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I. Introduction

a) Substance abuse in adolescents

i. Important to understand the reasons behind adolescents’ abuse of drugs

ii. The rate of addiction reported on the adolescents are shaped by the periods of starting the use

b) Substance abuse is a social problem in the society

i. Early substance abuse affects the later years of a person

ii. Several adolescents affected leading to arrests and high treatment and incarceration costs

c) Substance abuse prevalence

i. Alcohol is the most prevalent drug abused by the adolescents

ii. The quality of later years of an adolescent’s life is compromised

d) Thesis Statement

i. In this paper, I will be studying the prevalence of substance abuse among adolescents, the factors contributing to the abuse and the effects and treatment methods of substance abuse

II. Literature Review

a) Prevalence of substance abuse (Park, A., 2011)

i. More than 75% of high school students have in a way abused drugs according to a study

ii. The drugs abused comprise tobacco, alcohol and other illicit drugs

iii. Over ninety percent of addiction cases occur for those who started using drugs before getting eighteen years old

iv. The addiction in adulthood is a consequence of early abuse of drugs

b) Impact of drug abuse (Park, A., 2011)

i. Abuse of drugs during adolescent years can affect someone even in old age

c) Partaking in alcohol abuse (O’Malley, P. M., Johnston, L. D., &G.Bachman, J., 1998))

i. Abuse of alcohol is most prevalent in male adolescents.

ii. Alcohol abuse has a close affiliation to other drugs

iii. Some youth drink because of alcohol’s great taste and relieving effect

iv. A good number of people abused alcohol for attempting to adapt to challenges

d) Adolescent drug abuse management (White, W.L., Dennis, M. &Tims, F.M., 2002)

i. Adult treatment methods have no benefit to adolescents

ii. Advancement in technology has created hope for better treatment methods in future

e) Effects of adolescent drug abuse (White, W.L., Dennis, M. &Tims, F.M., 2002)

i. Numerous side effects

ii. Deaths from drug complications

iii. Prosecutions for drug abuse

iv. Huge rehabilitation costs.

III. Data and Methods

a) Survey Collection at Columbia University (Park, A., 2011)

i. Sample size

ii. Generalization from a small sample is difficult

iii. The data from the respondents could be unreliable

b) Survey collection in the USA by Centers for Disease Control (O’Malley, P. M., Johnston, L. D., &G. Bachman, J., 1998).

i. Sample size

ii. Relatively larger sample size based in Michigan and at Centers for Disease Control

iii. The trends in adolescent alcohol use is increasing

c) Qualitative research (White, W.L., Dennis, M. &Tims, F.M., 2002 )

i. A large sample size

ii. Generalization is relatively easy with large samples.

iii. The management methods for drug abuse is changing rapidly

IV. Theory

a. Functionalism

i. Patients should depend solely on medical personnel to get the relevant information on effects of drugs

ii. The Physicians are expected to be dependable and credible authorities in medicine

V. Conclusion

a. In this paper, I have examined the prevalence of substance abuse among the adolescents, the factors contributing to the abuse and the effects and treatment methods of substance abuse

b. Further research is needed on the treatment methods suitable for the adolescents because my finding established that the treatment method used by older people is not effective on them

c. Individuals ought to be taught the consequences of alcohol abuse and the prescribed treatment methods

References

O’Malley, P. M., Johnston, L. D., &G.Bachman, J. (1998). Alcohol Use among Adolescents.

Alcohol Health & Research World, 85-93.

Park, A. (2011). Teens and Drugs: Rite of Passage or Recipe for Addiction? | TIME.com.