Addiction and Adolescence

Addiction and Adolescence

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Adolescence refers to a stage in stage of development where considerable psychological, social and biological changes take place in the human body (Stagman, Schwarz and Powers, 2011). This represents a highly challenging period in a teen’s life because young teens experience an influx of hormones physically. In this paper, I will discuss the effects of addiction on how adolescents develop their brain and their spirituality as well as the effect of religion on prevalence of substance abuse and addiction.

During adolescents, boys experience elevated levels of testosterone hormone which causes aggression in males while their female counter parts experience an influx of estrogen hormone which causes significant mood swings. The young adolescents experience the effects of these hormones without actually understanding what is happening with their bodies and end up getting stressed by the emotional and behavioral changes which ensue. This is a stage where adolescents have a very strong desire for defiance, arrogance, independence and emotional instability. These are the main reasons behind the prevalence of addiction among adolescents. This stage involves an anomalous development of the brain. As the physical stature matures into adulthood, the brain remains defiantly immature. This delayed maturity of the brain causes an undesirable sense of imperviousness and immortality which leads to elevated risks of making poor decisions. The poor decision making abilities coupled with ignorance to consequences of outrageous behavior and low self-control makes adolescents highly prone to drug and substance abuse and addiction. According to Schwarz and Powers, approximately 10 percent of adolescents between the age of 12 and 17 abuse illicit drugs (2011).  

Addiction refers to a crippling mind changing dilemma which robs a person their value, self worth, cognitive abilities, capability to make good and sound decisions, sociability, intimacy and good relations with friends and family members. An informal addiction starts when the adolescent realizes they cannot go without the substance they often abuse. Addiction brings catastrophic effects on the life of the adolescents as well as the people around them. For instance, addiction has the ability to break up families and friendships as well as established healthy relationships. The addiction to drug and substance abuse cripples the adolescents’ dreams to pursue simple and immense goals in life.