Review your previous Final Project Milestone Assignments and your Instructor feedback. Consider the following:? Identification of a Soc

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Substance Abuse in Adolescents

Walden University

SOCW 6361-5

09/07/2024

Substance Abuse in Adolescent

Adolescence is a critical time when an individual develops biologically, psychologically, and socially. At this time, substance abuse becomes a social problem affecting many youths in the world. It is also at this time that youths become vulnerable to different kinds of influences such as experimentation, peer pressure, and stress which may lead to substance abuse and addiction. According to the report given by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA 2022), about 22% of students in high school use illegal drugs while alcohol remains a common use substance. These substances used by adolescent have negative impacts on their health, academic performance, and mental wellness. This essay is going to look at how substance abuse has become a social problem, how it affects its population, and how social work values affect the problem.

The problem of substance abuse among adolescents has been recorded for decades but it became a social problem around the 20th century that is around the 1960s and 1970s (NIDA 2022). During that time, the United States enforced a movement known as Counterculture which did experiments on adolescents to improve public knowledge about the abuse of the substance. NIDA (2022) also says that in tackling the problem, there was also an initiative launched by President Nixon “War on Drugs” in the year 1971 which aimed at law enforcement, treatment, and prevention of the substance. Besides that, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education(DARE) campaign was also launched to teach youths about the consequences of substance abuse in 1983.

Originally, the abuse of substances among youth was connected with certain groups of people which varied with subcultures and socioeconomic groups (NIDA 2022). As time went by, the type of adolescents, who have been affected by substance abuse has varied widely. In recent days, the problem has gone beyond race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic boundaries. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA 2019), nowadays, adolescents who come from households with low-income, unstable families, and mental health problems are the ones that are affected the most.

According to Nath et al., (2020), substance abuse among adolescents has posed a major problem to social work values and ethics regarding the individual's respect and self-improvement. While social work has the objective of empowering beings and promoting their well-being, substance abuse mostly leads to self-annihilation and behaviors that are unfavorable to others. Substance abuse also results in stigma as a result of addiction, which goes against the social work value aim of encouraging social justice and lowering inequality (Nath et al., 2020). The majority of the adolescents who abuse the substances are mostly seen as criminals instead of being given support services that line up with social work ethics of care and understanding. Social workers play an important role in providing solutions that focus on the prevention, treatment, and education of substance abuse among adolescents.

Several key policies need to be addressed in the identification of the policies that might be able to address substance abuse. The next step is to conduct an analysis that is thorough to the local, state, and government policies that exist (SAMHSA 2019). The analysis will focus on reviewing school-based programs, juvenile reforms, and mental health services that have the objective of reducing substance abuse use. Policies that support harm reduction strategies such as counseling should be enforced and collaboration with groups such as SAMHSA that work on the prevention of substance abuse policies should be used to give solutions to substance abuse adolescents.

In conclusion, the abuse of substances in adolescents has become a crucial social problem that people have tried to address for a long time. Initially, the problem was being addressed through condemnation ways that were so scary, but nowadays, the problem is being addressed through prevention, harm reduction, and mental health support initiatives. Nath et al., (2020) say that most adolescents are being affected by the abuse of substances, and it's important to derive policies that are congruent with the values and dignity of social work and justice. Substance abuse can also be prevented through endless research with advocacy where social workers implement long-term policies that help adolescents affected by substance abuse.

References

Nath, A., Choudhari, S. G., Dakhode, S. U., Rannaware, A., & Gaidhane, A. M. (2022). Substance abuse amongst adolescents: An issue of public health significance. Cureus.  https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.31193

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2020). Monitoring the future survey: Trends in prevalence of various drugs. https://www.drugabuse.gov

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. https://www.samhsa.gov

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Substance Abuse in Adolescents

Zuleika Rosa

Walden University

SOCW-6361

09/21/2024

Issue statement

Adolescent is usually a risky stage of growth. Many unhealthy behaviors often start during this stage and has become a major public health challenge. Substance abuse is a major problem among adolescents and impacts families in negative ways. This is because its effects are cumulative and contribute to social, physical and mental health problems. Abuse of substances among adolescents is usually as a result of curiosity or experimentation and could even range to severe substance use disorders. Any use of substance abuse or use even for experimentation could lead to short-term effects like fights or accidents or even long-term effects such as addiction and mental health disorders (Koehler,2021). The population that is most impacted by substance abuse includes young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, families with a history of substance abuse, and communities with limited access to prevention programs. It is important that the issue of substance abuse is effectively addressed because it affects the health, and safety of the users as well as potential future generations.

Public, decision makers and social workers need to advocate for change so as to help in the prevention of the escalating substance abuse among adolescents. This is because substance abuse does not only affect their mental and physical health but also could result to financial strain of the families and society especially when it comes to admitting them to prevention and treatment programs (Shaojun,2020). Substance abuse has also been argued to lead to increased crime rates, as we have statistically seen that those areas with high abuse of substances there is more likely to have higher crime rates. It also leads to straining healthcare resources most of which should have been directed to more unavoidable healthcare issues such as cancer. Also, most adolescents who abuse substances, usually have decreased academic performance. If the goal of alleviating adolescent substance abuse is achieved, addiction rates will decline, mental health outcomes for young people will improve as well as improved academic performance.

Policy Review

The policy that I will review for this topic is the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2016. One of biggest substance abuse challenge that the United States has been experiencing lately is the opioid epidemic which has been recognized as a national emergency as it has led to deaths and addictions for the past decade (Andrilla & Patterson,2022). Therefore, to help address the overdose deaths, the act was signed into law on July 2016. The act is a federal legislation that addresses substance abuse in the U.S. And although its main focus is on opioid, addiction prevention, treatment and recovery at all levels, it also includes specific provisions aimed at adolescents and young adults. It emphasizes on funding, whereby, more than $181million each year is allocated in new funding to fight opioid epidemic and for evidence-based programs and services to be implemented across the United States for the purpose of addressing addiction recovery. The policy (CARA) identifies the significance of addressing substance abuse as a public health issue and thus, places a strong focus on the promotion of educational programs with a significant target on adolescents before they transition to chronic users.

The policy is a federal statute dictated, but individual states have a significant role when it comes to enacting and providing their support to the policy through local regulations on programs. CARA aligns with the issue statement since it focuses on preventing and intervening the substance abuse for at-risk youth. However, a lot of emphasis is placed on the opioid epidemic and addiction recovery which misses out on the bigger picture when it comes to adolescent as opioid is not the most commonly abused substance among adolescents. The main component of CARA is the provision for the expansion of treatment for individuals with substance abuse disorders and providing support for long-term recovery efforts. The policy has been in place since July of 2016. However, there have significant updates and amendments that have been made over time for the purpose of making the policy fit and adapt to changing current substance abuse issues and as a way of reflecting on the changing dynamics of opioid epidemic among other substance use changing trends especially among adolescents. The policy has received tremendous support from a wide range of supporters including healthcare professionals, social workers and advocates for treatment addiction. Although it has received a wide range of support, the policy has been criticized for its little allocation of insufficient funding to be able to address effectively the growing issue of substance abuse. There have been several amendments made since CARA was signed into law including, increased funding for the opioid epidemic. As a clinical social worker, I believe that this policy might have significant positive impacts on my clients, especially adolescents. This is because, it ensures that there is adequate funding for substance abuse treatment resources for programs which will be helpful to my clients.

References

Andrilla, C. H. A., & Patterson, D. G. (2022). Tracking the geographic distribution and growth of clinicians with a DEA waiver to prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder.  The Journal of Rural Health,  38(1), 87-92.

Koehler, D. (2021). Violent extremism, mental health and substance abuse among adolescents: Towards a trauma psychological perspective on violent radicalization and deradicalization. In  Violent Extremism (pp. 103-120). Routledge.

Shaojun, S. (2020). Trends of substance abuse behavior among adolescents in Guangdong Province, 2007-2016.  Chinese Journal of School Health,  41(11), 1650-1653.

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Policy Advocacy Proposal for Adolescent Mental Health

Zuleika Rosa

SOCW-6361

Walden University

10/04/2024

Policy Advocacy Proposal for Adolescent Mental Health

Social Problem Synopsis

Florida resides several mental health problems plaguing adolescents in the society hence proves that this problem warrants attention. The issue is relevant to young people of 12-18 years for many of them encounter challenges in obtaining optimal mental health care. It is more realized by the individuals those who belonging to the low socioeconomic status or family history of mental disorders (Mitchell et al., 2019).

Policy Synopsis

The written policy is devoted to providing extensive mental health services for the adolescent community of Florida. This program shall develop workforce capable of providing appropriate mental health care in their intervention; one on one, group, family and school based intervening. It targets at promoting earlier identification and management of mental health disorders among young people.

Policy Selection Rationale

As a policy advocate, I selected this specific policy due to its potential for creating systemic change in addressing adolescent mental health issues. The policy ensures that it fosters EBP rightly in community mental health contexts and it seeks to fill an essential gap of early intervention when these mental health conditions degenerate with age (Wang et al., 2023). The comprehensive approach, incorporating multiple stakeholders and intervention types, increases the likelihood of meaningful impact.

Policy Enactment and Motivation

The policy was developed by community mental health agencies in collaboration with educational institutions and healthcare providers. Their primary motivation was to address the growing crisis of mental health issues among adolescents and the inadequacy of existing services. While their motivation aligns with my advocacy goals, my focus extends beyond service provision to include systemic change and addressing socioeconomic barriers to access.

Policy Impact and Consequences

Intended Consequences:

· Early identification and intervention for at-risk youth

· Improved access to mental health services

· Enhanced support for families and schools

Unintended Consequences:

· Potential stigmatization of enrolled youth

· Resource constraints affecting implementation

· Variations in effectiveness due to cultural differences

As a clinical social worker, this policy significantly impacts potential clients by providing a framework for comprehensive care. However, the diverse clientele and resource constraints in community settings may affect the successful deployment of the policy's initiatives (Pitsillidou et al., 2021).

Initial Advocacy Work

My plan for social advocacy includes:

1. Conducting assessments to identify practice strengths and weaknesses

2. Implementing staff training to ensure effective policy execution

3. Pilot testing the program with a small group of clients

4. Gathering data to support full implementation

These steps will be executed while considering the unique characteristics of the community mental health setting, including diverse population needs and resource limitations (Powell et al., 2020).

References

Mitchell, B. S., Kern, L., & Conroy, M. A. (2019). Supporting students with emotional or behavioral disorders: State of the field. Behavioral Disorders, 44(2), 70-84.

Pitsillidou, M., Roupa, Z., Farmakas, A., & Noula, M. (2021). Factors affecting the application and implementation of evidence-based practice in nursing. Acta Informatica Medica, 29(4), 281-287.

Powell, B. J., Haley, A. D., Patel, S. V., Amaya-Jackson, L., Glienke, B., Blythe, M., … & Weinberger, M. (2020). Improving the implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices in community mental health organizations. Implementation Science Communications, 1, 1-13.

Wang, S., Li, Q., Lu, J., Ran, H., Che, Y., Fang, D., … & Xiao, Y. (2023). Treatment rates for mental disorders among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 6(10), e2338174.

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