Young Adulthood and Substance Abuse Essay

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Updated: Mar 15th, 2024

In this term paper, substance use and abuse among the young adults will be discussed at length. Substance abuse is also referred to as drug abuse and is mostly an addiction that affects people in their youthful age. This is the age between 18 and 35. Substance use means activities involving consumption of drugs, which include those not prescribed by the doctor. Different youths use drugs for fun while others have developed an addiction. Those with the addiction are called the abusers. Drug types include marijuana, methamphetamine, caffeine, opiates, steroids, cocaine, tobacco, club drugs and heroine. Examples of club drugs include ecstasy, blue nitro and ketamine. Some drugs are in powder form while others are in cracks. Medical drugs include pain relievers, depressants and stimulants (Smith and Hung, 2009).

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The youth exist in every ethnic group and are involved in high crime rates; top in the list being substance abuse. They easily relate with each other and their dressing, symbols, taste, preferences and color. It is important to note that not all youths are the same. Some are not abusers of drugs (White, 2009).

A report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) shows that in the US, more females smoke cocaine, stimulants and opiates while men abuse more of marijuana and alcoholic beverages. The report also notes that, alcoholism has the highest rate of substance abuse by the Native Americans. The abuse rate of alcohol is thrice that of Native Americans as compared to the others. Substance abuse was first incorporated in the United States by the European explorers who brought into the limelight, alcoholic beverages. In the past month, most youths have used inhalants (32%), illicit drugs (20%), binge drinking (26%), and smoking (22%). Marijuana abuse rate has risen to 86% in male species and to 57% in the female species. Moreover, almost a half of the reported death cases in Arizona are led by alcohol abuse while approximately 9% is caused by other drugs (Preston, 2009). In the 20th century, crimes related to substance abuse were very high in the US. Over 50% of all federal detainees were victims of drug crimes (Smith and Hung, 2009).

The characteristics and consequences of abusers include liver failure, heart attacks, hangovers, lung cancer, ulcers, a decrease in muscle control, anxiety, hallucinations, depression, unhealthy bodies, poor hygiene, imbalance, appetite loss, lethargy, and others. On a social level, the abusers may be abusive and violent towards other people; they may be moody, depressed, interest loss in social events and may experience loss of concentration and memory (Smith and Hung, 2009).

The impacts of drug abuse are not felt by the individual youth only; they are also felt at a family and societal level. At an individual level, the youths perform very poorly in school. This means getting poor grades like D. Substance abuse can be attributed to the stresses that people get due to acculturation. Also it can be due to the fact that native America’s population is concentrated in one small area. Other causes of abuse include chaotic family environments, poor parenting, poor social skills, poor performance in school and having peer groups that are abusers. Consequences of substance abuse for the youths are very hard to deal with. This is because most of these are negative effects. Biological factors have led to indigenous people being susceptible to the addiction of alcoholism (Edward, 2011).

Accorgind to Erik Homburger Erikson (1902-1994), there’s a theory of development that influences substance abuse and other development traits as human beings grow. Human beings have inborn personality traits like, being emotional, jovial or moody. However, some traits are developed as people grow up. Such are the traits achieved for drug abuse. Erik argued in his theory, that culture and how people are socialized, have a major influence on the way individuals behave. Therefore, drug abusers behave the way they due to external stimulus. In addition, behavior is influenced by several biological processes, psychological aspects and also cultural diversities. The world is a complex place and so individuals grow up trying to adapt to the changes. This adaptation is what triggers issues like drug abuse. In the youthful stage, behavior is therefore determined by what action surrounds the drug abusers (Harder, 2002).

There are however Aspects that hinder the prevention of substance abuse. These include structural issues like unemployment, poor infrastructure, poverty, illiteracy, individual aspects like culture shock, stress and depression and legal systems. The judicial system of the US has inadequate resources to incarcerate and project prosecution on those who are victims of drug scandals like the illegal drugs manufacturers (Preston, 2009).

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For effective drug abuse treatment and prevention, the society must not work alone. The abuser must be involved. Interventions for drug abusers and users take many forms. The kind of level for intervention depends on a user’s mental health, the family support, the living situations, and the payment mode among others. The earlier the diagnosis and discovery of a drug abuse, the higher the chances of recovery and treatment (Edward, 2011). Intervention of substance abuse involves different social systems and levels. These include micro –level (family), mezzo level (communities and organizations) and macro level (the general society). The change development in the above mentioned levels is a gradual process that goes through several stages to be successful.

At the individual levels, the individual is the subject to the change process. In micro level, the extended family, the peers’ friends and other social circles are involved directly or indirectly in the change process. These social contacts are usually the ones to promote or stop recovery of the drug user. The mezzo level includes the neighbors, organizations, culture, religious, social, and civil groups. These people have the same affiliations as far as cultural beliefs, religious backgrounds and others are concerned. They also share the same places, time and institutions with the drug abusers. This makes them an important aspect in intervention because they directly influence the abusers’ behavior.

At the macro level, the general social scope is involved. This is the government, the administration, the general population and the like. Those in this level have a direct impact on intervention. They can impose prohibitions, policies, values, norms and prescriptions to make sure that the change is implemented. The policies set should determine whether an abuser continues or stops abusing the drugs. For effective intervention, a social worker at the individual level needs to act as a mentor but at a time when the drug user is sober. At this time, the users are able to make informed decisions, as opposed to when they are drunk (Conceptual Model for the Research Development Program, n.d.).

At the macro level, the social worker needs to relate a crisis that affects the users during a time when they were under the influence of drugs. For instance, the social worker can convince the user that they almost caused a fatal car accident due to drug abuse. This can be effective because of fear of the legal implications, for instance, which could arise from the effects of the substance abuse. At the micro level, a loved one’s testimony can be used. This will affect the emotions of the abuser who may be triggered to quit the abuse. If the abuse has a negative impact on the family, then the drug abuser could be moved to quit to avoid developing negative impacts. This however has been criticized as not all users will be moved emotionally. If it is effective, the advantage is that family ties will be strengthened. Here, each family member needs to be involved in the process. Family therapy involves an entire family. This kind of therapy ensures that positive relationships are upheld in the families that are affected by substance abuse (Edward, 2011). Also, each person gets a chance to express concerns on the issue at hand.

At the mezzo level, the social worker tries to show the abuser how for instance, their behavior is a shame to their cultural affiliations. The social worker need to be careful and aware of the cultures of the client to avoid intercultural conflicts. The success of intervention at this level strengthens ties at the work places and improves performance. This method may be unsuccessful as not every user is ready to change (Tips for a Successful Intervention, 2012). Counseling sessions involve professional help to solve the drug abuse issue. It helps the abuser, the family, groups, and others to deal with drug abuse. Counseling takes the form of regular sessions with a professional psychologist or social worker (Gale, 1991).

Community/ societal input should include, accepting that drug abuse is a menace in the society, openly talking about the substance abuse issues, discussing the various alternatives to end the vice, being urged to be innovative in prevention and treatment efforts and also attending counseling sessions regarding drug abuse. Innovative programs that boost the esteem of abusers should also be adopted by the communities. All these efforts ensure that the abusers are assimilated properly in to the community and that they don’t feel alienated (Preston, 2009).

References

Conceptual Model for the Research Development Program: the social work research development program for underserved populations. 2012. Web.

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Edward, R. D. (2011). . Web.

Gale, N. (1991). Fighting alcohol and substance abuse among American Indian and Alaskan Native Youth. Charleston: WV.

Harder, A. (2002). The Developmental Stages of Erik Erikson. Web.

Preston, P. (2009). Native Americans and Substance Abuse. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

Smith, C. and Hung, L. (2009). Drug Use: Encyclopedia of Race and Crime. Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

Tips for a Successful Intervention. (2012). Web.

White, E. (2009). Youth Gangs: Encyclopedia of Race and Crime. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Young Adulthood and Substance Abuse." March 15, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/young-adulthood-and-substance-abuse/.

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