Teens Abuse Drugs Because of Peer Pressure

¶ … Teens Abuse Drugs

Peer pressure is not simply a phase teens go through. "It can be a negative force in the lives of children and adolescents, often resulting in their experimentation with tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs." (Preparing Youth for Peer Pressure) This report was written to advocate my thesis: Teens abuse drugs because of peer pressure. Peer pressure for this report should be defined as the influence of peers or friends.

Drugs are a serious problem for teens today. "In 1997, one in 10 12- to 17-year-olds reported using marijuana or hashish in the prior month. One in 20 reported having used some other illicit drug, including cocaine, crack, heroin or LSD. By the time our teens become seniors in high school, half will have tried an illegal drug." (Horn) The average age of illegal drug initiation continues to decline and the time between initiation and onset is also narrowing. Statistics show that if a teen makes it to age twenty one without having tried drugs, that individual most likely will never try illegal drugs. The problem is that peer pressure influences more to try drugs than it does to not try drugs.

Our twenty-first century teens therefore, have all new issues to contend with that previous generations were never exposed to. For example, the drug dealers are now prominently placed in the white suburban neighborhoods of America and they are regularly serving up heroin, meth, Ecstasy, cocaine & crack, pot and LSD. And if the local teens find that the dealer's prices are to high then the kids can cop some cheap beer and combine a simple huff high with a can of whipped cream or airplane glue.

But those stimuli are rarely acted out unless there is some concurrence from the teen's friends or peers. "Teens get involved with illegal drugs in a number of ways, but the biggest risk factors for adolescent substance abuse include running around in a peer group that drinks and does drugs, depression, older siblings who model and encourage alcohol and drug use, academic failure, poor parental monitoring and permissive parental attitudes about adolescents' use of illicit drugs." (Horn)

Far too often parents, teachers and even the teens themselves do not comprehend the true impact of peer pressure in regard to drug abuse. That is because the word 'pressure' in this context is a bit misleading. It is rare for a friend to actually use direct pressure to compel an individual to do something. It is not like a gun is pointed at the head of the teen. Peer pressure is actually much more subtle.

Everyone in 'teen town' can be associated with one group or admonished for being in the wrong group. These groups exert peer pressure on both the members as well as the non-members. We know the smart teens called nerds, braincases, or the glee club. We also know the alienated teens known as the grits, metal heads, or burnouts. These pressure alliances and all of the peer groups that are in-between like the cheerleaders or jocks, influence through subtle acceptance pressure.

Believe it or not, peer pressure begins in the tender years of toddlerhood. Children look up to others to see what they should be doing or shouldn't be doing. In a way, youngsters are trained in the early years to more or less do what the adult says or does." (Today's Teen Problem) During the toddler years, it is not as apparent as it is during the teen years. "For a toddler or young child under the age of five, peer pressure can present itself in the way of a toy that a friend has that your child just has to have, too. Your child may not just want this toy because it is fun, but because she desires to be part of a group. (Witmer)