Treating Substance Abuse Without Substance Abuse Treatment

Many of the juveniles referred for services come with a package of delinquent behaviors that typically includes substance abuse of some sort. If substance use is not a referral behavior, it often contributes to the other referral behaviors. Research tells us that the same elements that predict other delinquent behaviors also predict juvenile subatnce abuse. Specifically, we know that  associating with other juvenile delinquents is a direct predictor of delinquent behavior, whether that behavior is stealing, fighting or substance abuse. We also know that there are factors in the family and the school that, when not working well, are predictive of the aformentioned peer association.

From a treatment perspective, if we are able to work with the elements of the ecology to be more effective, family and school, then we can expect to see some changes in the peer association. By doing so, we reduce the probability that the youth will be stealing and fighting if we remove them from that social setting. By doing so, we also reduce the probability of substance abuse because the same relationships were supporting the substance abuse that were supporting the other behavior. Substance abuse is frequently considered a "superbehavior" that requires extraordinary measures, but the research on the causes and correlates  of juvenile substance abuse tell us otherwise.

I worked with a child that I'll call Jeff. Jeff was referred for services for a package of delinquent behaviors that had resulted in his being placed on juvenile probation. The probation officer was clear that the main concern was Jeff's stealing. We knew that Jeff was using drugs as a result of urine screens but the level of theft was significant and needed to be controlled quickly, so that was our primary focus initially.

The bulk of the work centered around helping Jeff's mother, with support of family and friends, to be more effective in monitoring where he was and with whom he was associating. She also set firm limits on where he was allowed to go and with whom he could associate. In addition, she worked very hard to improve her discipline strategies. After a period of a few weeks, Jeff's mother was much more effective in controlling his whereabouts and peer asscociations. His probation officer was pleased that the theft seemed to have stopped and there had been no further complaints from local stores.

Following the reduction in the stealing, Jeff's probation officer administered a urine screen, and Jeff's test was negative for substance use. Continued random screens revealed the same result. How did this happen with no direct intervention on the substance abuse? Jeff's mother was successful in removing the influences that promoted or maintained the stealing behavior, and those were the same influences that sustained the substance abuse. If Jeff's rate of theft had not been so acute, the substance abuse may have warranted the referral itself, but that behavior was brought under control as a by-product of the focus on the stealing. This is because the same challenges in the family that were predicting the delinquent peer association and the the stealing, were having the same effect for substance abuse. Jeff's mother was able to address the behavior without sending him to an institution and without the high costs associated with such treatments. She was also able to do so without ongoing, time-consuming efforts that would actually prevent him from becoming involved with prosocial activities. In addition, the changes are more likely to last because the agent of change was a parent with improved awareness and skills that will always be present versus an intervention that ends on the discharge date.

Permissive Parenting and Substance Abuse

Permissive Parenting and Substance Abuse

As described in the last entry detailing statistics about youth substance abuse, there is plenty of data to support the concerns about the drug use and the effects it has on the youth in our country and on our broader communities.  There are multiple influences on the behavior of children so we must be careful not to blame parents for a youth's behavior, but we must not ignore the fact that the parents have more ability to change the child's behavior than others. We should also consider that families have more desire to see a change in the behavior than the child or the child's peers. Consequently, it makes sense to consider how a parent can help address the concerns.

There are many influences that can contribute to juvenile substance abuse and many parenting styles that parents may exhibit that have their own strengths and weaknesses. One parenting style that we often associate with juvenile substance use does have support from research and that is permissive parenting. Permissive parenting has been associated with impulsive behavior and a child that may become difficult to control, especially in the face of disappointment. They may develop aggressive behavior and discover drugs and alcohol as they get older.

Permissive parents can be described as having high warmth in their relationship with their child combined with low control. The element of warmth in a parent-child relationship is obviously extremely important and should be a goal for families. When this warmth interferes in the enforcement of reasonable rules and expectations, parents run the risk of becoming overly permissive and exhibiting the elements of permissive parents. There are many points to consider to assess whether or not you may be a permissive parent, but a general guideline to consider is whether your plans to administer discipline are thwarted by concerns about the child being angry, guilt or concerns over the well-being of the child.

If you fall into this category, it will be important for you to address your own concerns if you are to promote a change in your child's behavior. It will be important to identify your specific thoughts and concerns and  to assess whether or not they are helpful in your goals for your child.

Patrick Duffy, Psychologist Blog

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reports that in 2006 alone, law enforcement officers made an estimated 2.2 million arrests of people under the age of 18. The report also shows that juveniles accounted for 17% of all violent crimes and 26% of all property crimes in 2006. These numbers are staggering yet do not account for the youths who are exhibiting challenging behaviors that have not been arrested.

The data regarding juvenile substance abuse does little to ease concern. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 28.3% of kids between the ages of 12 and 20 reported drinking in the month prior to the survey and 12.4% reported having driven under the influence within the previous year. The data does suggest a decline in marijuana use, but 24.6% of tenth-graders reported use in the past year while 31.7% of twelfth-graders reported use. While marijuana use has seen a recent decline, the use of cocaine has remained stable among children 12 and older. A more troubling finding is the decline in perceived harmfulness of hallucinogenic drugs and an increase in the abuse of prescription drugs.