Why Young People Misuse Substances and How to Help
This paper examines the nature and causes of substance misuse among young people, distinguishing between misuse and abuse and highlighting how prescription medications, alcohol, and illegal drugs all fall within this concern. It explores the key factors that drive youth toward substance misuse, including peer pressure, parental drug use, mental health challenges, and curiosity. The paper also discusses the "slippery slope" by which early misuse can escalate into dependency through tolerance-building and dose escalation. Finally, it notes that effective mitigation requires individualized approaches that address the underlying reasons behind each young person's behavior rather than relying on broad, generalized responses.
- Understanding Substance Misuse Among Youth: Defines misuse broadly beyond illegal drugs
- Why Young People Misuse Substances: Peer pressure and unnoticed prescription misuse
- The Slippery Slope From Misuse to Abuse: Tolerance and escalation toward dangerous substances
- Reducing Substance Misuse in Young People: Individualized approaches to prevention and mitigation
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What makes this paper effective
- Draws a clear and important distinction between substance misuse and substance abuse, helping readers understand that problematic use extends beyond illegal drug use to include misused prescription medications.
- Grounds its claims in multiple cited sources across different publication years, lending credibility to its arguments about causes and consequences.
- Moves logically from defining the problem, to explaining causes, to describing escalation mechanisms, and finally to suggesting mitigation — a clean four-part argumentative structure.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively uses conceptual clarification as an academic technique. By redefining "substance misuse" to encompass prescription drug misuse — not just illegal drug use — the author broadens the reader's frame of reference before building the rest of the argument. This technique ensures the audience understands the full scope of the problem before causation and solutions are introduced.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by defining substance misuse broadly and introducing peer pressure as a primary cause. The second section elaborates on under-recognized forms of misuse, particularly prescription medications. The third section introduces the escalation mechanism — tolerance, dose increases, and the shift to more dangerous substances. The final section pivots to mitigation, acknowledging the individuality of causes and the need for targeted rather than blanket interventions. References follow in APA format.
Understanding Substance Misuse Among Youth
The misuse of substances involves more than just taking illegal drugs. Substance misuse among young people can also involve prescription medications — either their own or someone else's — as well as alcohol and other means of getting high (Alexander, Kruszewski, & Webster, 2012). There are reasons why young people engage in these behaviors, though those reasons are often highly varied depending on the individual. A number of young people misuse substances because of peer pressure (Ksir & Ray, 2002). They encounter other youth who are already engaged in that lifestyle and want to feel liked, accepted, and appreciated. In seeking that acceptance, they turn to abusing or misusing substances as well. This may earn them acceptance from one group of peers while causing them to be shunned by others who do not abuse substances. It can also result in failing grades, disease, and even early death if they continue down that path. While many young people experiment with substances once or a few times, most either stop at that point or avoid experimentation altogether (Walker & Young, 1986).
Why Young People Misuse Substances
For those who head down the path of substance misuse, there are a number of significant issues they should — but often do not — consider. Substance misuse does not necessarily constitute abuse. For example, a young person may not be taking illegal drugs to get high, but may be taking a friend's anti-anxiety medication to manage nerves. Because that medication is a prescription drug not prescribed to that individual, this qualifies as misuse (Alexander, Kruszewski, & Webster, 2012; Ksir & Ray, 2002; Lowinson & Ruiz, 2005; Nutt et al., 2007; Walker & Young, 1986).
When substance issues come to mind for most people, the concern is generally focused on illegal drug abuse. However, a significant group of young people are misusing prescription medications and other substances without being noticed. When they go undetected, they cannot receive the help they need to stop behaviors that can lead to serious legal and familial consequences (Nutt et al., 2007). Misuse of substances can also escalate into full-blown abuse over time.
References
Alexander, G. C., Kruszewski, S. P., & Webster, D. W. (2012). Rethinking opioid prescribing to protect patient safety and public health. JAMA, 308, 1865–1866.
Ksir, O., & Ray, C. (2002). Drugs, society, and human behavior (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Lowinson, J. H., & Ruiz, P. (2005). Substance abuse: A comprehensive textbook (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Nutt, D., King, L. A., Saulsbury, W., & Blakemore, C. (2007). Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse. The Lancet, 369(9566), 1047–1053.
Walker, E., & Young, P. D. (1986). A killing cure. New York: H. Holt and Co.
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