Adolescents
The term problematic use is often used with this age-group because adolescents often experiment or use drugs in conjunction with specific events such as parties, developmental or emotional crises, and peer group influences and pressure. The criteria presented in the DSM for symptoms of psychological dependence or physical dependence may not apply to teenagers. Although peak use of alcohol and drugs is in late teens or early 20s, most people return to normal drinking patterns and do not progress to alcoholism or chronic abuse. Some adolescents go on to develop pervasive, recurrent patterns of use, which then result in serious consequences and diagnosable substance related disorders. Studies on vulnerability factors help researchers design prevention programs for at-risk youth. For example, one factor is age, because those who begin drinking before age 17 are more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder than those who drink at ages 21or 22 or 25. Society considers experimenting with substances normative behavior for young adults. Many high school students drink or smoke cigarettes before age 13.
The popularity of substances rise and falls, with the use of hallucinogens declining in high schools. The same data suggest that adolescent drug use is ubiquitous, found in rural, urban, and suburban populations. Of interest, and contrary to popular notions, researchers in this survey note that use of crack and heroin is not always in urban. A significant number of adolescents continue to use inhalants.
Males in this age-group have somewhat higher rates of illicit drug use then females, and much higher rates of smokeless tobacco and steroid use. Student who are not college bound are more likely to use illicit drugs, drink heavily, and drink alcohol while in high school. In the lower grades, the college-bound showed a greater increase in cigarette smoking in the mid-1990s than did their non-college-bound peers.
The same student (Monitoring the Future) done in 2005 also revealed that the use of any illicit drug in the previous year was down by more than a third among eighth graders, down by under a quarter among tenth graders, and only 10% down among twelfth graders. Half of American secondary school student have tried an illicit drug by the time they reach graduation. Marijuana is the most prevalent of illicit drugs, and the 2005 survey indicated no significant decline in use of this substance. Annual use of ecstasy is declining since it peaked since it peaked in 2001. Amphetamine use declined in upper grades but not in eighth grade. Tranquilizer use increased steadily from 1992 until 2000 and is now in decline. Prevalence rates for tranquilizer use is 2.8% grade 8 and 6.8% in grade 12.
Among drugs that showed almost no change in 2005 were cocaine, crack, and heroin. The annual prevalence rate for powder cocaine is 1.7%in the eighth grade, 3% in tenth grade, and 4.5% in twelfth grade. Crystal methamphetamine prevalence is 2.3% in twelfth graders. Heroin use peaked in 2001and is now slightly below 1% in all three grades. Narcotics other than heroin is reported only for the twelfth grade with the annual prevalence rate at 9%. Vicodin and Oxycontin are the most common.
Alcohol and cigarettes are the most common substances youth use. Half of American youth have tried cigarettes by the twelfth grade, and 23% are current smokers. By the eighth grade, 26% have tried cigarettes, and 1 in 11 has become a current smoker. Cigarette use reached its peak in 1996. Declines in smoking among this age-group seem to have leveled; no significant declines occurred in 2005.
Seventy-five percent of high school seniors have tried alcohol (more than just a few sips), and 41% have done so by the eighth grade. More than half (58%) of seniors and 20% of eighth graders reported being drunk at least once, which cause concern given the fact that alcohol disorders develop faster when drinking begins early.
Three drugs that were used increasingly were sedatives, OxyContin, and inhalants. In each case, increases were modest and were confined to twelfth grade. Researchers speculate that some of these increases are due to respondents using drugs at one point (eighth grade) and continuing use through high school. Researchers do not know whether those reporting drug use had ever used the drug before. The same researchers believe that “generational forgetting” contributes to drug use-when drugs are reintroduced to young people. Researchers believe that when adverse effects of drugs become known, such as for LSD and methamphetamine, these particular drugs fall out of use. Both oh these drugs had very bad reputations in the 1960s and 1970s. Over time, this information is forgotten, and young people begin to use the drug, only to rediscover unfortunate or fatal outcomes. Persons interested in preventing adolescent drug use focus on the “grace period” between when a drug becomes popular and then use falls off b