About Substance Abuse
How common is it?
What causes it?
How long does it last?
What are the long-term consequences?
What treatments are effective?
A review of the evidence
What's new?
Resources
What causes it?
Children and adolescents with disruptive behaviour disorders (ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or Conduct Disorder) are most likely to use drugs or sniff gasoline or glue.
Teens using substances may have other mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety disorders (for example, a fear of social situations).
Some have post-traumatic stress disorder – a type of anxiety disorder caused by serious trauma usually related to an early history or current experience of physical or sexual abuse.
Substance use is also frequently seen in adolescents with bulimia, an eating disorder, or schizophrenia, a very serious mental health disorder.1
Drug use and mental health problems seem to go together, but no one knows which comes first. Some kids who are anxious or depressed use drugs to try to feel better. On the other hand, it is possible that using the drugs makes teens experience feelings of anxiety or depression. When teens feel bad about themselves and feel they don’t fit in anywhere, they may find a like-minded group of friends who use drugs.
Not knowing how to resist peer pressure, or choosing not to resist it, increases the likelihood of engaging in substance abuse.
Teens who are lonely and without friends during middle childhood also seem to be more likely to abuse drugs or other substances during adolescence.
There are also environmental and social factors that increase the likelihood that a child or teen will engage in substance abuse. These include a family history of alcoholism or drug abuse or being exposed to drinking and drugs in the home. Also at high risk are children and teens from low income/low education families, from families who are involved in domestic violence, or from families in which the parents have mental health problems.
Peer influence can be just as strong as family influences. Children and teens who befriend substance-using peers are more likely to use drugs and other substances themselves. Growing up in poor or crime-ridden neighbourhoods also contributes to high rates of substance abuse in children and teens.
2
^top
| |
1. |
Deas D. Adolescent substance abuse and psychiatric comorbidities. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2006; 67 (suppl 7): 18-23. |
| 2. |
Georgiades K, Boyle MH. Adolescent tobacco and cannabis use: young adult outcomes from the Ontario Child Health Study. 2007. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. In Press. |
