Abuse of psychoactive substances among adolescent

Abstract

Substance abuse by the adolescent is one of the serious problems of modern society. In addition to putting the lives of the young in danger, substance abuse among the adolescent population affects the entire society and threatens to cause permanent instability of the society. Substance abuse is tied with numerous risks and problems. Besides the negative health effects, it comes together with numerous risky behaviors and the exposure to danger. Due to such circumstances, there exists a need to react and create a prevention program. Numerous researches are aimed at studying the aspects of substance abuse in adolescence and arriving at results that will help suppress this significant problem. Most commonly examined are individual and psychological factors, interpersonal factors, influence of society and its components, various social and biological factors. It has been determined that the pursuit of sensations, social confrontation, direct aggressiveness, poor school performance and lower level of parental care influence use of drugs and alcohol. It is necessary to examine all consequences that result from substance abuse, as well as the scale and reach of abuse effects. This holds for effects concerning psychosomatic health, behavior, interpersonal relationships, and social functioning. Substance abuse among adolescent population is a global problem, regardless of the development stage of a certain society, its characteristics, culture, economic factors, education system and other aspects. By comparing data from various studies from around the world, this work aims to clarify the aspects of substance abuse among adolescents and provide a new insight into this complex problem.