Substance abuse
Even though substance abuse starts during adolescents or early
adulthood, only 45% of youths have heard of this disorder. Many of them
think that substance abuse is when an individual consumes drugs,
cigarette or alcohol to a point where he/she intoxicates themselves. Dr. Stéphane Potvin, researcher at Fernand-Seguin Research Center, explains
that substance abuse consists of abuses and dependences on certain
substances. These can be depressants (e.g., alcohol), stimulants (e.g.,
cocaine, amphetamine) or hallucinogens (e.g., cannabis, PCP, magic
mushrooms). Are youths right to think that tobacco is included as part
of these substances? "Yes, in the same ways as cocaine and cannabis",
says Dr. Potvin. Some experts are starting to think that eating fast
food in an abusive and incontrollable way would be a considered
substance abuse as well.
But what leads to substance abuse? Many youths mentioned that it is
caused by peer pressure. Dr. Potvin agrees that peer pressure is a very
important factor, but we cannot ignore other factors such as
socioeconomic status, culture and genetic predispositions. To avoid
these pressures, Dr. Potvin thinks that it is important to know that
there are many things in life that are cool to do that do not bring
about all the disadvantages of drugs.
Dr. Potvin brings up a few important facts about substance abuse and
youths. In fact, many of you may be surprised to hear that boys are two
times more at risk than girls to become substance abuser. Also, it is
important to know that you can eventually become a substance abuser
after only one consumption, depending on one’s predispositions.
To sum up, just about half of adolescents have a good idea of what
substance abuse is all about. It is important to remember that the
consumption of certain substances (ex: tobacco, alcohol, cannabis) is
sometimes wrongly trivialized. This is why it is important to continue
promoting awareness and minimize the potential repercussions of the
first consumption.
Next page: Schizophrenia