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Adolescence is a time in which teens are beginning to find out who they are, what they
believe, and how to function outside of their parents. While it is an age of independence, risk-
taking and experimentation, it can also be the cause of great stress as they navigate through this
time of development, trying to find out who their friends are and where they best fit in. During
such, teens are more susceptible to peer pressure and finding new ways to cope with the stresses
of life (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). It is becoming a nationwide phenomenon that adolescents
are turning to substance use at a younger age. As such, substance abuse is on the rise, with 80%
of disorders occurring before the age of 30 (Kaplan 2004). It is thus believed that early episodes
of substance use during adolescence is associated with an increased likelihood of developing a
substance abuse disorder (Lee, 2015) (Levy, 2014) (Sartor et al., 2013).
While development occurs across the lifespan, fundamental development evolves from
infancy, throughout adolescence and into early adulthood (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).
Substance use during development causes significant changes in cognitive functioning due to the
decreased ability of the brain to fully mature. The interruption of the adolescent’s brain
maturation process has subtle, yet significant, effects on academic, occupation and social
functioning (Squeglia et al., 2009). This has further implications as the adolescent grows and
enters the work field, as attention and executive functioning is impaired (Squeglias et al., 2009),
decreasing the likelihood of holding down a job, increasing stress, repeating the cycle of
substance use.
Spiritual development is a crucial parallel to adolescent development. Studies have
shown that adolescence who demonstrated a belief in God and/or associated with a religion had
decreases incidences of substance use (Knight et al., 2007). Furthermore, adolescence who
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believed in a forgiving God not only had a decreased risk of substance use, but their was also a
greater chance of recovery among those struggling with substance abuse (Knight et al., 2007).
In 2012, Tennessee passed the Prescription Drug Safety Act to decrease abuse of
prescription pain medication by close monitoring of medication to decrease accessibility
(Nelson, 2015). Since the roll-out of the program, the percentage of Tennessee teenagers and
young adults, aged 12-25, abusing painkillers has dropped from 18.6 percent to 15.9 percent
(Nelson, 2015). However, with the fall of painkillers came the rise of hard drugs, such as heroin,
and other prescription medications. A report in 2014 ranked Tennessee as number one in the
country for its use of methamphetamines, (Elements Behavioral Health, 2014).
The prevalence of substance use is increasing with each passing year, with devastating
effects. Alcohol alone contributes to more than one-third of all deaths from unintentional injury,
suicide and homicide among 15-19 year olds (Levy, 2014). One shocking survey showed that 1
in 10 teens admitted to using marijuana on a daily basis, a 60% increase in use in the past 8 years
(Levy, 2014). This early substance use remains a strong predictor for future substance abuse.
In Tennessee, it is believed that the rise of drug abuse, specifically heroin and
methamphetamines, is related to the accessibility in schools, but also the lack of supervision of
adolescence due to parents working two or more jobs as Tennesseans makes its slow climb out of
the recession (Elements Behavioral Health, 2014). Similarly, Lee and Vandal in their study also
believed that decreasing the time adolescence spent with peers unsupervised would have a
positive effect in decreasing the rate of substance abuse among adolescence (2015).
Furthermore, they posited that encouraging participation in sports, service-oriented clubs and
organized school activities would decrease substance use (Lee & Vandell, 2015).
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Levy, in her 2014 study on adolescent substance abuse, held the belief that early
awareness is fundamental to prevention, and it starts with primary care providing educating
parents on how to talk to their children about the negative effects of drugs and alcohol. Parents
talking to their children about emotions and how to handle them without the use of substances
was also key (Levy, 2014). The studies maintained the belief that early interaction with substance
use increases the development of a substance disorder. With early prevention, intervention and
education, significant changes can be made to this growing epidemic.
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References:
Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The Life Span: Human Development for Helping
Professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Elements Behavioral Health. (2014, September 01). Tennessee Teen Drug Use on the Rise.
Retrieved from http://www.drugaddictiontreatment.com/addiction-in-the-news/addiction-
news/tennessee-teen-drug-use-on-the-rise/
Kaplan, A. (2004). The role of affect regulation as a mediating mechanism between childhood
trauma and adolescent and adult substance abuse (Order No. 3129182). Available from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (305080510).
Kenneth, L., & Vandell, D. L. (2015). Out-of=School Time and Adolescent Substance Use.
Journal of Adolescent Health, 57(5), 523-529.
Knight, J. R., Sherritt, L., Harris, S. K., Holder, D. W., Kulig, J., Shrier, L. A., ...Chang, G.
(2007). Alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality among adolescents. Southern Medical
Journal, 100(4), 349.
Levy, S. (2014). Adolescent substance use. Pediatric Annals, 43(10), 406-7.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3928/00904481-20140924-06
Nelson, K. L. (2015, December 11). Tenn. teen drug abuse declines. Retrieved from
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local/tenn-teen-drug-abuse-declines-ep-1410728729-
361829161.html
Squeglia, L. M., Jacobus, J., & Tapert, S. F. (2009). The Influence of Substance Use on
Adolescent Brain Development. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience: Official Journal of the
EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS), 40(1), 31–38.
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