Substance use can be hard to define; substances themselves can be defined by many types. Advil can be a substance, but so is heroin, but it can also be defined by alcohol. For the convenience of this observation and this explanation, substances will be defined as any drug or alcohol that impairs an individual from their natural biological feeling, so yes, that includes Advil. With the changing of the times, so has drug and alcohol use amongst Americans, however, with the study, we will be discussing it in terms of teenage use.

           In January 2017, Monitoring The Future published an article that discusses the decrease in drug use by teens, with the exception of marijuana. These new statistics are the lowest they have been since the 1990’s, decreasing within the tested grade groups of 8th, 10th and 12th graders. Of course, this is a generalization for the teenage population but by looking at another article from The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse it was discovered that bi/multi-racial teenagers face a higher potential to try substances than those who are monoracial, specifically from ages 12 to 17. It brings into light influencing factors such as peer influence, parental influence, school difficulty and preventive factors such as anti-drug posters which all affect the teens decision to use such substances. This contradicts the other source by displaying that there are specific groups of teenagers who seem to be more prone to use than others due to the environment in which they reside.

          In the article “Alcohol and Drug use among Teenagers” by Karen Leslie, she goes into detail about signs, suspicions and symptoms of teens using drugs. Though she speaks on this topic in Canada, it can be used in relation the United States. She focuses mainly on the two main substances that teenagers use, alcohol and marijuana. She reported that teenagers, on average, first had alcohol at age 11 and tried marijuana at 12 or 13, and this is an alarming age for both instances, because it reveals that these children (not even teens yet) are being exposed and using these substances in middle school. Leslie then displays a list of signs that your teenager (for parents) may have a substance issue (shown on the right). She then discusses what a parent can do if they believe their child has an issue with these substances and she suggests speaking with the child about their possible issues. This is an important message that parents should a.) not ignore the issue and b.) be open with their child about their concerns. This study is quite frightening considering the young age at which these teens are experimenting with alcohol and marijuana and it reveals that the situation should and needs to be addressed.

           The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM – IV) is exactly as it is titles, a guide to mental disorders and included is alcohol use disorder (AUD). This manual was used by Jennifer S. Rose, Chien-Ti Lee, Arielle S. Selya and Lisa C. Dierker to draw a connection to the definition of AUD and characteristics of adolescent drinkers. They conducted a study with National Survey of Drug and Use and Health that observed teens from 12-21 who had just recently started drinking to compile their evidence and state a conclusion. They found that there are certain characteristics such as “withdrawal” and “social issues” that outline a smaller severity of AUD, meanwhile the more severe cases of this disorder come from unsuccessful efforts to cut or halt alcohol consumption and drinking continuously despite health issues arising. This case is significant because it analyzed the heavy influence of drinking on teenagers while also displaying the different levels of a disorder that has been establishes because of the reliance on this substance.

          This is not a new modern movement; teenagers have been drinking alcohol and using drugs for as long as they’ve been around. It does become an issue when they allow these substances to affect them socially, educationally, sexually and their overall well-being. It should be made clear to Americans youth at an early stage the precautions and consequences of abuse or use in general since it is hard to prevent substance use amongst this population.