Teenagers: Drug Abuse in Modern Societies - Research Paper

Introduction

Modern societies focus on developing teenagers since they are the future source of human capital. The government and other stakeholders focus on implementing programs and activities that enhance mental and physical development among minors. In this perspective, teenagers are at a critical stage of physical and psychological development and thus the need for strategies to address problem behaviors, and the tendency for recklessness that result from peer pressure. However, drug abuse is common in the present-day world, which exposes teenagers to the risk of juvenile drug use. Engaging in substance abuse not only causes suffering among the minors but also affect their families and the community besides burdening the juvenile justice system. Therefore, substance abuse should be condemned since it increases the rate of juvenile delinquency, where the minors engage in irresponsible behaviors and unlawful practices.

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Many children are at a high risk of substance abuse and delinquency. According to Fishbein and Perez (2000), physically neglected, economically impoverished, and socially unstable societies besides drug selling in the neighborhoods significantly drives delinquency. Such areas are rife with crime, but a significant proportion of the minors do not participate in deviant behaviors. However, some engage in unlawful practices at varying degrees. This situation has attracted the attention of the researchers as they attempt to investigate the reasons for divergent drug abuse and delinquency in similar environmental conditions (Fishbein & Perez, 2000).

The theory of multiple causations is essential for the understanding of the propensity of delinquency and drug abuse. The theory asserts that this divergence is a result of dynamic interaction between numerous risk factors rather than a single phenomenon (Fishbein & Perez, 2000). The components that cause a variation in delinquency and substance abuse are social factors such as family functioning, school environment, peer influences, and parenting techniques (Fishbein & Perez, 2000). Also, individual characteristics, such as biological factors, learning experience, temperament, personality, and attitudes, according to Fishbein and Perez (2000), dramatically influence juvenile drug abuse and delinquency.

The association between substance abuse and delinquency among adolescents is well documented in the literature. Prinz and Kerns (2013) noted that male adolescent offenders that engage in heavy drinking, heavy smoking, and frequent drug abuse tend to have conflicts with their parents. In this case, alcoholic minors engage in specific facets of violent crimes, particularly property offenses. Marijuana use, on the other hand, has been associated with minor property offenses and gang-related violence (Prinz & Kerns, 2013). The use of marijuana before age 16, in particular, has been found to have more problematic outcomes in terms of juvenile offending than other substances. This interrelationship between drug abuse and delinquency, according to Prinz and Kerns (2013), result from problem behavior during adolescence.

However, substance initiation during childhood is an indicator of subsequent risks behaviors. In this regard, pre-adolescence exposure to drug abuse leads to higher delinquency rate at later stages of adolescence. A study by Dembo, Wareham, and Schmeidler (2007) indicated that the delinquency rate in the US has been declining, whereas substance use has been rising over the same period. It suggests that immediate policies to curb drug abuse are necessary.

The previous studies show that the crime rate among substance-abusing teenagers has a strong association with gender (Bright et al., 2016). Some of these differences are severity, and the frequency of juvenile crimes, risk factors, developmental timing, and pathways to the risk behavior (Bright et al., 2016). However, male adolescents, according to Bright et al., (2016), are likely to abuse substances than their female counterparts. They also tend to commit violent offenses than female adolescents. However, the delinquency rate among female teenagers that abuse drugs have a higher tendency to cease or decline (Bright et al., 2016). Risk factors for delinquency are mostly similar in both genders. It encompasses the neighborhood environment, trauma history, one's attachment to and achievements in school, peer, and family relations.

The intensity of substance abuse entirely depends on cultural, social, and economic conditions within specific places. However, a decline in economic growth and an increase in substance use drives delinquency, especially in urban areas. In many instances, street children use alcohol and other drugs, which makes them young offenders. The immediate social environment, in particular, influence juvenile crimes among such children since they are either victims of crime or have witnessed violent acts. Low educational achievements, insufficient family experiences, and poverty trigger drug abuse and consequently, juvenile delinquency.

The literature has abundant research on the association between delinquency and substance use. Nonetheless, the area yet to be examined, according to Ford (2008), is the relationship between delinquency and nonmedical drug prescription. This topic is of interest to the researchers, considering that the rate of nonmedical prescription drug use is increasing at a higher rate than the use of illicit drugs other than marijuana (Ford, 2008). The arrest and self-reported delinquency are significantly associated with nonmedical prescription drug use, but it is higher in other illicit drugs (Ford, 2008). Low levels of life satisfaction trigger adverse outcomes, including juvenile crime. This factor is predictive of high-risk behaviors, including aggressive or violent acts, alcohol use, and drug abuse (Ford, 2008).

Drug abuse leads to low self-esteem, loneliness, self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression. Mohamad, Mohammad, Mat, and Awang (2018) noted that juvenile delinquency among middle-school students results from low levels of life satisfaction, which drives them to use substances. Offenses among such minors range from small to violent crimes. Drug-abusing teenagers, in this regard, exhibit violent behaviors such as physical fighting, carrying guns, knives, sexual abuse, and selling of substances such as marijuana. However, sexual violence, according to Mohamad et al. (2018), is prevalent among female offenders relative to their male counterparts.

The social development theory is essential for the understanding of the risk factors that drives drug abuse and juvenile delinquency. The model, according to Fishbein and Perez (2000), integrates knowledge from social control and social learning theories. It states that it is essential to study the adherence to social norms and values in the society, societal institutions, and the socializing effects of the bonds between parents and juveniles. Thus, social development theory focuses on identifying the extent to which societal norms, learning institutions, and individual relationships with the peers and family shape the development of adverse behaviors. The model is useful in predicting the risk behaviors that lead to drug abuse and ultimately, delinquency.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the social structures of society influence juvenile crimes. Drug abuse, in particular, triggers the rate of delinquency since it shapes the development of adverse behaviors among teenagers. Negative consequences of economic and social development increase juvenile delinquency in modern societies. However, teenage drug abuse is prevalent in communities where norms and values for acceptable behaviors are weak. The rate of male juvenile delinquency is higher than that of the females. Some of the adverse behavioral outcomes associated with substance use among teenagers are sexual violence, fighting, and conflicts with the parents. The society, however, can address the issue by enhancing life satisfaction among teenagers to prevent substance use. Also, the community should strengthen values and social norms that govern behaviors among adolescents.

References

Bright, C. L., Sacco, P., Kolivoski, K. M., Stapleton, L. M., Jun, H., & Morris-Compton, D. (2016). Gender Differences in Patterns of Substance Use and Delinquency: A Latent

Transition Analysis. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 26(2), 162-173. DOI: 10.1080/1067828x.2016.1242100

Dembo, R., Wareham, J., & Schmeidler, J. (2007). Drug use and delinquent behavior: A growth model of parallel processes among high-risk youths. Criminal justice and behavior, 34(5), 680-696. DOI: 10.1177/0093854806296905

Fishbein, D. H., & Perez, D. M. (2000). A regional study of risk factors for drug abuse and delinquency: Sex and racial differences. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 9(4), 461-479. Retrieved 20 July 2019, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1009470825972/url/

Ford, J. A. (2008). Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use and Delinquency: An Analysis with a National Sample. Journal of Drug Issues, 38(2), 493-516. DOI: 10.1177/002204260803800206

Mohamad, M., Mohammad, M., Mat, N. A., & Awang, Z. (2018). The impact of life satisfaction on substance abuse: delinquency as a mediator. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 23(1), 25-35. DOI: 10.1080/02673843.2016.1267021

Prinz, R. J., & Kerns, S. E. (2003). Early substance use by juvenile offenders. Journal of Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 33(4), 263-277. DOI: 10.1023/b:chud.0000039320.40382.