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Substance Abuse In Student Continued. The beginning of A Problem

by Pernell1947 on Aug 25, 2010

KEY FACTORS LINKED TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE

By the time a teen graduates from high school, he/she is faced eith a conscious decision of whether or not to use tobacco, alcohol or other drugs. Each student's choice is related largely to the interplay of two factors.

* Availability: The more available tobacco, alcohol and drugs, the more likely students are to use them. For example among youth who say that it is fairly or very easy to obtain marijuana, 12.9 percent are current users; among those who say that it is difficult to obtain marijuana, only 2 percent report current use.

Perception of Risk: Students are more likely to smoke, drink or use drugs when they believe that the harm associated with use is low. For example, teens who believe there is no risk or only slight risk of harm in smoking marijuana use a month is six time likelier to be current marijuana users than teens who believe there is a moderate or great risk of harm (18.5 vs. 3.1...Read More >>