What Drugs Do to Teens: Bodies

Welcome to the second in our series about how drugs affect teens. This time we will focus on the physical effects of drug use on the body. Addiction can develop in anyone, but adolescence is a time of life when individuals are more vulnerable to the impact of substance use and abuse.

In 2013, there were just over 2.8 million new users of illicit drugs. More than half (54.1%) were under the age of 18.[1] According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, high school seniors that use drugs most commonly use marijuana followed by amphetamines and prescription painkillers. This same study reveals that Adderall is the top prescription amphetamine being abused and Vicodin and OxyContin are at the top of the list of abused painkillers.[2]

Why Teens Use Drugs

There are many reasons teens experiment with illicit or unprescribed drugs including peer pressure or an attempt to deal with problems. They may start to use them socially or because a friend does and spiral out of control. As we talked about in our post about the impact of drugs on teens brains, the adolescent brain is also still developing and learning, so teens are wired to seek out new experiences and take risks.[3] But what also comes with this developing brain is a body still in progress as well. This means that the effect of teen substance abuse is that much more harmful.

Substances often fit into these categories: depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and opiates. So let’s break down each to see how they can impact the teen body.

How Do Depressants Affect the Teen Body?

Depressants slow down the functions of the body, including the brain, and often cause a drowsy feeling. Depressants include marijuana, Valium, Xanax, Librium, and barbiturates as well as alcohol. Their use can lower energy, slow breathing, slow heart rate, and lower body temperature.[4] They can affect your coordination and concentration and impair the ability to drive. Interestingly, marijuana can be categorized as a depressant, stimulant or hallucinogen thanks to mind-altering THC and variety of effects it can cause.[5]

How Do Stimulants Affect the Teen Body?

Stimulants speed up the brain, increase heart rate, blood pressure and breathing as well as raise body temperature.[6] They can also elevate mood and feelings of well-being. Stimulants include cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamine. Cocaine use can cause extreme sensitivity to sound, light and physical touch as well as headaches, convulsions, and seizures.[7] Prescription amphetamines such as Adderall, often given to treat ADHD, can also be misused when used by someone for whom it was not prescribed, or used in excess.[8] This can lead to risk of seizures, a lack of interest in eating, or decreased sleep.

How Do Hallucinogens Affect the Teen Body?

Hallucinogens, including LSD, PCP, MDMA, mescaline, and psilocybin, alter the brain and body’s perception of reality creating sensations and images that seem real. Use of hallucinogens can cause delusional thoughts and bizarre physical movement because they work on the way nerve cells communicate with one another.[9] In addition to hallucinations, LSD can increase cardiac activity and body temperature as well as loss of appetite, dry mouth and sweating.[10] MDMA, also known as Ecstasy or Molly, is a drug that acts like a stimulant by increasing energy and pleasure but alters perception and sense of reality.[11] This makes it difficult to categorize or to know how it will affect the body.

How Opiates Affect the Body

Opiates are powerful painkillers that change how the brain perceives pain. They can also produce feelings of euphoria. Opiates such as heroin, morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl slow cardiac function and breathing as well as impacting nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, gastrointestinal tract and other organs.[12] Opiates can be natural or synthetic, but all kick off the release of dopamine in the brain to control pain and create feelings of pleasure. With heroin, that rush usually comes with flushing, intense itchiness, nausea, and vomiting.[13]

Physical Dependency vs. Addiction

It’s important to make a distinction between addiction to a substance versus physical dependence. Addiction is a preoccupation to the point of obsession with obtaining a drug. It is a loss of control over its use. Physical dependency, the feeling of withdrawal if a drug is stopped suddenly, can be part of addiction or not.[14]

Any type of drug can be harmful to the body, whether it is misuse of prescribed medications or illicit substances, because of the risk factors that go along with drug use. Pride Surveys developed its Risk and Protective Factor (RPF) student perception survey, a hybrid version of the Communities That Care (CTC) Youth Survey and the Pride Questionnaire for Grades 6 to 12 to measure the risk factors that show the strongest correlation to drug use. It contains the updated Core Measures required by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for their Drug-Free Communities Grant that went into effect February 2013 and asks about incidences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use plus perceptions of availability and disapproval of use from parents and friends.

The benefit of choosing a survey company is that we take the guesswork out of the surveying process to ask the difficult questions. For more than thirty years, Pride Surveys has been helping schools collect data on teen substance abuse perceptions and drug use trends in their communities through scalable survey products. We offer multiple drug-free community survey options as well as student risk perception surveys designed to help assess teen substance abuse and risk, including our student surveys for grades 6-12, and our supplemental surveys like the Drug-Free Community Survey Supplement.

Browse the different types of scalable student surveys we offer and find out why Pride Surveys is the best choice to help you survey your school. Questions? Give us a call at 800-279-6361 or contact us here.

[1] “Nationwide Trends” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends

[2] “What Drugs Are Most Frequently Used by Adolescents?” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-adolescent-substance-use-disorder-treatment-research-based-guide/frequently-asked-questions/what-drugs-are-most-frequently-used-by-adolescents

[3] “The Influence of Substance Use on Adolescent Brain Development.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2827693/

[4] “Which Classes of Prescription Drugs Are Commonly Misused?” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/misuse-prescription-drugs/which-classes-prescription-drugs-are-commonly-misused

[5] “Profile: Marijuana.” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/pubs/marijuana.pdf

[6] “Illegal Drugs and Heart Disease.” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cocaine-Marijuana-and-Other-Drugs_UCM_428537_Article.jsp#.Wt8pilMvyql

[7] “What is Cocaine?” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/cocaine-use-and-its-effects#1

[8] “Prescription Stimulants.” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/prescription-stimulants

[9] “How do Hallucinogens Affect the Brain and Body?” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/hallucinogens-dissociative-drugs/how-do-hallucinogens-lsd-psilocybin-peyote-dmt-ayahuasca-affect-brain-body

[10] Ibid.

[11] “What is MDMA?” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/mdma-ecstasymolly

[12] America’s Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Use.” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/legislative-activities/testimony-to-congress/2016/americas-addiction-to-opioids-heroin-prescription-drug-abuse

[13] “What is Heroin?” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin

[14] “Physical Dependence vs. Addiction.” Retrieved 24 April, 2018 at https://blogs.psychcentral.com/blog/2017/03/physical-dependence-vs-addiction/

Impact of Bullying and Youth Violence in High Schools

School violence isn’t easy to understand, but it is something we seem to hear about more and more. Bullying, while nothing new, is of growing concern to parents at home and educators in schools because of its impact on children, learning, and the educational environment. So, let’s talk about youth violence and bullying to see how it impacts our kids and what adults can do to help.

Bullying is “unwanted aggressive behavior” that involves a real or perceived power disparity that repeatedly occurs over time. It can include intimidation, spreading rumors, physical or verbal attacks, or purposely excluding people from a group.[1] Perhaps once seen as part of growing up, bullying in the United States is now recognized as a type of youth violence that interferes with learning. It not only creates a poor learning environment for students but also impacts the teaching and working atmosphere for educators.

Violence is the intentional use of physical force or power against oneself or another person intended to cause injury, death, or bodily harm. It may be physical, sexual, psychological or involve deprivation.[2] A push on the playground might be an aggressive expression of frustration from elementary school students, but when it escalates to ongoing harassment and creates fear of going to school, learning and much more are impacted.

Research over the last several years has explored the overlap between bullying and other forms of youth violence as well as related behavioral health risks, such as mental health and substance use. A 2011 study showed that bullying at age 14 predicted violent convictions between ages 15 and 20, self-reported violence at age 15 to 18, low job status at age 18, and drug use at 27 to 32 years of age.[3]

Bullying doesn’t only involve violence. It can also include teasing as well as social exclusion and online taunts. Parents, counselors, and educators should also be on the lookout for circumstances where students purposely leave someone out, tell others not to be friends with someone, spread rumors, or deliberately embarrass someone in public. Intimidation and bullying behavior can be:

• Verbal
• Social
• Physical
• Cyberbullying[4]

Beginning in 1990, the Centers for Disease Control started their Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System to collect data from more than 3.8 million high school students over 1700 surveys.[5] The national study monitors teen health risk behaviors including those that contribute to violence on school property. Over 15 years of surveying, it has started to spot some trends.

• The number of kids who carried a weapon (including guns, knives and more) to school decreased from 11.8% in 1993 to 4.1% in 2015.
• In 2015, 6% of kids surveyed said they were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. In 1993 this number was 7.3%.
• The number of kids who were involved in a physical fight at school decreased over the study period from 16.2% to 7.8%.
• In 1993, 4.4% of kids surveyed said they did not go to school because they felt unsafe either in school or on their way to or from the property. By 2015, this number was 5.6%.
• The CDC survey began asking about bullying behaviors on school grounds in 2009 and has seen an increase since then from 19.9% to 20.2%.[6]

What we can take away from this data is that physical fights and the presence of weapons may be decreasing over time, but intimidation and terrorization appear to be impacting children to the extent that they will avoid the school learning environment to get away from the threat.

Research on youth violence has increased our understanding of factors that make some populations more vulnerable. Based on statistics beginning in 1992, LGBTQ students are two to three times more likely than their peers to be physically assaulted or threatened at school.[7] Students may feel depressed and hopeless or isolated and excluded by their peers. Sometimes, people who turn to violence are victims of bullying who feel they have hit a breaking point and would do anything to make it stop.

The federal government began collecting data on school bullying in 2005, when the prevalence of bullying was around 28%, according to the US Department of Education.[8] What may come as a surprise is that more middle schools reported daily school bullying (22%) than high schools (15%) or primary schools (8%).[9]

Anti-bullying and Violence Awareness Resources

Where can parents and educators look for tools to begin conversations with students about youth violence and bullying? Pride Surveys’ own Social, Emotional and Bullying Behavior Survey collects data and delivers reports that assess middle school students’ bullying perceptions and problem behaviors that affect student engagement. With SEBBS, schools can discover underlying causes for unwanted conditions such as increased absenteeism, lower academic achievement, and increased substance abuse.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence offers several youth violence and bullying resources for educators, students, and parents including Teaching Tolerance lessons from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The renowned Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has developed an online resource of Violence Prevention Tools. Students who experience bullying appear to be more likely to find peer interventions helpful rather than educator or self-actions, according to the Youth Voice Project.[10] So anti-bullying programs focused on peer education and school climate may find more success.

Violence and social and emotional intimidation have an impact on student success and academic achievement. That’s why Pride Surveys created our learning environment survey to measure students’ perceptions and behaviors that affect student engagement. Some of the questions we ask as part of this survey are:

• While at school have you carried a handgun?
• While at school have you threatened to hurt a student by hitting, slapping or kicking?
• While at school have you had a student threaten to hit, slap or kick you?
• While at school have you been afraid a student may hurt you?
• While at school have you hurt a student who hit, slapped or kicked you?

The benefit of choosing a survey company is that we take the guesswork out of the surveying process to ask the difficult questions. Browse the different types of scalable student surveys we offer and find out why Pride Surveys is the best choice to help you survey your school. Questions? Give us a call at 800-279-6361 or contact us here.

[1] “What is Bullying?” Retrieved 12 March, 2018 at https://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/index.html

[2] “Definition and typology of Violence.” Retrieved 12 March, 2018 at http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/approach/definition/en/

[3] “Bullying as a predictor of offending, violence and later life outcomes.” Retrieved 12 March, 2018 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21370294

[4] “What is Bullying?” Retrieved 12 March, 2018 at https://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/index.html

[5] “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Systems (YRBSS) Overview.” Retrieved 12 March, 2018 at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/overview.htm

[6] “Trends in the Prevalence of Behaviors that Contribute to Violence on School Property National YRBS: 1991—2015.” Retrieved 13 March, 2018 at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/trends/2015_us_violenceschool_trend_yrbs.pdf

[7] “Violence and LGBTQ+ Communities What Do We Know, and What Do We Need to Know?” Retrieved 13 March, 2018 at http://www.rti.org/sites/default/files/rti_violence_and_lgbtq_communities.pdf

[8] “New Data Show a Decline in School-based Bullying” Retrieved 13 March, 2018 at https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/new-data-show-decline-school-based-bullying

[9] “Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2015–16” Retrieved 12 March, 2018 at https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017122.pdf

[10] “Youth Voice Research Project: Victimization & Strategies.” Retrieved 12 March, 2018 at http://njbullying.org/documents/YVPMarch2010.pdf

What Drugs Really Do to Teens: Brains

“This is your brain on drugs.”

An iconic ad campaign that influenced an entire generation of young people. But what do drugs really do to your brain when you’re a teen? Welcome to the first in our series about how drugs affect teen bodies.

When drugs enter the brain, they inhibit natural functions and development, and can ultimately lead to changes in how well the brain works. To understand the effect that drugs have on adolescents, it’s important to realize that teenagers are not just smaller, less-experienced adults; Neuroscientists have reported for years that the human brain is not fully mature until around the age of 25.[1]

Different drugs work on the brain in different ways because of their chemical structures. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the U.S. with upwards of 11 million young adults ages 18-25 using in 2015.[2] THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, overstimulates receptors in the brain that react naturally to chemicals similar to this chemical in marijuana. This overreaction is key in creating the high that people experience.[3]

Some short-term brain-related effects of marijuana are:[4]
• Temporary memory loss
• Altered perception of time
• Difficulties thinking or problem-solving

According to Staci Gruber, PhD, a neuroscientist and director of the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core and the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) Program at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, there are reasons to believe that adolescents may be exceptionally vulnerable to lasting damage from marijuana use at least until their early to mid-20s. “The brain is still under construction,” she explains.

The teenage mind is still developing physically, intellectually and emotionally. The frontal lobe of the brain, an area associated with “planning, inhibition, emotion regulation, and integration of novel stimuli,” goes through extensive development during puberty.[5] As teens mature, they are going through a crucial developmental stage when they are not only learning to make sound judgments but are also sensitive to psychoactive substances.[6] This can be a dangerous combination.

Our brains are hardwired to ensure that we’ll repeat specific actions by connecting those activities (like eating and sleeping) with a reward – feeling good – by releasing a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, is associated with the motivation aspect of reward-motivated behavior and links parts of the brain together that are home to personality, decision-making and social conduct.

Stimulants like meth and cocaine, the second most commonly used category of drugs in teens, also create a rush of dopamine in the brain.[7] These drugs can be destructive not only to intellectual development but also to the fundamental ability of a user to feel contentment and satisfaction.[8] Because they hamper the brain’s ability to sense rewards correctly in everyday life, it is believed that alterations in neurotransmitter function are involved in substance addiction.

Some short-term brain-related effects of meth are:[9]
• Increased energy and mania
• Insomnia
• Paranoia
• Obsessive focus on performing repetitive actions

Some short-term brain-related effects of cocaine are:[10]
• Feelings of euphoria
• Increased energy
• Inflated self-esteem
• Elevated mood

Adolescents are at risk of substance addiction from drug use more than any other age. And, more than any other age group, teens risk long-term “intellectual and emotional damage” as a result of abusing drugs.[11]

Pride Surveys developed its Risk and Protective Factor (RPF) student perception survey, a hybrid version of the Communities That Care (CTC) Youth Survey and the Pride Questionnaire for Grades 6 to 12 to measure the factors that show the strongest correlation to drug use. It contains the updated Core Measures required by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for their Drug-Free Communities Grant that went into effect February 2013 and asks about incidences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use plus perceptions of availability and disapproval of use from parents and friends.

[1] “Adolescent Maturity and the Brain: The Promise and Pitfalls of Neuroscience Research in Adolescent Health Policy.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892678/

[2] “Substance Abuse Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015.pdf

[3] “What is marijuana?” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana#ref

[4] “The Effects of Marijuana Use.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-marijuana-use/

[5] “The Influence of Substance Use on Adolescent Brain Development.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2827693/

[6] “The Effects of Drugs and Alcohol On the Adolescent Brain.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at http://www.samafoundation.org/the-effects-of-drugs-and-alcohol-on-the-adolescent-brain.html

[7] ibid

[8] ibid

[9] “The Effects of Meth Use.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-meth-use/

[10] “The Effects of Cocaine Use.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-cocaine-use/

[11] “Adolescent Maturity and the Brain: The Promise and Pitfalls of Neuroscience Research in Adolescent Health Policy.” Retrieved 19 March 2018 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892678/

The Impact of Taking Part in School Activities on Drug and Alcohol Use in Teens

Research shows there is a link between teen substance abuse and how well kids do in school. Teens who abuse drugs have lower grades, a higher absentee rate from school and other activities, and an increased potential for dropping out.[1] By participating in extracurricular activities like athletics, taking music lessons, or joining the newspaper staff, teens have a framework for their free time. They are also involved with a network of coaches, teammates and bandmates, and advisors who may be less tolerant of the use of illicit or illegal substances. While there is some debate about whether student-athletes, especially boys, are more susceptible to the influence of drugs from peers, most of the news is good.

In our Pride Surveys Report: 2015-16 National Summary, we noted that more than 30% of 6^th and 7^th graders take part in school activities “a lot” as do about 24% of 11^th and 12th graders.[2] In the national summary, you can see the correlations between extracurricular activities and drug use in our chapter that cross-tabs risk and protective factors with substance use.

High school girls who participate in sports are significantly less likely to use marijuana, cocaine, or most other illicit drugs. This protective effect of sports appears to be most influential for white girls. Some research does suggest that girls may be at a higher risk of illicit drug use than boys because they are more vulnerable to influences such as partner, peer or parental drug use. This statistic changes though when girls participate in sports, showing lower rates of drug use by female athletes as compared to their non-athlete peers.[3]

Sports help keep girls active and make them feel like a part of a team, which in turn can lead to a desire to be their healthiest and perform their best as well as a feeling of accountability towards other team members.[4] A national study of U.S. public high school students even found organized sports participants were 22% less likely to smoke cigarettes. Both male and female high school students who were involved in sports tended to rate themselves as being popular and more involved in extra-curricular activities. Playing sports and being part of a team can also give youth a strong social network that allows them to develop social skills that help them better adjust at school.[5]

However, a study published in the Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse does reveal that those most at risk for addiction to pain medications are sometimes high school athletes.[6] One of the key findings of this survey was that high school athletes more commonly used drugs than their peers; another was that boys were more likely to be drug users than girls. Finally, it was found that football players led their peers in drug use. One of the most troubling findings in the survey was that more teens are abusing prescription drugs including painkillers.[7]

What does all of this mean? It’s essential that parents are involved in their child’s lives and begin having conversations early about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. If a teen believes that his or her parents will allow substance use, he or she is more likely to try drugs or alcohol.[8] Substance abuse can lead to addiction or incarceration or other problems such as poor schoolwork, loss of friends, problems at home, and lasting legal problems.

It’s important for parents, educators, and coaches to learn about community and school activities that may interest teens and encourage them to participate. Relationships with educators and counselors are among the most significant and influential ones for many students. Adolescents who perceive that their teachers care about them are less likely to start using marijuana, smoking cigarettes, drinking to get drunk, and other behaviors that are barriers to education.[9]

But if school sports or other activities are not appealing to your teens, consider volunteer opportunities. Volunteering or after-school jobs can provide young people with a chance to become more responsible, to be exposed to other adults, and to develop new skills and interests. Some families even look for opportunities for teens and parents to volunteer together. It’s important, though, to remember not to push too hard. Look for signs that teens are overwhelmed with activities, volunteering, school work and other obligations.

Pride Surveys developed its Risk and Protective Factor (RPF) student perception survey, a hybrid version of the Communities That Care (CTC) Youth Survey and the Pride Questionnaire for Grades 6 to 12 to measure the factors that show the strongest correlations to drug use. It contains the updated Core Measures required by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for their Drug-Free Communities Grant that went into effect February 2013 and asks about incidences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use plus perceptions of availability and disapproval of use from parents and friends.

For over thirty years, Pride Surveys has been helping schools collect data on teen substance abuse perceptions and drug use trends in communities through scalable survey products. We offer multiple drug-free community survey options as well as student risk perception surveys designed to help assess teen substance abuse and risk, including our student surveys for grades 4-6, grades 6-12, and our supplemental surveys like the Drug-Free Community Survey Supplement. Please contact us online or call (800) 279-6361 for more information.

[1] “Adolescent Substance Abuse: America’s #1 Health Problem.” Retrieved 26 January, 2018 at https://www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction-research/reports/adolescent-substance-use-america%E2%80%99s-1-public-health-problem

[2] “Pride Surveys Questionnaire for Grades 6 thru 12 Standard Report 2015-16 Pride National Summary.” Retrieved 26 January, 2018 at https://www.pridesurveys.com/customercenter/us15ns.pdf

[3] “HER LIFE DEPENDS ON IT III: Sport, Physical Activity, and the Health and Well-Being of American Girls and Women Executive Summary.” Retrieved 26 January, 2018 at http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/hldoi-iii-report-executive-summary.pdf

[4] “Her Life Depends On It III: Sport, Physical Activity, and the Health and Well-Being of American Girls and Women Executive Summary.” Retrieved 26 January, 2018 at http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/hldoi-iii-report-executive-summary.pdf

[5] “How Your Daughter’s Sports Team Could Be Enhancing Your Family Life.” Retrieved 26 January, 2018 at https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/education/how-your-daughters-sports-team-could-be-enhancing-your-family-life/

[6] “Abuse of Prescription Painkillers on the Rise Among High School Athletes: Survey.” Retrieved 26 January, 2018 at https://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2014/08/04/abuse-of-prescription-painkillers-on-the-rise-among-high-school-athletes-survey

[7] “Survey Says High School Athletes More At Risk for Prescription Abuse Problems.” Retrieved 26 January, 2018 at http://www.narconon.org/blog/narconon/survey-says-high-school-athletes-risk-prescription-abuse-problems/

[8] “Talking to your middle school-aged child about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs: a 10-step guide for parents.” Retrieved 26 January, 2018 at http://www.needhamma.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3387

[9] “The Role of Schools in Combatting Illicit Substance Abuse.” Retrieved January 26 at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/120/6/1379#ref-2

Strong Families, Strong Schools: Parent Involvement in Education

Why should parents get involved in their child’s education? Because parent engagement can make a dramatic difference for the academic success of children from test grades to attendance to homework completion to continued education.[1] By supervising, supporting and advocating, parents can be engaged in ways that ensure that their children have every opportunity for success.

Parent Engagement at Home

Being involved in your child’s learning not only helps them to achieve more academically, but it also offers you the fulfillment of making a difference in their education. Here are some simple steps that can add up to creating a positive learning environment at home.

– Read with your children and talk with them about the books and stories you’ve read.
– Talk with your child about school every day and what they are learning.
– Ask them to teach you something they learned to help solidify their understanding of the topic.[2]
– Set aside a specific time for homework assignments and sit down to discuss your child’s homework at least once per week while they work.
– Organize and monitor your child’s time to ensure it is used wisely.
– Advise the teacher of any issues at home that may affect the child’s school performance.
– Consider involving grandparents in their grandchildren’s education.[3]

Studies show that school climate is at its best at schools with involved parents.[4] Parents who are involved with their kids’ education also feel better about themselves and about the school itself and parents’ feelings about their child’s school, whether positive or negative, influence how they choose to get involved in activities.[5]

It’s important for family members to remain involved from all the way through the education process – from elementary school through high school.[6] With younger children, it may be easier to keep up with report cards and progress reports when parent signatures are required, not to mention having time to connect while driving the kids to school. But when students reach middle and high school, connecting with kids about their studies can become more challenging as communications, extracurriculars, jobs and even adolescence surface.

Parents’ greatest learning support occurs at home through regular communications and positive expectations.[7] While offering support and guidance at home is the first step in getting involved in a student’s academics, it’s certainly not the last.

Parent Engagement at School

Developing a relationship with your child’s teachers and keeping in touch with them often is the first step to becoming a more engaged parent at school. A 2007 study found that 78% of parents surveyed participated in a parent-teacher conference and 74% showed up to a class or school function.[8] Becoming active in a school’s parent group is another key way to increase involvement. According to PTO Today, building parent involvement is the single most important thing that parent groups can do.[9] Here are a few ideas parents can use to contribute to a successful learning experience at school:

– Support and attend school activities like program, plays, and performances.
– Volunteer in the classroom or be a chaperone on field trips or for special events.
– Attend parent-teacher conferences.
– Vote in school board elections or run for office yourself.
– Participate in PTA/PTO or other parent organizations, clubs or committees.

When meeting with their teachers, focus on how well your child is learning the subject matter, not just the graded outcomes. Reinforce the classroom teaching of a problematic subject by talking about it in new ways: “What’s your favorite part of the story? How would you change the ending?” or “How much would this sweater be with 25% off the price? What about one quarter of the price?” Let your child know that you are interested in them learning the subject matter, not just getting the grade, and be enthusiastic about gaining knowledge

Keep up with your child’s progress through their grades and report cards (or teacher meetings), but don’t only focus on success or failure. Encourage your children through poor performances, set improvement goals and reward achievement of those goals. Framing things in a positive light is more motivating to a child and can help them do better in the long run.

Think Bigger

Advocating for facility, program and equipment improvements with local school boards as well as with state and federal government can help to ensure your school has the resources they need to provide a first-rate education to every student. School surveys can be part of this advocacy when you ask the right questions. Developed with parents and caretakers in mind, the Pride Surveys Parent Engagement and Perception Survey covers everything from school and family involvement to academic achievement, general school life, student safety, and impressions about drug use. Parents will be able to engage easily with the data and use it in a variety of settings, such as PTA meetings, to help jumpstart discussions and boost engagement.

The Social, Emotional and Bullying Behavior Survey (SEBBS) collects data and delivers reports that assess middle school students’ bullying perceptions and problem behaviors that affect student engagement. With SEBBS, schools can discover underlying causes for unwanted conditions such as increased absenteeism, lower academic achievement, and increased substance abuse.

[1] “Involvement Matters: What to Tell Parents.” Retrieved 9 November, 2017 at https://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/399-involvement-matters-what-to-tell-parents.

[2] “Students Learn More If They’ll Need to Teach to Others.” Retrieved 9 November, 2017 at http://www.futurity.org/learning-students-teaching-741342/.

[3] “8 Ways to Get Grandparents Involved in Your Children’s Classroom.” Retrieved November 9, 2017 at https://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-carpenter/8-ways-to-get-grandparents-involved-in-your-childs-classroom_b_5701364.html.

[4] “Benefits of Parent Involvement in Education.” Retrieved November 9 , 2017 at https://www.verywell.com/teachers-benefit-from-parent-involvement-3288061.

[5] “Special Report/School Climate Urban Parents’ Views.” Retrieved November 9, 2017 at http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept08/vol66/num01/School-Climate@-Urban-Parents’-Views.aspx.

[6] “Supporting Parent, Family, and Community Involvement in Your School.” Retrieved November 9, 2017 at http://www.pacer.org/mpc/pdf/titleipip/SupportingInvolvement_article.pdf.

[7] “Supporting Parent, Family, and Community Involvement in Your School.” Retrieved November 9, 2017 at http://www.pacer.org/mpc/pdf/titleipip/SupportingInvolvement_article.pdf.

[8] “Back to School: How Parent Involvement affects student achievement (full report).” Retrieved 8 November, 2017 at http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Public-education/Parent-Involvement/Parent-Involvement.html.

[9] “Involvement Matters: What To Tell Parents.” Retrieved 9 November, 2017 at https://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/399-involvement-matters-what-to-tell-parents.

The Drinking Age Debate: Pros and Cons of Lowering the Legal Drinking Age

For decades, ever since the days of Prohibition, in fact, many politicians, academics, and parents alike have engaged in the drinking age debate – the question being whether or not the legal drinking age of 21 should be lowered to 18?

The topic never seems to fully disappear, and New Hampshire and California are two of the latest states to reignite the drinking age debate with political proposals hoping to gain support from voters. The California proposal^[1] aims to make the purchase and consumption of alcohol legal for those 18 and up, while the New Hampshire bill^[2] would make it legal for those aged 18-20 to drink beer and wine, as long as they are in the presence of 21-and-over adults.

The legal drinking age in our nation, which is dictated on a state-by-state basis, has a varied history. At the repeal of Prohibition, the legal drinking age was accepted nationwide as 21, but when the voting age dropped from 21 to 18 in the early 1970s, many states followed suit by lowering the drinking age as well. However, not long after, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 was passed, punishing states that allowed persons under 21 to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages.

Since then, all 50 states have again adopted the age of 21 (with some allowing special permissions, such as Wisconsin’s stipulation that persons under 21 may be served or consume alcohol if they are with a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who is of legal drinking age).

Should We Lower The Legal Drinking Age Again?

A multitude of academic and politically-backed research has been conducted in order to answer the question, “Which age is best for the safety of young people?” No matter which side of the drinking age debate you agree with, it must be recognized that young adults will drink alcohol, no matter what the legal drinking age. According to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health^[3], approximately 35 percent of 15-year-olds state that they have had at least one alcoholic beverage in their lives, and about four out of five college students drink alcohol regularly.

Not sure if you believe the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18? Here are some of the most widely-recognized pros and cons of the drinking age debate.

Pros to Reducing the Drinking Age:

• It would decrease binge drinking: Many believe^[4] that if young adults had easier access to alcohol (without the need to obtain fake IDs, etc.), they would not feel the need to drink so excessively when given the opportunity.
• It would create a safer drinking environment:^[5] A reduced drinking age would increase the likelihood of young adults calling the police or other authority figures when in need of help, such as when a friend is showing signs of alcohol poisoning or when they need a safe ride home.
• It’s simply unjust: Eighteen is the age we become an adult in the eyes of the law, and also when we are able to vote and serve in the military. The argument^[6], “I can serve my country, but I can’t be served a drink?” often comes up.

Cons to Lowering the Drinking Age:

• It would increase reckless driving behavior: Eighteen-year-olds are already inexperienced drivers – with the decreased inhibitions and poor judgment associated with just a few drinks, the roads could become even more dangerous. A 2002 meta-study by of the legal drinking age and traffic accidents found that higher legal drinking ages were associated with lower rates of traffic accidents^[7].
• Our brains aren’t fully developed at 18: In fact, many experts believe^[8] our brains aren’t fully mature until our mid-20s. That means “legal” adults can make serious decisions without a fully-developed brain, often leading to risky behavior. Plus, alcohol consumption in teens can lead to altered brain development^[9].
• It could lead to increased high school dropouts: The reduced drinking age of 18 in the 1970s and 80s led to an increased high school dropout rate – specifically, the rate shot up from 4 percent to 13 percent. Many fear that the same will happen again if we decide to reduce the legal drinking age^[10].

Whether the legal drinking age is 18 or 21, we must recognize that many young adults and teens will drink alcohol and even engage in binge drinking. And even more importantly, we must recognize that proper education is important for young adults to make safe, smart decisions regarding their own behaviors. While the drinking age debate rages on, we must continue to work hard to monitor and educate young adults about the dangers of alcohol abuse.

[1] Nelson, Steven. “Want to Lower the Drinking Age? You’ll Have to Work for It.” U.S. News. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/10/initiative-to-lower-drinking-age-in-california-faces-big-obstacles on March 17, 2016.

[2] Boggs, Justin. “N.H. Considering Dropping the Legal Drinking Age.” The E.W. Scripps Company.

[3] “College Drinking.” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Retrieved from http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/college-drinking on March 15, 2016.

[4] Ramos, Stephanie. “Study: Lowering Drinking Age May Stop Binge Drinking in College.” ABC News. Retrieved from http://wtnh.com/2015/09/28/study-lowering-drinking-age-may-stop-binge-drinking-in-college/ on March 16, 2016.

[5] Tucker, Jeffery A. “The Drinking Age Should Be Lowered, Fast.” Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/drinking-age-should-be-lowered-fast-356715 on March 16, 2016

[6] Johnson, Brent. “Lawmaker Wants to Lower N.J. Drinking Age to 18.” New Jersey On-Line LLC. Retrieved from http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/02/lawmaker_wants_to_lower_nj_drinking_age_to_18.html on March 17, 2016.

[7] Alexander C. Wagenaar and Traci L. Toomey, “Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Review and Analyses of the Literature from 1960 to 2000,” Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2002.

[8] “Understanding the Teen Brain.” University of Rochester Medical Center. Retrieved from https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051 on March 16, 2016.

[9] “Dangers of Teen Drinking.” Federal Trade Commission. Retrieved from https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0387-dangers-teen-drinking March 16, 2016.

[10] “Lower Drinking Age Leads to More High School Dropouts.” Newsmax Media, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.newsmax.com/Health/Health-News/drinking-age-high-school-dropouts-rates/2015/09/28/id/693725/ on March 17, 2016.

E-Cigarette Use In Teens

Electronic Cigarettes & Vape Pens: An Overview of the New Trend in Smoking

E-cigarettes, known as e-cigs, electronic cigs, or electronic cigarettes, are the newest generation of traditional cigarettes with a few primary differences: e-cigs are re-usable and trade the characteristic cigarette smoke for a vaporized liquid compound. E-cigarettes (and their sister product “vape pens”) are often seen as the lesser of two evils. However, new research and increased popularity among younger demographics are beginning to prove that e-cigarettes and vape pens may now be a much more insidious problem than their smoky counterparts.

In a scenario that feels like a flashback to a time when cigarettes were a cool kid staple, e-cigarettes have staked their popularity claim with teenagers and young adults. Vaping—the verb invented for e-cig and vape pen use because of the vapor that is released during use—has become hugely popular with the adolescent demographic, a highly problematic trend that is often overlooked by parents, schools, and communities at large.

Teen Smoking Trends: E-Cigarette & Vape Pen Use in Minors

A recent study^[1] by the CDC and the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) found that, between 2013 and 2014, e-cigarette use in middle and high school students tripled. While that in and of itself is troubling, another study^[2] found that e-cigarettes are frequently a gateway product; teens who have tried e-cigs or vape pens more than twice as likely to start smoking traditional cigarettes than those who haven’t.

The primary reason for this progression is the similarities between the chemical content of e-cigs/vape pens and traditional cigarettes. The main ingredient in e-cigarettes and vape pens (and the reason why users keep coming back for more) is the nicotine content, which is extremely addictive and can have numerous negative health consequences.

While nicotine alone is an inherently harmful drug, the effects on teenagers are magnified exponentially. According to CDC^[3] Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., “Adolescence is a critical time for brain development. Nicotine exposure at a young age may cause lasting harm to brain development, promote addiction, and lead to sustained tobacco use.”

E-Cigarette & Vape Pen Marketing: Targeting Teenagers

Often billed as a safe alternative to cigarettes, e-cigarette and vape pen manufacturers have faced increased backlash and scrutiny in recent years over claims that they directly target teenagers and adolescents. Marketing for e-cigarettes and vape pens is often found on youth-oriented TV channels and across social media sites, and many e-cig companies use celebrity spokespeople popular with the younger generation. A study by RTI International^[4] reported that young adult exposure to electronic cigarette and vape pen advertisements increased by 321 percent from 2011 to 2013. What’s even more important to note though is that this study analyzed only television, and if it were to include internet advertising, the figures would likely be even greater.

Another major way that e-cigarettes and vape pens are being marketed to youth is through the flavoring of the product itself. While some e-cigs come unflavored and unscented, the majority of companies peddle sweet flavor offerings, such as cotton candy, watermelon, and bubble gum, which are seen as particularly attractive to youths. In fact, the FDA has banned^[5] tobacco companies from manufacturing flavored regular cigarettes specifically because of their associated appeal to minors.

Governmental Action on E-Cigarette & Vape Pen Use in Young Adults

At this point, most states have laws prohibiting distributors from selling e-cigarettes and vape pens to minors under age 18 (though some states have upped the minimum age to 19). However, while cigarettes and other similar forms of tobacco are currently under strict regulatory control by the FDA, the same oversight does not yet exist for electronic cigarettes and vape pens.

The primary issue affecting restriction and regulation is the relative novelty of the product itself. E-cigarettes and vape pens are fairly new products—the concept of an electronic cigarette was invented^[6] in Beijing in 2003. Thus, while in recent years a significant amount of research has been conducted on e-cigarettes and vape pens, they haven’t been as extensively studied and investigated as cigarettes. A quick search for the term “e-cigarette”^[7] on PubMed – a collection of biomedical literature by the National Center for Biotechnology Information^[8] (NCBI) – returns 1,800 study results. However, over 98% of those results were published in the last 10 years. Particularly crucial to research into e-cigarettes will be longitudinal studies, which would evaluate the long-term effects of e-cigarettes on the human body.

Taking a Stand against Teen E-Cig & Vape Pen Use

Many teens falsely believe that e-cigarettes are safe and non-addictive due to widespread misinformation and deceptive marketing. Therefore, one of the best ways to combat e-cigarette and vape pen use in teens is through education. Parents should talk to their teenagers about the risks and dangers associated with e-cig use. Schools and community organizations should partner to create educational programs and initiatives. Anti-tobacco coalitions need to expand their marketing campaigns to include (or perhaps shift their primary focus to) e-cigarettes and vape pens.

Though the campaign against traditional smoking has been a long process, it has been a hugely successful one as well. Since 1975, when teen smoking hovered just below a staggering 30%, cigarette use has steadily declined^[9] to an all-time low under 7.5% in 2014.

This is evidence that it’s possible to reverse the dangerous trend of e-cigarette and vape pen use in teenagers, but only if communities band together to take a stand.

[1] “E-cigarette use Triples among Middle and High School Students in Just One Year.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0416-e-cigarette-use.html on March 17, 2016.

[2] “Longitudinal Study of E-Cigarette Use and Onset of Cigarette Smoking among High School Students in Hawai’i.” BMJ Publishing Group, Ltd. Retrieved from http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2016/01/05/tobaccocontrol-2015-052705.full on March 17, 2016.

[3] “E-cigarette use Triples among Middle and High School Students in Just One Year.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0416-e-cigarette-use.html on March 17, 2016.

[4]
Duke, Jennifer C., Youn O. Lee, et al. “Exposure to Electronic Cigarette Television Advertisements among Youth and Young Adults.” RTI International. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2014/05/27/peds.2014-0269.full.pdf on March 17, 2016.

[5]
“What are FDA’s Regulations for Flavored Tobacco?” U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

[6]
“E-Cigarette History.” Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association. Retrieved from http://casaa.org/E-cigarette_History.html on March 17, 2016.

[7]
“Search Results: E-Cigarette.” National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=e-cigarette on March 17, 2016.

[8]
National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ on March 17, 2016.