There are a variety of factors that have been identified in the literature as increasing the likelihood that people will abuse drugs. For example, family structure -- whether the family is composed of single parent or two parents, as well as the number of siblings and certain other elements of a family's composition -- has been shown to have a large correlation with drug abuse (East & Khoo 2005). Research has also defined certain other factors surrounding the family that are a huge indicator in determining the likelihood of whether or not a child will turn to drugs in their adolescent years or possibly even sooner (Carson-DeWitt 2003). Having a parent or an older sibling that abuses drugs is another familial issue that can greatly increase the likelihood of drug abuse (Carson-DeWitt 2003).

There are also many other factors that can lead to drug abuse, just as there are many potential effects that drugs can have on all ages and generations of users and abusers. In both of these regards, however, younger generations are arguably more at risk. With bodies that are smaller -- making them more susceptible to damage brought about by smaller doses of any number drugs, prescription or otherwise -- and still developing, the physical effects of drugs on adolescents and children can be very extreme and far more dangerous than the effects of the same drugs on adults. This harm can also be more irreparable in nature due to the potential for interrupting or altering developmental processes, which are more complex and ultimately lead to more long-lasting effects than the processes that generally take place in an adult body. This is not to say that drugs do not present a danger to adults, but the physical dangers of drug abuse are heightened for children and adolescents.

In addition, children and adolescents are more susceptible to peer pressure as well as other emotional forces that might cause them to start experimenting with and abusing drugs in the first place. This compounds the dangers facing younger people in relation to drugs; not only are they more likely to suffer real physical harm from drug abuse, but they are also at greater risk of starting to abuse drugs in the first place. Adolescence tends to be a tough time in the physical and emotional development of most individuals, and while drug abuse will undoubtedly make this period harder they can seem to provide an avenue of escape or excitement that young people are seeking. Too often, it is a path to their doom instead.