Substance abuse among youth is also linked to violence, crime, and gang membership. Canadian law enforcement agencies report this beginning as young as middle school.
Violence related to substance abuse among youth can occur during the commission of a crime, but it is more likely to occur within the home, with a family member, or at school. Parents who are addicts are often involved in negligence, maltreatment, and physical and sexual abuse of their children. Drug-related violence in children is a strong predictor of later substance abuse by the victims.
Early substance abuse among youth is among the risk factors for delinquency. The criminal activity becomes a means to support the addiction. Shoplifting, breaking and entering, and prostitution are the most common methods to obtain the drug itself, or the money to purchase it, usually from a dealer.
Schools are where at least some of these drug purchases are occurring, along with the associated violence. This criminal activity increases the likelihood of more crime, as well as continued use of drugs. Persistent delinquency during youth, combined with substance abuse, is a predictor of participation in criminal activity as an adult.
Involvement with the criminal justice system, particularly incarceration, perpetuates the cycle of violence, crime and substance abuse disorders, and exacerbates mental health conditions. What is most alarming is that the cycle is beginning in middle school.
What the Education System is Doing: Is it Enough?
Drug Prevention Training
There are a number of school-based drug prevention programs that have become commonplace in recent years. These programs start as early as elementary school and continue through high school. They have made their way into classrooms, but how effective are they?
A great deal of research on drug prevention education has been done to determine best practices in creating curricula and implementing the strategies. A large number of programs have been thoroughly evaluated, so educators can make an informed
decision.
The approaches that proved to be largely ineffective in reducing substance abuse, were those that focused primarily on facts about drugs and the dangers of drug abuse, fear arousal programs emphasizing risks associated with drug use, programs that focus on the evils of drug use, and programs that foster self-esteem building and personal growth.
Adolescent choices regarding alcohol and drug use are affected by social context, physical and emotional needs, and pressure from peers or others. Strategies that didn’t rely on that understanding, and that focused solely on the teaching of facts or the development of healthy attitudes, were ineffective. Alternatively, helping students develop resistance skills does appear to reduce substance abuse. This training includes an awareness of the power of social influence to engage in drug use and specific strategies for resisting that influence.
Drug prevention training for students and teachers is one strategy being used by the education system to address addiction among youth in Canadian schools. But is it enough?
Source: addictionrehabcenters.ca
