Community Education Project

· Easy access to a parent or friend’s prescription medications or drugs

· Lack of adult supervision, such as being home alone often

· Traumatic experiences, such as sexual assault or loss of a loved one

· Strained relationships with family members, especially parents

· Poor grades in school

· Behavioral problems, such as getting into fights or shoplifting

· Belief that drugs can’t harm you, or that using drugs is “normal”

· Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders

If you have one or more of these risk factors, it does not mean that you will end up using drugs. However, it does mean that you are at a higher risk for using drugs. While there are many risk factors for teen drug use, there are also many protective factors that may make you less likely to use drugs, such as self-control, family relationships, academic success, and community ties.

References

Guillén. (2015). Youth alcohol drinking behavior: Associated risk and protective factors. Revista Iberoamericana De Psicología Y Salud, 6(2), 53-63. doi:10.1016/j.rips.2015.03.001

Nargiso, J. E., Ballard, E. L., & Skeer, M. R. (2015). A systematic review of risk and protective factors associated with nonmedical use of prescription drugs among youth in the United States: a social ecological perspective. Journal of studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 76(1), 5-20.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2003, October 1). Preventing drug use among children and adolescents (In brief). Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/preventing-drug-use-among-children-adolescents-in-brief on 2019, September 18

Simmons, S., & Suarez, L. (2016). Substance abuse and trauma. Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America, 25(4), 723-734.