NCJ Number
163332
Journal
Youth Studies Australia Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1996) Pages: 37-42
Date Published
1996
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This analysis of juvenile drug use trends in Europe concludes that a new youth trend has emerged in which participants in the new drug culture are alienated from and mistrustful of mainstream society and have developed a new cultural and social context in which drugs are included as a natural part of life.
Abstract
This new youth trend has emerged from a shift in youth culture and youth social context. In contrast to the past, no single youth trend dominates. Instead, several different types of trends exist. Specific youth groups have specific drug habits. Skinheads prefer alcohol and rohypnol. Ecstasy is now regarded as a party drug. The latest youth trends are the rave and new types of gangs with their roots in music and friends. Friends are the most important influence on youth today. New factors that have given the recent trends a different character include second-generation immigration, second-generation unemployment, mistrust, gangs, pressure from the media, the fad for bodybuilding and the associated use of anabolic steroids. Many young people feel alienated in society no matter what they do. Cannabis is popular among the youths who do not consider it a dangerous drug. The 1980's was the decade of treatment and rehabilitation, but prevention methods are being used more often now. A key element of all efforts must be to stop considering youth as problems and instead regard them as resources. A poem written by a 16-year-old is included.