Abstract

This paper seeks to discuss children and drug use as a problem in the United States society. The paper commences by describing the problem at hand, noting its significance and why it deserves attention. Thereafter, the paper analyzes the trends in the problem as it manifests in the society highlighting the differences in social demographics. The paper then identifies and describes the populations that are affected by the problem. In the succeeding section, the paper offers and discusses the theoretical framework that explains the occurrence and predictability of the framework through a sociological perspective. In this, it is noted that social control and social learning theories can explain the problem. The paper then analyzes whether there is growth of the occurrence in the past decade noting a decline in occurrence. In the next sections, the paper determines the credibility of the research and the controversies in scholarship around the key concepts. It is evident from the study that, while the United States society has a general agreement of the existence of the problem of children and drug abuse, there is no consensus on intervention which may reduce its effectiveness.

Assignment 1

Drug use has a negative effect on the user and the members of the society that are close to the user. Drug use in children occurs where the user is a minor. The risk population in this case is individuals aged between birth and seventeen years of age. The use of drugs in a manner that is addictive and outside the scope of prescription is described as abuse (Medline Plus, 2018). This is because the person becomes addicted to the use of the drugs in the course of their lives. This is a significant problem as drug abuse or substance use results in a change in a person’s character and behavior. The effects of drugs are emotional imbalance, impaired judgment and aggression (Medline Plus, 2018). The individual is often unable to maintain positive social behaviors and hence they would often withdraw from social activities. The drugs in question may be either legal or illegal but the outcome of any substance abuse is addiction and behavior change.

Trends in Children and Substance Abuse

There is a growing drug use problem in children in the United Sates over the last few years. The number of children who are reported to use behavior-altering substances has increased in the recent past. The main substances used by children include alcohol marijuana and tobacco. According to the CDC, of the alcohol produced in the country, a tenth is consumed by individuals below the age of 18 years old. The report further opines that by grade 12, 66.67% of the students would have already tried alcohol, 50% marijuana, 40% tobacco and 20% non-prescribed drugs (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Evidently, the problem is common in the United States. The commonness of drug use in problem is different among different racial and social demographics, which shows a trend that aligns commonness to the ease of access to the substance and the perception of the society towards the substance in question.

At Risk Population of the Problem

Substance abuse is a social aspect and hence it affects different members of the society differently. There are also differences of substance use patterns across different demographics (Chen & Jacobson, 2012). This is due to the fact that substance use is dependent on the perception of the society towards the substance. For instance, for the African American community, the children are more likely to use marijuana than other children are. Similarly, the Euro-American children are more likely to use prescription pills than other children are. Additionally, the use of substances is differentiated within the socio-economic status of the children (Chen & Jacobson, 2012). While the problem affects the user by impairing their behaviors and emotions, it also affects the society. Of the percentage who use substances, their interaction with the social environment is impaired and hence the society losses on the positive interaction between its members. In addition, the government loses from reduced productivity of the children, which results in lower economic and educational outcomes.

Theoretical Framework

The main theories that explain substance use in children are sociological theories which assume the influence of the society on behaviors of the individual. Under the social control theory, it is argued that the individual would be attracted to activities that achieve pleasure, self-interest and social deviance (Krohn, et al., 2015). As such, the child is more likely to use substances than to control themselves since they are aware that by doing so, it is pleasurable and they are pursuing rebellious behaviors. The other theory is social learning which argues for the development of behaviors from interaction with the society which is likely to exhibit the behaviors (Krohn, et al., 2015). As such, the theory argues that the child would learn substance use from interacting with a social environment where substance use is a common occurrence. The inference of the theories is that the child is more likely to use substances where the society is highly controlling and where a majority of the members of the society similarly use substances.

Trends in Substance Abuse in Children over the Last Decade

According to Amy, et al., (2015) there has been indications of reducing drug use disorders in children in the United States. The report showed declining trends in the last decade with regards to substance use disorders. While the figure still remains high at 7% of individuals aged between nine and seventeen years of age, there is general decline in the numbers, which declined from 9% to 7% during the period (Mericle, et al., 2015). These figures communicate the trends of drug use disorders but can be used to predict trends in drug use given drug use is directly related to the disorder. The government and stakeholders should increase the efficiency of state and local programs that are used to target substance use in order to completely eliminate the issue. Additionally, the members of the society who are close to the children should support government efforts by fostering early detection.

Credibility of the Research Sources

The objective of the research was to seek an understanding into the children and drug use problem in the United States. In order to achieve this, document review of government records on the issue and review of literature were conducted. This enabled the study to understand the problem from a theoretical and phenomenal perspective. The government records used was obtained from national census and information from the Center for Disease Control. For the scholarly sources, the literature was sourced from National Center for Biotechnology Information database. The literature was peer reviewed and therefore had credibility. The government records offered credibility to the research on the trends of the phenomenon while the peer-reviewed sources offered credibility to the theoretical and descriptive research of the problem. Given the credibility of the information used in the study, it is arguable that the study was similarly credible.

Scholarly Perspectives

Scholarship has general agreement on the nature and the trends of the problem that is facing the country. Perhaps, the current argument is on the theoretical descriptions of the problem as scholars seek to identify ways in which the problem can be explained and predicted. As such, the main focus of the discussion is based on the different perspectives of development of addiction; psychological, sociological, and neurological (Krohn, et al., 2015). However, one other significant controversy is on the prevention and treatment interventions. The differences of effectiveness of the different intervention measures form a significant controversy. This is especially significant when the discussion is on the effectiveness of government led programs such as D.A.R.E which seeks to have children interact with members of the law enforcement office as a way to prevent the onset age of alcohol use (Medline Plus, 2018). However, it is evident that effectiveness of a program is based on the individual’s personal behaviors, personality, and perceptions.

Conclusion

There is a general children and drug use problem in the United States, which, while on a declining trend is still significantly high. The purpose of this essay was to develop an understanding of the current problems faced by the society with regards to the issue. It is noted that there is a decline in the rates of drug use in children and this is based on socio-demographic factors. It is also noted that the sociological perspectives seek to explain and predict the occurrence of the phenomenon including the social control and social learning theories. The sources of research are observed as being credible as they are from government records and peer-reviewed journal articles. In scholarship, while there is general consensus on the origins of the problem, the main controversy is with regards to the intervention effectiveness. Based on the discussion, it is evident that while there is general knowledge on the problem, the main problem in the United States is the development of interventions.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Teen Substance Use & Risks. Washington, DC: Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chen, P., & Jacobson, K. C. (2012). Developmental trajectories of substance use from early adolescence to young adulthood: Gender and racial/ethnic differences. Journal of adolescent health, 50(2), 154-163.

Krohn, M. D., Loughran, T. A., Thornberry, T. P., Jang, D. W., Freeman-Gallant, A., & Castro, E. D. (2015). Explaining Adolescent Drug Use in Adjacent Generations: Testing the Generality of Theoretical Explanations. Journal of Drug Issues, 46(4), 373-395.

Medline Plus. (2018, April 28). Drug Abuse.

Mericle, A. A., Arria, A. M., Meyers, K., Cacciola, J., Winters, K. C., & Kirby, K. (2015). National trends in adolescent substance use disorders and treatment availability: 2003–2010. Journal of child & adolescent substance abuse, 24(5), 255-263.