Adolescence is a common socially accepted time of substance use and experimentation with drugs and alcohol. Socially accepted norms have long justified teen substance use as ubiquitous and as a rite of passage to adulthood. However, increasing amounts of research have provided evidence that substance use in adolescence increases chances of adulthood addiction as well as many other physical health problems, interfering with brain development, and resulting in poor social outcomes. While current trends may show stability in usage and only a slight upswing in usage among adolescents, vigilance and commitment to social policy is essential to improving the overall health and wellbeing of our nation’s youth.
History of Substance Use in Adolescence …show more content…
Only in the recent past has substance use in adolescence been an area of focus and research. The first medical facility created to treat alcohol and substance use was the New York State Inebriate Asylum in 1864 which treated addiction and substance abuse as a mental health problem (DrugAbuse.com, 2017). Alcoholics Anonymous in the late 1930’s addressed the social problem at a local level (Gilbert & Terrell, 2013). Alcoholics Anonymous was designed a self-help group aimed at adults suffering from alcohol problems after the end of Prohibition. However, adolescence was just beginning to be recognized as a defined developmental stage, much less as a population that was struggling with chemical dependency. The child welfare movement began in the mid-nineteenth century establishing the need for protecting children and reducing juvenile delinquency. Psychologist G. Stanley Hall was the first to closely examine the stage of adolescence in 1904 and raise awareness of the unique milestones during puberty that supplied a large amount of information on human development and child welfare (Trattner, …show more content…
284a enacted by Congress. The Council identifies needs for research as well as federal funding. The Council meets several times per year to advise the federal government on drug use prevention and intervention (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). In 1988, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed by Congress to establish the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the President’s administration. This allowed for federal funding to focus on America’s substance use problem as well as create long term goals of reducing substance use, prevention programs for America’s youth, and overall reduce substance availability in the U.S. (Office of National Drug Control Policy,
History of Substance Use in Adolescence …show more content…
Only in the recent past has substance use in adolescence been an area of focus and research. The first medical facility created to treat alcohol and substance use was the New York State Inebriate Asylum in 1864 which treated addiction and substance abuse as a mental health problem (DrugAbuse.com, 2017). Alcoholics Anonymous in the late 1930’s addressed the social problem at a local level (Gilbert & Terrell, 2013). Alcoholics Anonymous was designed a self-help group aimed at adults suffering from alcohol problems after the end of Prohibition. However, adolescence was just beginning to be recognized as a defined developmental stage, much less as a population that was struggling with chemical dependency. The child welfare movement began in the mid-nineteenth century establishing the need for protecting children and reducing juvenile delinquency. Psychologist G. Stanley Hall was the first to closely examine the stage of adolescence in 1904 and raise awareness of the unique milestones during puberty that supplied a large amount of information on human development and child welfare (Trattner, …show more content…
284a enacted by Congress. The Council identifies needs for research as well as federal funding. The Council meets several times per year to advise the federal government on drug use prevention and intervention (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). In 1988, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed by Congress to establish the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the President’s administration. This allowed for federal funding to focus on America’s substance use problem as well as create long term goals of reducing substance use, prevention programs for America’s youth, and overall reduce substance availability in the U.S. (Office of National Drug Control Policy,