Drugs & Kids

Catalog description

While most youth in the United States abstain from regular substance use, there is often a mismatch between what youth and parents imagine and what the research data demonstrate. This course explores the rates of substance use in youth, as well as the historical, social, and psychological factors related to why young people use drugs and alcohol. The course analyzes current trends in substance use and critiques the media’s influence. US Drug policy and alternative approaches to managing drug use at a societal level, such as harm reduction, are discussed, as are substance use prevention programs and risk and preventative factors. While most youth who use substances will not develop a substance use disorder, abuse almost always begins in adolescence. Finally, the diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorders will be discussed.