Respond to two essays 250 word min. with one APA citation
wiluiana
adolescent_and_addiction2.docxRunning head: ABUSE AND ADDITION 1
ABUSE AND ADDICTION 2
Abuse and Addiction in Adolescence
Selena McJimson
Liberty University
Abuse and Addiction in Adolescence
Adolescence years, the years between 12 and 20, can be viewed by many as time of difficulty and instability. During this period, adolescents deal with emotional turbulence caused by identity issues and wanting to be accepted by society. The beginning of adolescence is marked by puberty, a flood of biological events leading to an adult-sized body and sexual maturity (Berk, 2010). During puberty, sex organs develop fully and sex characteristics emerge. Whether one believes this to be true, adolescence is describe by significant physical, psychological, intellectual, and social changes.
Drugs and Adolescences
The abuse of substance is an increasing area of concern in adolescents. According to Feldman (2014), one in 15 high school seniors smoke marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis. Adolescents are more likely to experiment with cigarettes or illicit drugs without experiencing adverse side effects. Because of this, teenagers are more likely to continue to use. The abuse of such substances has physical consequences for the emerging adolescents, and may produce techniques that imitate other psychopathological behaviors. Recurrent and extended consumption not only intensify their risk of developing a substance use disorder, but hinder the development of essential psychosocial skills.
Typically, all illicit drugs arouse the brain’s reward circuitry which supplies the pleasure feeling. This is extremely dangerous during the adolescence years because it causes adolescents to display risky behavior. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that allows people to think, evaluate and make complex judgements in a uniquely human way (Feldman, 2014).
Effects of Substance Abuse
Studies have shown that substance abuse is also related to a wide variety of psychological disorders. Substance use disorders (SUDs) during adolescence include substance dependence and substance abuse, which result from the self-administration of any substance that alters mood, perception, or brain functioning (Mash et.al, 2010). Substance dependency does not just cause psychological dependence but also may cause physical dependence. For example, if a person uses drugs every time they are faced a stressful situation, it would cause they to depend on that drug to help them cope with the problem. If drugs are used as an escape, they may prevent adolescents from confronting—and potentially solving—the problems that led to them to drug use in the first place (Feldman, p. 372).
People who develop psychological dependence believe that in order to function effectively, they must have the substance in their system. Physical dependence occurs when the body acclimates to the substance’s continuous presence. Another aspect of physical dependence is the experience of withdrawal, an adverse physiological symptom that occurs when consumption of an abused substance is ended abruptly, and it is thus removed from the body (Mash et. al, p. 390).
Spiritual Development in Adolescence
There has been a rise in spirituality in adolescence in my community. The victims of senseless crimes are getting younger and younger and adolescents are finding refuge in spirituality. Crimes committed against innocent child are unexplainable so adolescents tend to their higher being for comfort. Spiritual and religious commitments are important factors in young people’s contributing to—and sometimes leading—social change, at the level of humanitarian concern as well as systemic political and social change (Roehlkepartian, et. al 2006). For example, friends of 17-year-old Alexis Murphy from Charlottesville, VA held candlelight visual in remembrance of her. Alexis Murphy was abducted and murdered by Randy Allen Taylor on August 3, 2013. Healthy spiritual development is important in situations like the one mention because when face with adversity, one could the will to live.
In conclusion, during adolescence, a person’s identity and moral values develop even as the progress to adulthood is occurring. Adolescents make decisions that affect their entire lives, even though they are immature psychologically and socially. Despite these high stakes, most people succeed going through adolescences without any major psychological problems.
References
Berk, Laura E. (2010) Exploring Lifespan Development (2nd ed) Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Feldman, Robert S. (2010) Development Across the Life Span (7th ed.) Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Mash, Eric J., Wolfe, David A. (2010) Abnormal Child Psuchology (4th ed) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning
Roehlkepartain, Eugene C., King, Pamela E., Wagener, Linda, Benson, Peter L. (2006) The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication, Inc.
