Substance Abuse in Adolescence: Developmental Deficiencies

Substance abuse in adolescence can lead to psychosocial deficiencies during development and later in life. In this essay, the following topics will be discussed. Firstly, how the consumption of illicit substances affects psychosocial development in adolescent. Secondly, the future impacts on psychosocial development past the age of adolescence and the following implications of continued use. Finally, how a registered nurse can assist in the prevention of taking certain harmful substances or mitigate the issue by using the institute of medicine module. Substance abuse is the consumption or injection of illegal substances for a prolonged period resulting in a substantial developmental disadvantage in an age group for example adolescence.

Consequences of Substance Abuse in Adolescence for Psychological Development

Substance abuse can leave devastating effects on an adolescent that takes illicit substances whilst their brain is still developing between the ages of eleven to twenty-one. Examples of substance abuse can result in cognitive and physical development deficiencies due to the continued consumption of illegal substances over a certain period. The ingestion of alcohol and marijuana are the most common substances taken by adolescents. Over a prolonged period of time, continuous consumption of marijuana and alcohol can lead to abnormalities in brain function. The consumption of alcohol over a certain period can lead to less white matter in the frontal and superior areas of the brain leading to a slower time of communication between neurons in comparison to non-alcoholic drinkers. In addition to the consumption of alcohol by adolescents’ grey matter of the brain is also significantly impacted by alcohol, with the continued consumption of alcohol grey matter begins to shrink the brain.

Another form of substance abuse that is common among adolescents is the continued consumption of marijuana. Studies that have been conducted on adolescents have found that the use of marijuana results in poorer performance of learning in a majority of areas that include: cognitive flexibility, the ability to focus on a certain objective, and the longevity of being able to retain information. The continued use of illicit substances can also result in physical defects; whilst under the influence of illicit substances adolescents have an increased percentage of overdosing or being involved in an accident resulting in lifetime disablement.

Following Implications of Continued Consumption of Substances

Depending on the substance taken alternant substances can affect an individual physically for the rest of their life: whilst under the influence the contraction of HIV, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases have an increased chance of occurring in adolescence. Depending on the type of substance taken irregular contractions of the heart could increase the risk of a heart attack. The continued consumption of illegal substances such as smoking can cause respiratory issues resulting in lung cancer and emphysema; in addition alternative physical deficiencies that can occur from drug abuse are kidney and liver damage, seizures strokes or brain damage, and changes in appetite and sleeping patterns. Another effect of substance abuse can lead to social developmental issues. The continued consumption of substance abuse can lead to the withdraw of family and peers with the added consequence of responding to law and teaches negatively. The continued use of substance abuse results in adolescence no longer participating in school which inhabits the ability to develop academically. The consumption of illicit substances can impact an individual’s development in a variety of ways.

Substance abuse can have long term effects on the individual who has taken them for an extended period as an adolescent. Illicit substances can leave long term deficiencies in psychical, and cognitive abilities further in development. Taking illicit assumptions can impact an adolesces future self in three main developmental ways, behavioural, psychical and cognitive. The development of taking illicit substances prolongs the risk of being more at risk of taking other illegal substances at an older age. A study conducted on Ugandan children and adolesce releveled if either individual didn’t take any illicit substance then the likely hood of the individual taking illegal substances later in life would be extremely unlikely. Furthermore, the consumption of taking illicit substances as adolescence further increases the chances of dependence in adulthood. Taking illicit substances as an adolesce can lead to future immunization complications such as a compromised immune system. The method of injecting and consuming illegal substances opens the body for potential viral infections wearing down the body’s immune system over time. The continued consumption of alcohol could result in cardiovascular disease the damage of the cardiac muscle and arterial walls resulting in an inconsistency of blood being pumped throughout the body. During adolescence, the consumption of alcohol could further impact the individual’s health for the future resulting in the increase of stroke or heart failure. In addition to physical deficiencies from taking illicit substances, behavioural complications can also occur.

Depending on the type of substance taken the following emotions are commonly seen in adolesce whom consciously take illicit substances, such emotions consist of, increased sporadic paranoia, an increased level of aggression due to the withdrawal symptoms, halation’s, addiction, impaired judgment, impulsiveness, and a loss of self-control. The alteration of cognition is another factor that is commonly experienced when an illicit substance is taken over the life span. Deficits of cognitive development are vast depending on the substance. Nicotine’s deficits include a decrease in working memory, attention, and associative learning, along with a decreased ability to perform numeracy. If an adolesce was to take marijuana long term issues would consist of cognitive decline in long term memory. Extended use of methamphetamine users would destitute the long term de licenses of memory, problem-solving, response, cognitive flexibility and decision making. The consumption of illegal substances can affect an individual in a multitude of ways. The prevention of adolescences taking illegal substances can be provided by the information and knowledge of health care professionals. Registered nurses have the ability to mitigate the utilization of illicit substances by providing knowledgeable information of the potential life altering substance. The presentation of adolescents using illegal substances should involve a knowledgeable, interactive, comprehensive health care professional that can explain the direct factors of continuous substance abuse.

How a Registered Nurse Can Assist in the Prevention?

Registered nurses can provide adolescents with the institute of medicine model that consists of four steps known as promotion, prevention, treatment, and recovery. The first step of the institute of medicine module promotion is the ability to provide safe environments and conditions in order to support behavioural health along with the training of resilience. The second step known as prevention is delivery of preventative measures before the use of an illicit substance, or the intervention of the adolesce taking the substance explain in detail the risks and developmental behavioural risks that could come from the illicit substance if the substance was repeatedly used. The third step treatment is the diagnosis of adolescence with a chronic substance use developing the proper precautions as to how the issue is to be resolved. The final stage recovery are the services such as a registered nurse to assist in the consistent recovery and information provided to be able to integrate back into the community, living a productive life, and identifying potential triggers and knowing how to avoid them.

Conclusion

In conclusion taking illicit substances as an adolescence has the ability to affect the individual who consumes the substance depending on the substance taken and to the extent and longevity of the consumption. Whilst under the influence as an adolescence multiple functions of the body could be negatively impacted from cognitive development, and physical development. If the continued consumption of illicit substances occurs past adolescence the probability of further damage to cognitive, physical and behavioural will occur resulting in life changing disabilities. If the prevention of a health care professional such as a registered nurse is able to advise in the risk factors and assist in the recovery or further prevention of substances long term debilities could be prevented.