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Being a teenager is one of the toughest times in most people's lives. There is the uncertainty of finding a place that is a proper fit. Teens are caught between wanting to be treated as adults and wanting to hold on to some remnants childhood. Adults send confusing messages. On one hand, they treat their teens like children. On the other hand, they reprimand them for not acting like adults. When peer pressure is added to the mix, it is no wonder that many teens turn to substances to help them manage their growing pains.

Many individuals are able to grow into responsible adults despite all the pressure suffered during adolescence and without self-medicating themselves. Yet, other teens are unable to cope with the pressures of growing up and turn to drugs and alcohol. There are no simple answers as to what causes teen substance abuse.

Peer pressure is one of the primary reasons teens abuse substances. No one, even adults, wants to feel like an outsider. Teenagers especially don't want to feel like the odd person among their peers. Some are resilient enough to resist the temptation to experiment with drugs or alcohol, but others can't seem to resist the urge. While any teen is susceptible to peer pressure, it is especially true of those who suffer from shyness or low self-esteem. Substances have a way of giving people courage to do things they otherwise would not think about doing.

Boredom is another cause of teen substance abuse. In the past, mothers were home to greet their children after school or extended family lived nearby to check on the kids. Now, both parents often have to work, and families are scattered across the country. In a world of distrust, most people don't even know the names of their neighbors. Teenagers get home before their parents and are left to their own devices.

In the home, there may be alcohol in the kitchen and prescription drugs in the medicine cabinet. Instead of finding something productive to do with their time, they may try whatever they find in the house out of curiosity. Curiosity then leads to an after-school ritual. Then, the ritual turns into an addiction because receptors in the brain crave the substances.

Some teens become substance abusers as a result of legitimate drug use. Children with ADHD and depression are prescribed strong pharmaceuticals in which addiction can become one of the negative side effects. Like adults who become addicted to prescription drugs, teenagers become immune to them. This causes doctors to increase the dosage. Before they are even aware of it, they are abusing their medication.

These are basic causes of teen substance abuse. There are always other underlying reasons that it would take pages to elaborate on. Parents, as busy as they may be trying to put food on the table, need to remember that their first job is caring for their teenagers. If a child's personality changes, their grades slip or they no longer have interest in hobbies, it is time for parents to intervene and find out what is going on. Being a teenager is hard enough without adding substance abuse to the equation.

Learn more about this author, Cicely Richard.
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