Causes of Drug Abuse

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The Causes of Drug Abuse Among Teenagers
Drug abuse among teenagers continues to be a major problem in many societies all over the world. Everybody knows bad things can happen to drug users. Instances of school dropouts, addiction, and teen violence continue to highlight the depth of the drug problem amongst teenagers. They can have serious or even fatal health problems. They can ruin their personal, social and professional lives. They may even end up in jail. But why do young people start taking drugs in the first place? What are the causes of drug use among young people? There have been different reasons that have been fronted as to why drugs find their way into the lives of teenagers. In a recent study, Johnston et al reports that, in general, four main motive dimensions have been defined: enhancement (to enhance positive mood; internally based), social (related to obtaining social rewards; externally based), coping (to decrease negative emotions; internally based), and conformity (to avoid social rejection; externally based). These are just a few key factors that play a role in teen drug abuse. Many more causes are to blame as well.

One major cause of teen drug consumption is peer pressure. Much has been said about peer pressure and how it makes teens conform to what their peers are doing. Young people take drugs to feel cool and impress their friends. If your friends all smoke marijuana, you will probably be expected to smoke it too. If they snort cocaine, they will offer it to you. They may tell you that you are scared or acting like a baby if you don’t want to try it. This push to do as your friends are doing has a very strong effect on young people who don’t want to appear uncool to their friends. Some kids will do whatever their friends do, just to fit in and follow the crowd. They don’t want to be the only one not doing something, even if it is something dangerous, like taking drugs.

Another cause is simple curiosity or just...
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