EFFECT OF DRUG ABUSE AMONG

CHILDREN

SOCIOLOGY PSDA

Submitted to- Miss Avievey Submitted by – Somya Garg

1411703821
BALLB Section 2 C
VIVEKANANDA SCHOOL OF LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES
(VSLLS) VIVEKANANDA SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL
STUDIES DELHI
2022
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the PSDA (Professional Skill Development Activity)

Submission under the topic “Effect Of Drug Abuse Among Children” submitted
to Vivekananda Institute of Studies, Delhi is a record of an original work done by
me under the guidance of Miss Avievey, Assistant Professor, Law, VSLLS, and
this research paper is submitted as a project work for internal assessment and
evaluation for the second semester.

SOMYA GARG
 ACKNOWLEDGEMNT
I have taken sincere efforts towards the completion this project. However, it would
not have been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and
organizations. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to all of
them.

Firstly, I’d like to thank Professor Rashmi Salpekar, Dean, and VSLLS for
providing me with this opportunity to work on a project through which I’m able to
enhance my research skills later required in the field of law and for always
supporting the students in the best possible manner. I’d like to extend my gratitude
towards Miss Avievey and VSLLS for his guidance and constant supervision as
well as for providing all the necessary information and assistance regarding the
project whenever required.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents for believing in me and

displaying their co-operation and encouragement which helped me in completion
of this project. My thanks and appreciations also go to my fellow classmates who
have willingly helped me out with their abilities whenever I had reached out to
them.

EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE AMONG

CHILDREN
 INTRODUCTION

Drug abuse and addiction are important and actual social and public health problems throughout the
world. Although considerable progress has been made in identifying the contributing factors of drug
abuse, there are still gaps. However it is widely accepted that drug abuse and addiction have a
multifactorial etiology. In this paper I analyse the implication of the social factors in the initiation and
continuation of drug consumption, abuse and addiction, emphasizing the importance of the family, peer
groups and living environment. In this paper I also acknowledge that a thorough knowledge of the
causes of drug abuse and addiction allow the creation of effective intervention methods in this field.

INFLUENCE OF FAMILY ANSD PEER GROUP

Family and peers are the first groups of socialization wherever somebody learns attitudes and behavior. As

expressed by the social learning theory, these are the teams within which the individual learn to
use drugs through mechanisms of imitation and reinforcement. Bond strength between adolescent and
first supply of socialization could be a major think about determinant the way that rules area
unit transmitted. Thus, habit is a lot of probably to occur in powerful interactions, such as primary
socialization teams, teenagers being probably to pay attention and to convey priority to people they admire
and respect.

FAMILY INFLUENCE

Family is the first social group to which individuals belong and to which the latter interact frequently and
have intense connections for a long time. Parental observation is important in preventing drug use: the absence
of parental observation enhance the risk of start using drugs in kids, whereas the presence of
parental observation can considerably decrease the chance of the children to form friends who already
consume drugs and within the same time the employment of drugs by themselves.
Thus, once the observation is increased, the teenagers fell affected to own prosocial behaviors as a result
of they think their parents watch them and expects them to evolve. Once the observation created |is formed |is
created} at a low grade or is not made at all, teenagers won't feel their parents watch them closely and that
they can let their own preferences to guide their behavior, specifically to experience drug consumption.
There are studies showing similar effect
of observation for each gender whereas alternative studies specific that result is stronger in boys. General
conclusion of those studies is that women are a lot of powerfully connected to family and have a better level
of parental monitoring that explains a lower rate of delinquency among them. Teenagers’ tenderness towards
their parents conjointly plays a crucial role. Once teenagers are close to their oldsters they feel forced to act in
non-deviant ways in which in order to please the latter. Therefore, there is a break to
refrain drugs consumption if their parents say therefore. once the affection is missing, teenagers might
not feel strained to respect their parents’ desires and there's a large chance to experience drug consumption .In
this that means, group action theory shows that drug consumption seems as a result to low levels
of tenderness and commitment towards establishments, like family .The perspective of parents towards drug
consumption influences the chance of their youngsters to start out using drugs. For example, maternal
tolerance for tobacco use encourages a positive association with drug consumption in teenagers
and once parents disagree alcohol consumption, is a smaller amount seemingly their youngsters can drink
alcohol, or they'll drink less . Relations have a number one role in modeling social behavior of the kid, as well
as the deviant one, that is accustomed through modeling or imitation of others’ behavior. Hence, parental drug
consumption is related to enhanced drug consumption in youngsters, sometimes using an equivalent drugs.
More, people mimic the perspective towards drug consumption of their elder brothers at a larger extent than
that of their parents. Different studies show that maternal drug consumption has no direct influence on drug
consumption in teenagers; however appears to influence this call indirectly, by developing deviant
behaviors within the latter.

PEER GROUP INFLUENCE

In adolescence, learning social behaviors is frequently commanded by peer groups which may transmitter-
social or deviant norms, most often the latter ones. Adolescents are susceptible in acquirement the pro-drug
consumption attitudes if they associate with people who use drugs and who have a pro-drug
consumption attitude as well. The more interaction time is longer, the more increased the risk. Poor peer
interactions (e.g. rejection by classmates) in turn, might favor the interactions with peers who have deviant
behavior .Brook et al (1986) suggested, though, that some positive family characteristics and
individual personality characteristics might improve the impact of risk factors provided by the peers’
influence. Joining the deviant peers is significantly associated with drug consumption both in boys
and girls ,though the effect is stronger in boys. Girls are more closely monitored by parents, but when parental
monitoring is poor, they have a higher risk to join peers than boys have, and thus, a higher risk for drug
consumption. Social control theory provides that there is no causal association between delinquent
friends and delinquency, both being determined by the poor interactions with society. These poor
interactions cause delinquent behavior and lead to association with delinquent friends. Other authors
adjoin the necessity of a positive motivation for youth involvement in deviant behavior. Poor parental
monitoring increases the risk for a teenager to involve himself in a deviant group and this association leads
to a risk for drug consumption ,association with deviant peers being the main source of motivation for
delinquency and drug consumption.

INFLUENCE OF THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT

Different studies show a positive correlation between the environment – respectively neighborhood –
in which a person lives and drug consumption, establishing a high incidence of drug consumption
in very poor urban neighborhoods. This correlation might be explained, on the one hand, by the
necessity to cure a stressing state or by adapting to life-stressing experiences such as:
victimization, death of the loved ones, separation, unemployment, which have an increased
incidence in poor urban neighborhoods, and on the other handy the social tension arising when
someone is prevented or threatened to be prevented from achieving its goals.

Social strain is associated with several negative emotional states such as: despair, fright, anger.
Individuals who are exposed to high levels of strain engage in delinquent behavior to
diminish the strain, respectively to achieve valuable goals, to withdraw from negative stimuli and
approach to the positive ones. Authors interpret in different ways the relationship between stress and
drug consumption. On the one hand, some authors set a positive relation between psychological stress
level and drug consumption, while other authors agree that is not clear if drug consumption and drug
abuse are the solution for stress disposal or if these behaviors are actually the leading cause for high
stress levels. A disadvantaged living environment exposes the individual to a greater extent to
stressful life events(death of a loved one, unemployment etc.). It may also be incriminated
individual exposure to high social strain by negative social interactions with other persons and by
experimenting discriminatory attitudes towards, for example, opportunities to find a job, this being
more difficult for those who live in a disadvantaged neighborhood.

Social strain in poor neighborhood might be increased by the more intense supervision and harassment
by police officers. Disadvantaged living environment exhausts, thus, psychological and social
resources of an individual. In addition to these, there are several contributing factors for drug
consumption in disadvantaged environments: higher level of exposure to drugs and drug dealers,
connection with other drug users, exposure to norms and values.

CONCLUSION

Drug consumption represents a worldwide current social phenomenon. It is a multifactorial, with

causes that are usually difficult to identify, this being the main reason for limited results in
interventional methods. Social factors involved in the beginning of drug consumption represent a
piece of multifaceted etiology of this phenomenon. Understanding the social dimension of drug
consumption and addiction creates, though, premises for an adequate approach of sociological factors
in multidisciplinary interventions intended to prevent and fight against drug consumption. The need
of the hour is to educate and counsel young children and adolescents and create awareness among the
public regarding drug addiction. Much progress has been made in understanding the relationship between
substance abuse and the family. Family factors have an important role in explaining the onset, development,
and amelioration of substance abuse. Encouraging gains have been made in treating couples and families
with substance abuse problems. More research is needed involving diverse and international populations,
but efficacious treatments are growing in type and number that bodes well for improving the lives of millions
worldwide.