NCJ Number
217031
Date Published
2006
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This chapter explores juvenile drug offenders, focusing on patterns of juvenile drug use, characteristics of juvenile drug offenders, and theoretical explanations of juvenile drug use.
Abstract
A variety of self-report, anonymous surveys regularly gather data about juvenile drug use. These surveys generally indicate that juvenile drug use has been relatively stable since the late-1990s following a period of increase during the mid-1990s. Despite the stability in juvenile drug use, a sizeable number of juveniles use drugs. The Monitoring the Future Survey indicates that by 12th grade, 55 percent of students have tried an illicit substance. Juvenile drug users have been categorized as: (1) recreational users; (2) adolescents who frequently sell drugs; (3) teenage dealers who commit other delinquent acts; (4) losers or burnouts; (5) and persistent offenders. These categories are explained before the author considers the link between juvenile drug use and criminality. While researchers agree that there is a relationship between drug use and crime involvement, it is unclear exactly how this relationship works. The theoretical perspectives used to explain juvenile drug use are described and include sociological, biological, and psychological theories. Sociological theories, such as social disorganization theory, social bond theory, and social learning theory, focus on the ways in which a juvenile’s social environment impact their substance abuse. For example, social disorganization theory and social bond theory both contend that when social bonds linking juveniles to their communities are low due to factors such as poverty, residential instability, and disordered family environments, juveniles are more likely to engage in deviant behaviors, such as drug abuse. Biological theories, on the other hand, focus on the biological and genetic roots of addictive behaviors while psychological theories examine the link between emotional disorders and drug use. A variety of treatment approaches have been implemented for juvenile drug abuse with varying effectiveness. Most of these approaches are school- or corrections-based, such as Juvenile Drug Courts, which focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. References