Posts tagged with ‘teens’

Teens are very susceptible to addiction as substance abuse for a number of reasons, including peer pressure. But exposure to alcohol and drugs can be very dangerous to teens, as their brains have not yet fully developed.

Detecting Teen Alcohol and Drug Addiction

Detecting Teen Alcohol and Drug AddictionAdolescence is full of a multitude of challenges for both teens and their parents. One of the biggest challenges parents may have to face is that their teen could end up with a problem with addiction. Whether the substance being abused is alcohol, nicotine, prescription drugs or street drugs, addiction is a real threat in the lives of young people. Full Story

Screening Teens for Gambling Problems

Gambling problems are gambling-related behaviors that detract from a person’s ability to maintain mental equilibrium and participate functionally in society. Some affected individuals have problems severe enough to qualify them for diagnosis of an official condition called gambling disorder. However, doctors may sometimes miss the presence of dysfunctional gambling-related behaviors in teenagers. In a study published in October 2013 in the Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, a team of Australian researchers examined the usefulness of a screening questionnaire, called the Victorian Gambling Screen, in detecting teenagers’ gambling problems.

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Drinking Alone During Adolescence an Early Warning of Future Problems

Adolescents who get someone to buy them alcohol for a weekend party or who sneak around with their friends to drink are facing some increased risks. Adolescents who try alcohol before reaching age 15 have been shown to face poor health futures, with two to three times greater risk of becoming substance dependent. A new study finds that when adolescents engage in solitary drinking their risks are even greater.

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Arming Parents with the Knowledge to Confront Teen Drinking

Studies have shown that parents are the most significant factor in whether a teen decides to drink alcohol. Peer pressure gets all the media attention, but research has shown that parental influence lasts through their children’s adolescence.

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Online Games Teach Teens Alcohol Risks

Early alcohol initiation is of great concern for many reasons. Those that begin drinking during adolescence are more likely to develop a dependence on alcohol when compared with those that begin drinking in adulthood. There are short-term risks, such as assault, injury and vehicle crashes, and long-term risks like sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and organ damage. 

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When Impulsive Teen Behaviors Become Self-Destructive

Transitioning from one period of life to another is always tough. Consider the emotional unsteadiness of an empty nest or retirement for older people. For teens, transitioning from childhood into adulthood can be especially challenging. Teens are not re-adjusting their identity, they are forming one. And in the midst of figuring out who they are as an individual their bodies are also undergoing all kinds of physiological changes.

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Middle School Pupils at Highest Risk for Inhalant Use

Inhalants are a diverse range of household, industrial and medicinal chemicals that sometimes get adapted as drugs of abuse. Young people have especially high chances of beginning inhalant use, at least partly because they have less access to legal intoxicants than adults.

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Teens at Risk of Extreme Binge Drinking

Drinking alcohol has always been a part of American life but unfortunately it’s also become a teen pastime. Having that first drink is a rite of passage for far too many young people. Research shows that the younger a person begins to drink, the more issues they’ll have with alcohol use disorders.

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Is it Time to Talk with Your Teen About Substance Abuse?

There are conversations which parents know they should have with their teen but they’re intimidated nonetheless, and bringing up the subject of alcohol and drugs can be the hardest. It doesn’t have to be like that, however. Healthy discussions on the issue of substance abuse hinge on just a couple of things: information and attitude.

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Peer Pressure for School Kids to Take Drugs Still Pervasive

Look at a school class photograph and you will see that teens don’t like to be unique. Most of the teens in any group picture will have similar hairstyles, wear similar clothing and even strike similar poses. They’re in the midst of discovering their identity, but until then there’s safety in the herd, which can work for or against your teen.
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