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

801). According to Green (2006), "Research on how gender influences substance use and substance-abuse-related problems has established clear differences between women and men in several important areas. Women typically consume less alcohol than men when they drink, drink alcohol less frequently, and are less likely to develop alcohol-related problems than men. Similarly, women are less likely than men to use illicit drugs and to develop drug-related problems" (p. 55). Relationship

However, a different kind of problem may arise, when the counselor himself was a user and an addict, and has recovered fully from his addictions, to move on to become a legal counselor of others like him. (NIDA, Introduction and overview) Take for example, the case of when a drug abuse and substance abuse counselor was among the fifteen people who were arrested recently in Harlem. The police charged this

Substance Abuse Introduction to the Characteristics and Extent of Alcohol, Tobacco or Other Drug Use. Addiction means physical dependence on a drug, with withdrawal symptoms when its use ceases, and in this sense, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hashish, opiates and amphetamines are all addictive drugs. In addition, these drugs also cause psychological dependency since they enhance a person's sense of pleasure, sociability, sexuality and emotional satisfaction, and also mask pain, low

Adolescent Substance Abuse Substance abuse, commonly referred to as drug abuse and alcohol abuse, has recently gained popularity amid the youth of America. This has been confirmed by SAMHSA (2003) whose survey indicated that around 2.2 million teenagers were convicted of being involved in substance abuse in 2003. Teenage is called the golden period of a person's life as this is full of excitement and energy. People are willing to experience