correlation between substance use and juvenile delinquency and therapy

 correlation between substance use and juvenile delinquency and therapy

The youth cultures seem to be the most affected by substance use in America. Not only youths have bodily changes but also psychological developments. In adolescents, teens are faced with various challenges like peer pressure, realizing their talents and ambitions. Some cultures like pop and party cultures tend to expose more youths to substances, increasing the probability of them engaging in substance. Also, some substances like marijuana and alcohol seem to have less severe implications, and thus its use is handled less seriously than other drugs like heroin and cocaine. This explains why most of US youths are more likely to engage in drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Various problems in the US face the diagnosis and treatment of adolescents with SU. This paper aims to discuss the correlation between substance use and juvenile delinquency and therapy.

There are many studies correlating substance use and juvenile delinquency in the US. Most youths are introduced into drugs at teenagers or adolescents. At this stage, the most used substances are marijuana, cigarettes, and alcohol. These drugs are easily accessible and are also cheap in the market. Even when marijuana was illegal, it could be easily acquired in the streets. Cigarettes and alcohol are legally sold in the market. Other drugs like heroin and cocaine access are hard, only making them accessible to minimal youths. Also, they are expensive, and many teenagers cannot afford them, as they are still in schools. As a result, some teens may engage in crimes to supplement their monitorial needs to buy drugs. The youths who are after financial needs will mostly engage in crimes like pickpocketing and stealing. However, others participate in serious crimes like drug trafficking and distribution, while others use violence. Driving under the influence of alcohol also leads to minor crimes or even road accidents.

When convicted, youths who are into substance use should be exposed to treatment systems. This is one goal of the juvenile justice system in use. According to statistics, most juveniles convicted of committing crimes are found to be in dangerous substance use or even abuse. As a result, the juvenile justice system puts substance use treatment as a priority towards the treatment of the same. This is to ensure that when they are released to society, they do not engage in substance abuse again, which may lead to further social or delinquency problems. This is supported by Chassin, who argues that an effective treatment should be able to treat all conditions associated with drug abuse, including mental problems, poor educational and vocational achievements, and physical problems. As a result, juvenile justice incorporates various treatment interventions, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, multisystematic therapy, and contingency management.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), substance use is a brain disease as it interferes with the proper function of the brain. Assessment is the first initiative for juvenile justice SU treatment programs. This is to outline the level of dependency on the substance by an individual. It also helps to define the best medication methods to initiate the treatment process. Offenders with severe substance use complications can take more than three months as long as it is useful. Juvenile justice supervises the whole treatment process to ensure the offenders do not have behaviors associated with delinquency.

Various challenges are associated with juvenile justice on the treatment of offenders. In the first place, a high number of juveniles do not acknowledge that there is a need for substance use treatment making it difficult to engage or retain them in treatment. Family can play an essential role in engaging adolescents in treatment procedures. However, most of the family members to the adolescents already in substance use are also in substance use, making it complicated to facilitate the treatments. Second, treatment is financed by various offices, including the juvenile justice system, mental health, education, and child welfare. Coordinating all these departments is challenging, and in case of a misunderstanding or conflicts, the treatment mostly ends up being useless.

Juvenile justice rarely administers aftercare follow-ups for juvenile offenders. The treatment only gives them a short-term relief, and when released to live on their own in society, they are likely to get back into substance use, leading them to crime again. This makes it a necessity to have aftercare models that keep treated adolescents in touch as well as continuously assessing their progress to ensure that they have adopted to live without drugs.

Hard to reach adolescents in substance use treatment refers to those who resist the treatment. Several factors may lead to teens to show behaviors of resistance. First, they fear therapy because they do not know what will happen throughout the treatment process. Second, they have privacy issues. Most adolescents engage in substance use privately, and thus they are worried that when they participate in the treatment, everybody will know they were engaging in drugs. Third, some parents do not show seriousness when authorizing children to undergo treatment. If a parent is authoritative to children, they will obey him or her and experience it through the treatment. It is essential to assure them that they will be in a safe environment, and the privacy principles protect them from exposing them if they attended a treatment. It is also good to guarantee them that family and selected friends will be available to offer their support if necessary during the treatment period. Lastly, it is advisable to choose the best treatment model, depending on the youth’s needs to deal with hard to reach youths. For instance, adolescents with privacy issues can be treated in rehab, where minimal people will know it.

Adolescents are prone to engage in substance use, which further may lead to them to juvenile delinquency. The excellent part is juvenile justice has programs to treat offenders found to have substance use problems. However, it is faced by issues such as lack of aftercare services, poor coordination of concerned departments, and the high number of juveniles who are unwilling to engage in treatment procedures. Treatment agencies, as well as parents, should make efforts to assure the adolescents on the importance of treatment as well as offering the best approaches. This will encourage them to enroll in treatment sections.