CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENT ADDICTIVE DISORDERS

Abstract

While the average pediatrician may seldom see a young addict in his practice, he should be alerted to the extent to which such possibility presently exists in all strata of our society. Since there has been an increasing trend among middle- and upperclass high school and college students to experiment with a variety of addictive and hallucinogenic substances, problems of addiction are no longer found only in the lower socioeconomic classes. We repeat that such behavior represents a general pathological response to inner and outer stresses with which young people cannot cope. The reasons for this particular behavioral response are complex and much remains unknown about the individual psychic and physical factors that predispose certain individuals to it. Nevertheless, this is no excuse for discouragement or inaction but rather a challenge to the creative capacity of the medical and allied professions which have successfully met such challenges in the past. Legal obstacles to medical discretion in the treatment of addicts must be removed. Addiction must be seen as a civil, not a criminal matter, and the criminal behavior that may result from addiction must not be confused with the disease itself. The medical profession must assume responsibility for scientific investigation and carefully controlled experimentation with all treatment modalities. Finally, there must be a careful examination of the society in which addiction develops and spreads. It is our belief that vigorous and thoroughgoing investigation and scientific experiment may lead to the possibility of much-needed change in the environment in which addiction flourishes and in the human beings already addicted.