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Adolescents from Divorced Families & Drug Abuse

SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS OF ADOLESCENTS FROM DIVORCED FAMILIES:

The purpose of this paper is to delineate, discuss and summarize the existing research on substance abuse problems of adolescents from divorced families. The presented review covers two broad categories of studies. These are: (1) studies examining whether adolescents living in divorced families are more likely to abuse substances than adolescents living in intact nuclear homes; and (2) evaluative studies of diverse kinds of treatment for adolescent substance abusers living in divorced family situations.

Influence of Parental Divorce on Adolescent Substance Abuse

Examination of the existing research tends to indicate that adolescents living in divorced family situations are liable to a variety of substance abuse problems. For example, Hayward, Killen and Taylor (1989), in their study of 9th graders (N=95) found that those adolescents living in divorced families were not only more likely to suffer from depression and/or panic disorder but also were more likely to smoke cigarettes.

Regarding non-legal substance use, Hoffman (1995) investigated the effects of family structure and family relations on adolescent marijuana use. Analyses of data drawn from the National Youth Survey (197779) was said to indicate that (1) a parental divorce or living with a stepparent decreases family attachment among adolescents; 2) attenuated family attachment and involvement increase the likelihood of associating with drug-using peers; and 3) less family involvement and increased associations with drug-using peers increase the probability of initiating marijuana use and elevate frequency of use.

The psychological adjustment and substance use/abuse behavior of adolescents following parental divorced was also examined by Doherty and Needle (1991). Subjects were adolescents who were administered self-report measures of psychological adjustment and substance use over a five...

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Adolescents from Divorced Families & Drug Abuse. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 03:12, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1692135.html