities for social support, especially during late adolescence/young adulthood, the period in which so many individuals begin to experiment or subsequently abuse certain substances (Kasen,...
For some, there will be a denial and minimization of the substance habit as being inconsequential, purely recreational or extremely intermittent. This response is akin to the young adult asserting that there is no problem. For other homeless youths, their drug or alcohol habit maybe viewed as a form of survival: these drugs help these teenagers bear life on the street. In that sense the substance is attributed as
Substance abuse is a significant problem for all Americans. Research has revealed increased risk factors including exposure to drugs among African-American males, making a race-specific intervention program necessary to ensure recovery success rates (Wallace & Muroff, 2002). Moreover, psychological counseling and intervention programs need to be culturally sensitive if they are to be successful. Variables such as communication styles, worldviews, family values, gender roles and norms, urban vs. rural living
There were also facilities that conducted both random tests and tests based on reasonable suspicion (Drug and Alcohol Treatment in Juvenile Correctional Facilities, 2002). In addition, of the facilities that responded to the survey 17% tested residents at the time that they were admitted to the facility, and 8% of the facilities tested the juveniles when they were released (Drug and Alcohol Treatment in Juvenile Correctional Facilities, 2002). The survey
Substance Abuse and Suicide Risk Among Adolescents Adolescents are at high risk for suicidal ideations, behaviors, attempts, and suicide. Adolescent needs for independence, identity formation, and peer acceptance increase risk-taking behavior. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among people aged 15-24. Suicide is the main reason for referrals for child and adolescent emergency psychiatric services. There has been a steady increase in adolescent drug abuse in the United States since 1960. Substance abuse has been
The inclusion of alcohol and drug education is a vital component of most drug and alcohol abuse interventions, for both the users and non-user. (Montagne et al., 1992). This education can be offered as a preventive measure to beginners of abuse of substances of to the vulnerable group to save the future generations from the menace and the whole society from the drug's association with crime. Alternatively, it should be
Indeed, the lack of "recognition and protection" by schools in general contributes to the "critically high level of suicide" among this community of minority students (146). Surely alert, competent, contemporarily up-to-date school counselors understand that they have the "daunting but imperative obligation to become social activists for gay, lesbian, and bisexual students" since these students are the most "stigmatized members of school environs," Stone continues. There is no doubt that
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