peer pressure teens and drug abuse

Why Do Some Teens Give In To Peer Pressure And Abuse Drugs?

Teenage is the best and most exciting part of life. This is the time where you get the chance to live out your life on your terms. You get to make all kinds of decisions that can either be truly inspirational or totally impulsive and irrational (peer pressure).

For the most part of adolescence, teens feel the rush of everything and they prefer living in the here and now. Without putting much thought and consideration evaluating the consequences, they tend to get into action.

Anything that makes them feel the adrenaline rush, seems like the next best thing. And nothing kicks off the rush more than breaking rules. Teenage boys and girls are always attracted to things that are in the forbidden zone.

Drugs and Alcohol are the two things that are prohibited for teens which is why teens are most attracted to them. So whenever they get the chance to explore, teens prefer exploring the abusive side of the materials. This is exactly why teens and drug abuse are two topics that go hand in hand.

What’s All The Fuss About Drugs?

Drugs like cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and other narcotic agents are the main center of attention for most teenagers. When teens try these drugs for the first-time, the utter feeling of ecstasy traps their naive minds. They take it once, twice, thrice and just like this, soon they become dependent on these drug agents.

Being addictive in nature, all kinds of narcotic agents are mostly sedative and mind numbing in nature. As a result, teenage people who are not used to their effects are affected more and easily become attracted to the numbing sensation. Especially teenagers in their seventh or eighth standards aged between 13s to 15s are more prone to get addicted to drugs.

The best way to avoid misuse of drugs by teenagers is to keep a close eye on them. Parents often close their eyes in confidence that their kids have now become grown-ups who can handle themselves.

This extra confidence is the exact opposite of what the child needs at this stage. Teenage is a difficult time of life when all sorts of bad habits and bad peers are just waiting to crawl under the skin of the young budding mind.

Role of Peers in Teenage— Addressing What’s Peer Pressure?

Peers are the friends/mates that study along with you at school or live in your neighborhood. Teens are most influenced by none other than their peers. A group of friends that they might admire enough to be one of them.

A young grown-up teenager when put into the wrong company can become a worse version of himself. Similarly, when a teen is put in the right company, he/she may develop to be the best version of themselves.

Peer pressure can be very influential for teenagers. Youthfulness is a bliss where making irrational decisions is much easier than doing the right thing. Teens often do things under peer pressure that they know are wrong but the kicks of breaking rules and doing the forbidden seems super cool to them.

According to multiple research surveys, peer pressure is the most common cause of Teenage drug abuse. Friends with bad habits often pressurize young grown-up  teens to do drugs or drink alcohol. This is exactly why parents and educators should keep a close eye to all the people that your teenagers are hanging around with in their leisure time.³

teens peer pressure

Why do Teens get targeted for Peer Pressure Drug Abuse?

When kids enter the teenage part of their life, their likes and dislikes change drastically. Their life becomes more focused on looking mature and doing the things that make them look like adults. Smoking, drinking and being able to do whatever they want are the things they crave most.

When the children grow old enough to be on their own and make their own choices, they tend to mix the fine lines of good and bad. In the race of being the coolest in the group, they often get involved with drugs.

Peer pressure drug abuse unfortunately becomes the root of most problematic teens. In a false attempt to fit in with the adult group or to look cool and make more friends, teens often start using drugs. Peer pressure is known to influence teenagers’ choices the most. Not just about doing drugs or drinking alcohol but also about many other things.⁴

What Does Science Say About Peer Pressure Drug Abuse?

A number of different surveys and research studies were conducted to check the correlation between teens and drug abuse and how it is related to peer pressure. For this purpose, unique research surveys were designed consisting of more in-depth questions about how the teens first came in contact with the drugs.

How they felt about drugs before and after they’ve become addicted to it. The questionnaire based studies showed clearly that teens make irrational decisions of drug abuse to impress their fellow abusers or to appear more like adults.

There seems to be a common conflict between knowing the risks yet choosing drugs over it. The willingness to ignore all kinds of warnings to get the final reward was the common cause of drug abuse in teenagers.

A study funded by NIDA showed that teens who were allowed to go on late-night outings and long drives with their friends behaved more like risk takers. They were committed to other kinds of similar risky acts like speeding through traffic lights and drugs in the company of their friends.

Researchers who were involved in the survey also studied the brain reflexes of the teenagers involved in the study by monitoring their brain responses. Based on clear findings and charts, they concluded that just by knowing that their friends are watching, teens’ brain regions showed hyperactivity when choosing to make the risky decisions.

Take Away!

What starts as an exciting experiment, soon becomes a habit. Teens and drug abuse works like a charm bracelet that bites off the skin too deep to repair with a temporary band-aid. So, it’s better to prevent the bad habits of drugs instead of trying to find a cure for it.

Reference

Jadidi N, Nakhaee N. 2014, Etiology of drug abuse: a narrative analysis. J Addict. 2014;2014:352835.

Khan L. 2019, Substance Use in Adolescents: Latest Trends. Pediatr Ann. 2019 Nov 1;48(11):e418-e422.

Mike Allen, William A. Donohue, 2003, Comparing The Influence Of Parents And Peers On The Choice To Use Drugs: A Meta-Analytic Summary of Literature, Volume: 30 issue: 2, page(s): 163-186.
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