Adolescent Substance Abuse Articles

Survey Says Fewer Teens Getting Substance Abuse Prevention Messages

By Hugh C. McBride

In today’s hyper-connected world, getting information to a targeted audience should be easier than it has ever been. But a surprising new release that was timed to coincide with April’s Alcohol Awareness Month efforts reports that the percentage of young people who have been exposed to adolescent substance abuse prevention messages actually decreased between 2002 and 2007.

According to the April 3 release by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), only 77.9 percent of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 reported having seen an adolescent substance abuse prevention message in 2007. Five years earlier, 83.2 percent of adolescents reported having seen such messages.

Fewer adolescents also reported participating in out-of-school substance abuse prevention programs. In 2002, 12.7 percent said that they took part in programs designed to discourage alcohol abuse or drug use; five years later, that rate had fallen to 11.3 percent.

“The findings of this report indicate that we all must do more to get the message out to our young people that substance abuse is harmful to their health and happiness,” SAMHSA’s Acting Administrator, Eric Broderick, said in the April 3 release.

Parents Play Important Role

The content of the April 3 SAMHSA release wasn’t entirely negative, as it revealed that young people who talked to their parents about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs were less likely to abuse these substances than were adolescents who didn’t discuss these issues with their parents:

Alcohol – 18.3 percent of adolescents who didn’t talk to their parents reported being current users of alcohol, but only 16.2 percent of those who talked to their parents reported being regular drinkers.

Illicit Drugs – 11.7 percent of “non-talkers” reported using drugs; 9.5 percent of “talkers” did the same.

Cigarettes – 12.5 percent of “non-talkers” said they smoked, but only 10.6 percent of “talkers” reported using tobacco.

“Alcohol Awareness Month highlights the crucial role that parents play in informing and influencing their adolescent sons and daughters about alcohol and substance use,” Broderick said in the release.

Drug Use Among U.S. Youth

Adolescent substance abuse is obviously an important concern for many parents. And though the SAMHSA release revealed that fewer teens are being exposed to teen substance abuse prevention messages, statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) indicate that the “don’t do drugs” message is getting through in some areas – but falling short in others.

The 2008 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey of drug behaviors and attitudes among U.S. youth revealed that recent declines in teen marijuana use has leveled off, while the abuse of prescription pills is rising. As reported in a Dec. 11, 2008 NIDA release, findings about adolescent substance abuse from the 2008 MTF survey include the following:

Marijuana use among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders, which has shown a consistent decline since the mid-1990s, appears to have leveled off with 10.9 percent of eighth graders, 23.9 percent of tenth graders, and 32.4 percent of twelfth graders reporting past year use.

Teens continue to abuse prescription medications at a high rate, with little change in the past six years. Nearly 10 percent of seniors reported past-year nonmedical use of Vicodin, and 4.7 percent report abusing OxyContin, both of which are powerful opioid painkillers.

Seven of the top 10 most commonly abused drugs by twelfth graders in the year prior to the survey were prescribed or purchased over-the-counter.

“The 2008 survey results reinforce the fact that we cannot become complacent in our efforts to persuade teens not to smoke, drink or abuse illicit substances," Mike Leavitt, the then-secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in the NIDA release.

Keeping Kids Safe

Parents who are concerned about their children’s involvement with alcohol or other drugs should be on the lookout for the following signs of adolescent substance abuse:

• Sudden changes in behavior or attitude
• Changes in academic performance, including a loss of interest in school
• Decreased interest in appearance and personal hygiene
• Withdrawal from friends and family members
• Secretiveness, lying, and other types of evasiveness
• Sudden mood changes and dramatic emotional outbursts
• Fatigue, exhaustion, or periods of unexplainable increases in energy
• Bloodshot eyes, sudden changes in weight, and other physical symptoms
• Insomnia (inability to sleep) or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping)

Parents who discover that their children are abusing alcohol or another drug have a number of options, ranging from outpatient therapy to wilderness therapy to a residential recovery program for teens.

Adolescent substance abuse can wreak devastation both on the young person and the family, but help is available – and effective treatment can help both client and loved ones pursue healthier and more satisfying futures.