Steroid abuse is a problem that has increasingly been in the news, as athletes on steroids have been involved in murder/suicides and other "'roid rage"-related events. Dr. Priscilla Choi, a former power lifter who now lectures on health psychology, explains that "taken over time and in high doses, steroids may possibly bring about significant adverse personality changes in some users," resulting in such incidents as "fights in bars, insults traded at the gym, domestic violence, sudden irrational acts, and angry blow-ups" (Yesalis & Cowart 111). Teen steroid abuse is on the rise, along with other teen substance abuse problems such as drug addiction and alcoholism. The Buckley/Yesalis study of teens from 150 different schools across the country made the startling finding that "more than a third of the [steroid] users (38 percent) said that their first steroid use occurred at age 15 or younger, and another third had started by age 16 (Yesalis & Cowart 8). Dr. Nancy Kennedy of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention points out that unlike other drugs such as cocaine and heroin, steroids make users look better than usual and function better as well; this makes it difficult for teens to resist the temptation to use steroids (Yesalis & Cowart 96). Since teens can thus use steroids without stumbling around in a stupor and looking as if they have not slept, their steroid use is also more difficult for adults to detect than typical drug abuse is. Since teens are less likely to be persuaded by adult values concerning drugs than in the past, a more effective means of convincing them not to abuse steroids is necessary.
Dr. Kennedy suggests that one way of addressing the issue might be through cultural attitudes. She notes that in Mexico where drugs are readily available and do not require a prescription, drug usage is very low (Yesalis & Cowart 96). Mexicans' only drug habits tend to be related to alcohol and tobacco (Ye...