Diversity and Human Rights Assignment

Part 3&4
Submitted on: March 24, 2016
Submitted to: Zuby Saloojee
Submitted by: Meaghan Lardie & Victoria Wilson

The main topic of our social justice project is how low levels of
closeness with a parent or guardian can raise children/youths chances
of using substances and potentially becoming life long addicts. The
articles Higher Rates of Adolescent Substance use in Child Welfare
Versus Community Populations in the United States and Strengthening
our Skills: Canadian Guidelines for Youth Substance Abuse Prevention
Family Skills Program both addresses how family connectedness or
lack there of can affect a youths chances of using drugs or alcohol.
This was our chosen topic as we can relate on a personal level. These
experiences have been from our family lives or through the work we do
with our clients. For instance, at one of our placements the students
come from an inner city neighbourhood that is dealing with drugs, low
socio-economic status, and gang violence. Being in this area already
increases a young persons chance of using substances. In addition the
students spend very little time with their family and have a perceived
lack of support. These students have already begun to talk about using
drugs and they are only ten years of age. Another experience is
personally watching a loved one turn to drugs and alcohol at a young
age to deal with family issues/conflict. It is for these reasons that we
believe early-intervention is the best way to raise awareness and
address risk. The way we would do this is by starting an education
program available to middle school students during school time. In
addition, a secondary program will be held after hours when family

members can attend. These after school sessions will be run weekly to
help build family connectedness as well as routine for the family.
Routine will be beneficial because it can help to create household
structure, which has been strongly connected to drinking behaviour
(Aaron, Fettes, & Green, 2013).
The role of the Child and Youth worker in this organization would
be to provide useful education that can leave them prepared and
informed when they make their decisions about using drugs or alcohol.
During the in-school sessions we can also use our training to provide
counseling for those in need. The counseling could address the want to
use drugs, family issues, or help a youth who has already begun using.
The education we provide in both the in school and after hours
programs will be interactive to get them physically and mentally
involved. Strong involvement during sessions with families can help
create a team bond and build on parental closeness. As a child and
youth worker we can also speak with parent/ guardians and raise
awareness of the role parents can play to provide their children with
protective factors to lower their level of risk.
In the first article by authors Aaron, Fettes, and Green they
looked at a study which focuses on four different drug categories and
determined how gender, race, family connectedness, depression, and
delinquency could affect a young persons likelihood of using
substances. The data for the study was drawn from a group of youth

who are involved in the welfare system and a community sector of

youth. The article (Aarons, Fettes, & Green 2013) defined welfare
involved youth as experiencing problems such as child abuse, neglect,
poverty, domestic violence, and parental substance use problems.
Under the measure of emotional/behavioural health the study looked at
perceived parental closeness. In this section the results found that.
[] youths living with two parents and youths who felt closer to their
parents having significantly lower odds of current drinking (Aarons,
Fettes, & Green 2013). Additionally, the study also showed delinquency
and youth using substances were correlated. Delinquency had a
correlation to family connectedness as youth with low parental support
or supervision were more likely to use drugs and alcohol. The
conclusion of the article pertaining to our topic is that awareness and
early intervention are strong protective factors for youth. Professionals
and home supports (parent/guardian) can help improve the education
a youth has and leave them less vulnerable.
In the second article, written by members of the Canadian Center
on Substance Abuse (CCSA), it touches on specific guidelines for youth
that deal with a substance abuse problem as a result of a lack of family
support and connectedness. The article also explains in detail the
different family related factors that can contribute to youth substance
abuse, and also provides advice and interventions such as family skills
programs to those families that are currently dealing with these

situations. Diverse circumstances such as; families living in rural and

remote communities, single parents, families with same-sex partners,
and foster care families are all discussed in the article as some of the
main factors that can affect youth in various ways, which can
potentially lead to a substance abuse problem as a result of their
inability to cope with these circumstances (CCSA, 2011). Along with the
different living conditions that some youth are faced with, the cultural
factor has also been touched upon in this article and has been known
to have a great impact on the values and practices linked both to
substance abuse and family life, which ties the two together.
Substance abuse has been known to sometimes be culturally
influenced because different cultures often have different histories and
views on the use of substances, which can either protect or put the
youth at risk for potential substance use/abuse.
Additionally, although there are many different factors that can
influence a young persons well-being and likelihood of partaking in
problematic substance use, family-related factors are very crucial to
youth because they can increase or decrease the effect of all the other
potential influences (CCSA, 2011). This article greatly relates to our
topic and our school based programs because it discusses the
importance of attending family skills programs in order to promote and
prevent the starting, or the escalating of youth substance abuse issues
as a result of disconnections within a family. Although our program in

middle schools is typically run during school hours and is only for
students, the after school program in high schools where families are
invited to are a great way to help advocate for the youth that may be
struggling with an addiction due to family problems. These programs
can also be simply used as an information session for families that may
have issues within their lives as a way to inform them of the possibility
of a drug or alcohol problem forming with their child/youth.

References
Fettes, D., Aarons, G., Green, A. (2013). Higher Rates of Adolescent
Substance Use in Child Welfare Versus Community Populations in the
United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. (November),
825-832.

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (2011). Strengthening Our Skills: Canadian

guidelines for youth substance abuse prevention family skills programs. Ottawa, ON:
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, 11-19.