NCJ Number
134128
Journal
Psychiatric Annals Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (February 1991) Pages: 70-108
Editor(s)
M A Morrison
Date Published
1991
Length
39 pages
Annotation
This series of six articles on adolescent substance abuse addresses the effects of substance abuse on today's youth, current trends in adolescent drug use, memory impairment from marijuana use, the diagnosis of adolescent chemical dependence, and inpatient and outpatient treatment for juvenile drug abuse.
Abstract
An overview of the effects of substance abuse on today's youth concludes that substance abuse is the major precipitating cause for most of the premature deaths and morbidity among youth in the United States. It further concludes that the single greatest predictor of substance abuse is a positive family history of drug abuse. Data support a genetic biological predisposition for addiction, although environmental components may modify the risk. A review of current trends in adolescent drug use notes that although dangerous drugs such as crack threaten youth today, the use of drugs is becoming unpopular, at least among middle-class adolescents, as they search for positive alternatives to meet their emotional needs. An article on the effects of heavy and potent and marijuana use advises that such use induces significant and long-lasting deficits in short-term memory. Another article reviews the difficulties in the diagnosis of drug-dependent or alcohol-dependent adolescents, followed by an article that discusses the coexistence of substance abuse with a separate psychiatric disorder. The final article explores current successful treatment programs and strategies for the adolescent substance abuser. Article references