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Drugs And Alcoholism: Why Are Teenagers Involved?

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Drugs and Alcoholism: Why are Teenagers Involved?

Newton

Adolescence is much like a midpoint in ones life; when a person is neither a kid nor an adult. At this period, teens have passed the age when they were called kids but are not yet qualified to be adults. Teenagers want to think like adults, behave like adults and also start to view themselves as independent beings in decision making. All this hormonal changes also come with the negativity of maturity such as drugs and alcohol. The statistics below show that the percentage of teenagers using drugs and alcohol in the last decade has increased. Why is this? The answer is that teenagers are under pressure by their peers, mass media and also the influence of parents.

        8th-Graders     10th-Graders     12th-Graders
Marijuana     22.2%         40.9%         49.7%
Cocaine         4.7         7.7         9.8
Inhalants     15.4         17.0         19.7
LSD         4.1         8.5         12.2
Heroin         2.0         2.3         2.3
Alcohol         52.1         70.6         80.0
Cigarettes     44.1         57.6         64.6

Peer pressure plays a major role in the harmful behavior of teens. Teens who want to fit in among their friends are most especially prone to this. They try to make friends and they get friends as much as possible. Of these friends there are the good ones who give them the knowledge and information you want need or inquire and there are the ones who give them information about not too good things like drug, alcohol, parties, e.t.c. This influential communication between a teen and his/her peer may be directly or indirectly. Directly such as conve...

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Submitted by: 4freeessays
Date Submitted: 11-06-08 5:05am
Category: Science
Words: 573
Pages: 2.29