Drug Use & Juvenile Delinquency
Presented by: Student Name
Introduction
Drug abuse is the illegal use of any drug
In recent years, youths have become increasingly involved in drug and substance abuse.
Drug use is connected to increased crime among youths aged 13 to 19 (Anjaswarni et al., 2019)
Drug use among youths contributes to
Mental problems
Social and relationship issues
Academic difficulties
Reasons why Youth Take Drugs in Our Community
Peer pressure- associating with youths who take drugs
(Gallegos et al., 2021)
Social disorganization-poverty, growing up in a disorganized
urban environment
Family factors- low-income family life, including harsh
punishment, neglect
Peer pressure
Most significant factors for drug use and abuse
Surrounding youths with a group of peers, youths abuse drugs (Gallegos et al., 2021)
Peers teach youths that drugs are fun and cure the feeling of alienation
Once they start using the drugs regularly, they use their peers to get more drugs and indulge in crime
Consequences of peer pressure and drug use;
Fatigue, withdrawal, depression, and mental issues
Social disorganization
Living in poverty, growing up in a disorganized urban environment
Illicit drug activities in the neighborhood increase the drug market and violent crimes (Ikoh et al., 2019)
Poverty brews the use of drugs to solve psychological and emotional problems
The disorganized urban environment also eases trafficking
Also, lead to a higher rate of peer pressure
Youths in poor neighborhoods indulge in drug use because;
Reduced hope
Stress and depression
Reduced social support
Family Factors
These factors are; low-income family life, including harsh punishment and neglect.
Broken family relationships from childhood influences youths to use and abuse drugs
Family abuse and neglect make many youths abuse drugs (Sullivan, 2018)
Indulging in drug use to escape a harsh family environment
Neglect and no supervision of children/youths make them engage in drugs
Youths start to engage in deviant behaviors due to neglect.
Combating Peer Pressure
Community-based programs
Encourage academic achievement
Counseling
After school programs
Community support through medical care, clothing, and food
Community outreach teaches them
Dangers of drugs (Johnston et al., 2020)
Benefits of life skills, health, and education
Holiday-based games, exhibitions, and engagement forums
Combating Social Disorganization
Collaboration and reporting to local authorities drug
traffickers
Engaging youths in income-generating programs (Johnston
et al., 2020)
Promoting education through building community-based
schools
Empowering families living in disorganized urban settings
Combating Family Factors
Encouraging good parenting
Promoting peaceful co-existence among families
Community programs aimed at teaching families dangers of drugs abuse
Counselling affected families by drugs abuse (Johnston et al., 2020)
Empowering low-income families through community-based donation
Most Affected Age
Although youths up to 30 years are affected by drug
use
Most affected age is 13 to 19 years
IS the D.A.R.E Program Advantageous and Effective in
Preventing Drug Use
DARE is advantageous and effective in preventing drug because;
Help youths/students in making better decisions through drug education (Sullivan, 2018)
Enhance interaction between school, students, and police officers in providing a calm and safer community
environment
Promotes quality drug education that can stop youths from tobacco, alcohol, and general drug use
Transformed lives of parents and youths (Sullivan, 2018)
Conclusion
Drug use among youths needs to be sorted
Drug use eventually led to addiction, abuse, and then crime.
Education, community based-programs, and empowerment are the primary initiative for combating drug use.
D.A.R.E program has built a bridge of curbing drug use among youths from the school level, and it is
effective.
References
• Anjaswarni, T., Nursalam, N., Widati, S., & Yusuf, A. (2019). Analysis of the Risk Factors Related to the Occurrence of Juvenile
Delinquency Behavior. Jurnal Ners, 14(2).
• Gallegos, M. I., Zaring-Hinkle, B., Wang, N., & Bray, J. H. (2021). Detachment, peer pressure, and age of first substance use as
gateways to later substance use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 218, 108352.
• Ikoh, M. U., Smah, S. O., Okwanya, I., Clement, U. A., & Aposhi, Z. A. (2019). Factors affecting entry into drug abuse among
youths in Lafia metropolis: implications on security. Sage open, 9(1), 2158244018823428.
• Johnston, L., Miech, R., O'Malley, P., Bachman, J., Schulenberg, J., & Patrick, M. (2020). Monitoring the Future national survey
results on drug use, 1975-2019: Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use.
• Sullivan, J. X. (2018). The Role of Nonprofits in Designing and Implementing Evidence-Based Programs. The ANNALS of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 678(1), 155-163.
