ADDICTION IN ADOLESCENCE 2
Addiction in Adolescence
Adolescence is another critical stage in development for individuals. During this stage
older children are going through several changes and are learning how to create their own
identity. According to Wong et al. (2021), adolescence is a time when children are going through
puberty, learning to think abstractly, focusing on the influence of social relationships, and
learning to manage their emotions. Like early childhood, trauma can impact an adolescent’s
emotional development if there are not healthy supports for appropriate intervention. The
purpose of this essay is to discuss the social influence in adolescence regarding addiction. This
essay will also explore resilience, spirituality, and media influence of substance use, abuse, and
addiction in adolescence.
Adolescents are impressionable because they are developing their self-identity. Wong et
al. (2021) discussed the developmental stage identity versus role confusion develop by Erik
Erikson and explained that adolescents are making important decisions about their lives and may
go through several changes before developing an identity. Older children may want to fit in with
peers and do what is socially acceptable to be accepted by others. Wong et al. (2021) explained
that during this stage in life teens are more focused on friendships and social influence on their
behaviors and that parental influence is not as significant. This could encourage teens to engage
in unhealthy behaviors because they are engaging in activities that appear to be the norm. Social
influence not only includes peers in school and sports but also social media including
applications like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. These applications, television shows, and
advertisements place adolescents at risk for lifelong alcohol and drug use (Davis et al., 2019). It
is positively corelated that the more adolescents engage in screen-time the more likely they are to
engage in substance use. It was explained that today there is a lot of substance-related media and
ADDICTION IN ADOLESCENCE 3
that adolescence watch TV and are on social media for several hours a day, which increases the
likelihood of them resorting to behaviors that are normalized on these platforms (Davis et al.,
2019). In Georgia, teen substance use is heavily portrayed in the news like it is an epidemic. The
news seems to report more and more parties promoting underage drinking and substance use.
This does not appear to be solving or preventing the problem but rather promoting it because the
platforms are giving the negative behavior plenty of attention. If the goal is to minimize
adolescent substance use and abuse then it may be beneficial to minimize the amount of time the
behavior is put on the different social media platforms.
Another factor to consider that places adolescents at-risk for substance use and abuse is
childhood adversity and trauma because children may resort to unhealthy coping strategies.
When teens do not learn healthy coping strategies they can turn to substance use and abuse,
which can lead to addiction. Conversely, healthy supports like adults, parents, and spiritual
influence can encourage healthy coping for adolescents and deter them from a lifetime of
substance use and abuse. Christians believe that engaging in substance use is a sin. If an
adolescent is also a believer and relies on the spiritual teachings of God, then they are more
likely to hold morals and values that are against engaging in substances. Morals, values, and
healthy teachings promote healthy resilience in adolescents.
This paper discussed the different influences on adolescent substance use and factors that
could protect adolescents from engaging in these behaviors. Adolescence is a critical period in an
individual’s life because he or she is developing self-identity. Media outlets and other social
influences play a major role in an adolescent’s life. This means that healthy supports are needed
to encourage resilience in teens to discourage them from engaging in behaviors that appear to be
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References
Davis, J. P., Pederson, E. R., Tucker, J. S., Dunbar, M. S., Seelam, R., Shih, R., & D’Amico, E.
J. (2019). Long-term associations between substance-related media exposure, descriptive
norms, and alcohol use from adolescence to young adulthood. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 48(1), 1311-1326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01024-z
Wong, D. W., Hall, K. R., & Hernandez, L. W. (2021). Counseling Individuals Through the
Lifespan (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
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