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Tiffany Meza

Mr. Powers

English 1302

10 March 2023

Alcohol and Drug Usage in Adolescents

Introduction

In times like today there is a common misconception behind the usage of alcohol and drug

abuse in teens. Most adolescents have the urge to pick up the habit of drinking and partying at a

young age compared to any other time in life. This is a huge problem today where more media

and influencers are portrayed to lead younger audiences and encourage the actions seen via

online. There are multiple evaluations that imply how social media, friendships, and

surroundings can be reliable resources reachable to adolescents. The research conducted in this

essay provides proof and evidence on how late teens have been greatly affected by the common

peer pressure and environmental endangerment towards substance and alcohol abuse. Research is

focused on the importance in raising awareness on this overly populated problem. It is important

to keep in mind throughout this research that almost 80% of high school students have tried

alcohol (Dowshen). This information provides readers with insight on what is being introduced

into this research and gives a number to keep in mind as reading this essay.

Media involvement and curriculum effects

According to researchers in various articles, the media is linked with multiple accounts to

vulnerable illustrations involving adolescents and alcohol. Social media sites freely forecast and

share various advertisements and commercials encouraging this behavior of mischief (which is
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where most teens get drawn at first). This is not intentional to businesses and allowed, but

adolescents always find a way to acquire these substances. It is a common misdemeanor and

situation where underage adolescents are caught, and charged for carrying, or consuming drugs

and alcohol. The numbers of cases in adolescents carrying substances go up year by year. Crime

rates tend to skyrocket at popular events or holidays where teens get together and keep a low

profile, but when things get out of hand the consequences are unbearable and cause horrific news

articles. One writer, Halebsky states,

“In addition, teenagers do not necessarily comprehend the potential consequences of their

actions on social media, and this creates considerable implications for curriculum.” (38).

This statement supports that when curriculum enters the conversation, the purpose is to foretell

as to how it greatly affects the construction of social and educational knowledge. School and

friends go well together considering the correlation that friends are made in school, this is

known, but when school friends begin to add peer pressured environments to the vulnerable it

then creates an unsafe opening to new addictions. A way that schools try to incorporate

education with real life problems is by preaching about them. Halebsky again wrote “schools’

curricula should include preventive cognitive behavioral interventions that teach drug resistance

skills and anti-drug norms.” (2). This educational addition is more anticipated towards schools

that may have a higher percentage in positive drug tests and behavioral detention. This issue can

only be stopped when actual education is applied to adolescents, that way awareness could make

a difference. A common problem to these issues all leads back to the kinds of friends these

adolescents surround themselves with. This is not meant to assume that most high school

friendships lead to peer pressure, but rather point out the fact that these two factors can

jeopardize schoolwork and focus. Drug problems tend to begin when one is at a dark stage or
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curious, therefore most percentages of high schoolers participate at such a young age, hence the

statement curiosity killed the cat. It is always fun to try new things and live a little, but not fun

when the consequences lead to a wrong turn of events and end up with an addiction unfightable.

Adolescents these days need to understand their time will come when it does, there is no need to

rush maturity into oneself and grow up faster than they already are. It’s important to always stay

alert and not force anything onto any human being or create a situation that is unnecessary.

Perspectives and disorders

The perspective of adolescents can be taken in part from different ages. According to author

Buja, Alessandra et al, “Young adolescents, aged from 11- 13 in the northeast, participated in a

survey that measured the performance and time spent on social platforms that may involve

disorderly addictions.”, this gave an example on how methods were taken in different accounts

of researchers. This is only one third of research conducted. Authors Roman Chwedorowicz,

Henryk Skarżyński, Weronika Pucek, and Tadeusz Studziński state their relevance and

experimental study on the vulnerability in late teens against drug and substance abuse at an early

age.

As early as from the first years of adolescence an increased sensitivity and vulnerability

to the effect of the peer social environment is observed, when there arises the need for

acceptance and group affiliation, associated with simultaneous achievement of autonomy

and distancing from parents and adults. (21)

This creates a disorder that separates one’s social life from their family. This unhealthy idea of

dividing a family into an aspect that makes them invisible is demoralizing. When greatly

involved into this addiction one begins to forget the important things, therefore its highly
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addictive, to forget. In order to control these craving of more, it is best to consider a rehab that

deals with the same problems. As suggested, by writer Kornreich Petit it is stated that,

“Adolescence is a period associated with the highest risk for developing alcohol abuse

disorders.” (1). This is highly true knowing that adolescents are commonly found partying and

drinking for most of their high school and college years, this association leads one to assume that

a form of alcohol abuse might form and create something unhealthy. The need to feel invited and

included to a society that thinks drinking is “Cool” is unnecessary, it will lead to a false reality of

partaking in future events where one is not all there mentally and sometimes even physically.

Help is always provided by professionals that will always try their best to make a difference, one

person at a time.

Different types of drugs

The various kinds of drugs mentioned in this research all lead to the same problem being that

adolescents tend to get away with acquiring these substances. The different effects of each drug

forms a different norm for these adolescents and composes and unhealthy balance between their

real world and the one they create mentally. The New England journal of medicine  says,

He proposes to “convince” young people of the hazards of nicotine abuse but says little

about convincing legislators that they should enact stricter, enforceable regulations

governing the marketing and sale of tobacco products. (1225).

This statement can be agreed upon a lot of local and knowledgeable people that tend to see this

common occurrence involving adolescent misdemeanors. More people do in fact need to start

waking up and realizing this is a major problem expanding worldwide amongst many teens. This

makes them feel socially accepted and part of an issue. Another major contribution added into
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this disastrous of an equation is the introduction to marijuana. There are thousands maybe even

millions of accounts associated with the usage on marijuana and the ongoing algorithm of social

media can likely come across an adolescent as an advertisement. To add onto this statement

another author stated that, “Based on these findings, we recommend that all states with legalized

recreational marijuana should implement specific policies related to social media to restrict youth

access and youth-friendly content.” (7). The correlation between Nicotine and Marijuana is that

they are both simply easy to research on and curiosity will end up winning. Most adolescents

would surely accept the chance of even trying it for the first time. It is important to be aware of

this problem and stop this influence on media pressure to try to fit in.

Resources

As mentioned before, advertisements and commercials are known for encouraging this

behavior, even if it’s not intentional. Adolescents always find a way to acquire the things they

want, and they do this with the resources around them. When the visual of parental use is seen in

young kids, these adolescents feel the need to be like them. Parents are the role models to these

young kids and what they see is what they think is right. Most parents don’t realize that the

things they do and show their kids will stick with them causing an influential aspect in the

problem.it is true that every parent has their own method and way on teaching their kids, but

most don’t grasp the truth behind the styles they teach. These styles influence adolescents into

conclusive substance use and so on. Even if different parental styles are considered, it all leads to

the main issue being the wrongfulness of how alcohol and drug usage is still wrong in multiple

ways.
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The parental attitude toward illicit substance use has been positively correlated with

adolescent substance use. Once the adolescent starts using illicit drugs, the influence of

parents decreases, and the peer influence increases. (Halebsky 961)

the overall idea of alcohol and substance use was ultimately modeled by the parent and a

marginalized environment was created within those family and close members. As the years go

by more generations are hit with this new wave of intervaluable observations of drinking and

peer views of what it means to be addicted. Anyone can partake unknowing about the

consequential decisions after. Researcher Devin M. Mccauley suggests that adolescents tend to

have a semi controversial experience with substance usage and this period of malnourishment

may have a deeper risk of disrupting the overall growth within the adolescent struggling with this

issue. Throughout the article the writer points out that this threat is “linked with heightened

internalizing problems and diminished self-efficacy, self-esteem, and peer relationships quality.”

These contributions affect the mentality of the adolescent portraying these effects. The

resourcefulness of hotlines and health coordinators is always encouraged within communities

and help is always applied anywhere.

Conclusion

To conclude this research analysis, the entire corruption behind adolescent drinking is

considerably an important issue around the world. The only way a change can be made is within

control of time as generations shift and transfer experiences onto their children. This is why it is

important to write on this and reach out to those that have a say in law making and influential

backgrounds. A change is always possible, it varies based on those willing to speak upon this

issue and demanding for a difference to be made.

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Works cited

Buja, A., Gallimberti, L., Chindamo, S., Lion, C., Terraneo, A., Rivera, M., Marini, E., Gomez-

Perez, L., Scafato, E., & Baldo, V. (2018). “Problematic social networking site usage and

substance use by young adolescents.” BMC

Pediatrics, 18https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-018-1316-3

Chwedorowicz, R., Skarżyński, H., Pucek, W., & Studziński, T. (2017). Neurophysiological

maturation in adolescence – vulnerability and counteracting addiction to alcohol. Annals

of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 24(1), 19-25.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5604/12321966.1234002

Downshen, Steven. “Alcohol For teens.” Teenshealth, September 2016

https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/alcohol.html

Halebsky, Mark A. "Adolescent Alcohol and Substance Abuse: Parent and Peer

Effects." Adolescence, vol. 22, no. 88, 1987, pp. 961. ProQuest,

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/tamiu.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-

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Hormenu, Thomas, Hagan Jnr ⨯ John Elvis, and Thomas Schack ⨯. "Predictors of Alcohol

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Information for Developing Cognitive-Behavioural Interventions." PLoS One 13.11

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Johnson, Nneka A. "Implications of a Social Media Course for Adolescent Social Media Usage."

Order No. 10261934 Mercer University, 2017. United States -- Georgia: ProQuest. Web. 8

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Mccauley, Devin M. "Interparental Conflict and Threat Appraisals during Adolescence:

Identifying Sensitive Periods of Risk for Psychological Maladjustment, Substance use, and

Diminished School Adjustment." Order No. 29050109 The Pennsylvania State University,

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Moreno, M. A., Gower, A. D., Jenkins, M. C., Kerr, B., & Gritton, J. (2018). Marijuana

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Treatment, Prevention and Policy, 13https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-018-0152-7

"Nicotine Addiction in Young People: [Letter]." The New England journal of medicine 333.18

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