Teen Development and Drug Use
by Patricia Waters
The 1997 data from the University
of Michigan Monitoring the Future study presented a glimmer of hope that a trend
toward younger ages of “first use” of drugs may be leveling out. Since
the early 90’s this trend has caused serious concerns among people interested
in prevention and treatment.
Why are people more alarmed by the
thought of twelve to fourteen-year-olds using drugs than by the image of a seventeen
or eighteen-year-old engaged in the same activity? Perhaps it’s because
there are so many developmental differences between young teens and older teens.
Let’s look at some reasons why delaying age of first use is an important goal
in prevention.
Social/Emotional Development
One key developmental task of adolescence is establishing a unique sense of
identity. Trying out new social roles and establishing strong relationships
with peers are parts of this transition.
Drug use at any age can have a negative
impact on relationships: It alters (that is, distorts) perception of self,
others, and the environment. It interferes with clear communication. It
creates emotional responses that are out of sync with reality. Some substances
lead to heightened aggression, while others create a sense of detached disinterest.
Younger teens have so much learning
to do about who they are and how they relate to the world. At best, those
who become substance-involved at this time lose precious opportunities. At worst,
they may establish hard-to-break dysfunctional patterns of interaction. Early
drug use decreases the odds that adolescents will successfully establish a clear
sense of identity or learn to interact in a healthy, supportive way.
Physical development
Abuse of any drug creates some risk to physical health, regardless of the age
of the user, but younger teenagers are vulnerable in some ways that older users
aren’t. The majority of children in the U.S. go through puberty between
the ages of ten and fourteen. It is a time when bodies change rapidly.
The use of certain substances at this time can interfere with normal development.
For example, steroid use during puberty can stunt growth by stopping bone development,
and can cause direct damage to reproductive ability. Tobacco and
stimulants both suppress appetite, which is one reason some teens use them.
Inadequate food intake at this age may delay onset of puberty, and if serious
enough, will cause permanently stunted growth.
We may not immediately think about
these sorts of side effects when we think about young teens using drugs, but
their impact is real, and in some cases, irreversible.
Cognitive development
Children tend to think in concrete terms about the here and now, think about
just one issue at a time (albeit with short attention spans), and make “black
vs. white” judgment calls. Unlike children, the majority of adults can
think abstractly, hypothetically, in multiple dimensions, and in relative terms
(that is, adults can consider the context and relationship of different concepts
to one another). The adolescent years represent a critical period for
developing these more advanced thinking skills. Middle school and junior
high school students are at the beginning of this process.
Some theorists believe that the attainment
of higher level thinking is largely a matter of improved memory and increased
ability to pay attention. Marijuana, alcohol, and many other drugs impair
both abilities. Recent research conducted by the Duke University Medical Center
and the Durham VA Medical Center in North Carolina found evidence that just
one drink can impair learning and memory in young animals, but has no memory
effect on adults. The lead investigator of this study reports “Quite simply,
the younger the age, the worse they performed on the memory tests when given
the equivalent of two drinks.”
Drug use at this age also interferes
with normal opportunities to practice new reasoning skills in school.
Middle school level students who become drug involved are far more likely to
skip classes, fail to turn in assignments and, eventually, to drop out of school.
In general, early onset of substance
use increases a young person’s vulnerability to any and all of the harmful effects
of that substance.
A recent study by the National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), found that young people who begin drinking
before they turn 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those
who wait to drink until they turn 21. They are also twice as likely to
abuse alcohol, even if they do not become alcoholics.
Perhaps it is akin to the difference
between a toddler and a second grader crossing a freeway alone. It’s extremely
dangerous for both of them, but the second grader has a somewhat better chance
of making it to the other side than the toddler. Five extra years of growth,
skill-building and understanding offer some protection. And maybe during
those years someone can even convince the kid to take a safer route!
References:
1. Berger, Kathleen Stassen. The Developing Person Through the Life
Span. 4th Ed. 1998. Worth Publishers.
2. Steinberg, Lawrence.
Adolescence. 4th Ed. 1996. McGraw Hill.
3. News Release: National Institutes
of Health. 1/14/98. Age of Drinking Onset Predicts Future Alcohol Abuse and
Dependence.
4. News Release: Duke Medical
Center News Office. 3/12/98. Alcohol Impairs Mental Performance
More in the Young.
