Youth Drug Abuse Risk Factors

Any young person can develop into a drug abuser. However, certain factors put some youths at a higher risk for becoming seriously involved with drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports the greater the number of drug threats a child is exposed to, the higher the chance the child will abuse drugs.

Family History

• A child's family background plays a large role in whether he will be susceptible to drug abuse. Chrildren whose mother or father or siblings have a dependency on alcohol or drugs are more likely to develop their own substance abuse issues. The American Council for Drug Education reports that a male child who has a drug abuser in the family is twice as likely to have a dependency issue as someone who does not have a drug abuser in their family.

Parenting Style

• Parenting style also is a factor. Children who grow up in a household with conflicting parental guidelines is more prone to drug abuse, as are children raised in a household where authority is at different ends of the spectrum. This includes parents who are either severe disciplinarians or highly critical, and parents who do not provide praise or offer any supervision. A child who grows up in a household where drug abuse is tolerated are also more likely to become drug abusers.

Peers

• The children a child associates with play a role in determining whether she is prone to drug abuse. If a child's friends and brothers and sisters are drug users, it increases her chances for also experimenting with drugs. Most often, a child is introduced to drugs by someone she knows.

Academic Attitude

• A child's attitude toward school plays a role if he turns to drugs. Children who receive bad grades are more inclined to use drugs than those who receive good grades. Also, students who are uninterested in schoolwork and do not care about academic accomplishments are more inclined to experiment with drugs than those students who have a clear academic direction.

Transitions

• The American Council for Drug Education states that when a child goes through a major life transition, she is at risk for drug abuse. Transitions children face are often related to school. The first time a child is separated from her parents for an extended time is when she starts school. As a child proceeds in her school career, such as from elementary to junior high, she is faced with new academic and social challenges. A young person is most apt to come across drugs initially when she is a teenager.