Blame it on media and its exploitation of drug and alcohol abuse or blame it on the society where are person is growing up in – they are both culprits in the rising cases of adolescent drug and alcohol abuse that is very much common in all parts of the world. Though the cause matters to curing this abuse, what matters more is early prevention by people who care for the person.
Looking at cases of adolescent alcohol and drug abuse, most teens trace their behaviors to three factors – society, family, and peer pressure.
Society is commonly blamed for the rise of alcohol and drug abuse among teens mainly because teens tend to act based on what the norm of society is. If they see on the TV that teens hang out together to smoke weed or drink alcohol, they associate it to something that will get them accepted into the real world. They think that if they do not do what other older teens do, they will not gain respect from the community to be acknowledged and teens just love the feeling of belonging. Society is also the culprit of a teen’s curiosity, wanting to try out something they have never done before.
People say that children learn most from their parents and that is true – whether or not what they learn is right or wrong. Most children who have drug dependent parents tend to grow up on the same path. If they live in a house where drugs are readily available and used by their own parents, it is not uncommon for them to sample the ones lying around and eventually grow a habit of dependency on it.
Of course, peer pressure is one of the highest reasons behind alcohol dependency and drug abuse. When a teen belongs to a group of friends who does drugs or drinks alcohol, it is common for them to adapt this behavior basically because they don’t want to be the odd one out. When this happens, the teen is on the pathway to a destructive future that is commonly associated with drug abuse and alcohol dependence.
As soon as you notice symptoms of adolescent drug and alcohol abuse on your child, it would be best to talk to him and make him confess what is going on. As soon as you are certain about your hunch, encourage him to go on drug detox and afterwards, rehabilitation. At this point, your child will need you every step of the way and your support will mean the world to him.
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