Editing Adolescence (section)

====Alcohol and illicit drug use====

=====Prevalence=====
Following a steady decline beginning in the late 1990s up through the mid-2000s and a moderate increase in the early 2010s, illicit drug use among adolescents has roughly plateaued in the U.S. Aside from alcohol, [[marijuana]] is the most commonly indulged drug habit during adolescent years. Data collected by the [[National Institute on Drug Abuse]] shows that between the years of 2015 and 2018, past year marijuana usage among 8th graders declined from 11.8% to 10.5%; among 10th grade students, usage rose from 25.4% to 27.50%; and among 12th graders, usage rose slightly from 34.9% to 35.9%.<ref name="Abuse">{{cite web|url=https://www.drugabuse.gov/trends-statistics/monitoring-future/monitoring-future-study-trends-in-prevalence-various-drugs|title=Monitoring the Future Study: Trends in Prevalence of Various Drugs|last=Abuse|first=National Institute on Drug|website=drugabuse.gov|access-date=July 21, 2019}}</ref> Additionally, while the early 2010s saw a surge in the popularity of [[MDMA]], usage has stabilized with 2.2% of 12th graders using MDMA in the past year in the U.S.<ref name="Abuse"/> The heightened usage of ecstasy most likely ties in at least to some degree with the rising popularity of [[Rave|rave culture]].

One significant contribution to the increase in teenage [[substance abuse]] is an increase in the availability of [[Prescription drug|prescription medication]]. With an increase in the diagnosis of behavioral and attentional disorders for students, taking pharmaceutical drugs such as Vicodin and Adderall for pleasure has become a prevalent activity among adolescents: 9.9% of high school seniors report having abused prescription drugs within the past year.<ref name="Abuse"/>

In the U.S., teenage alcohol use rose in the late 2000s and is currently stable at a moderate level. Out of a polled body of U.S. students age 12–18, 8.2% of 8th graders reported having been on at least one occasion having consumed alcohol within the previous month; for 10th graders, the number was 18.6%, and for 12th graders, 30.2%.<ref name="NIDA">[http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/high-school-youth-trends] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930053712/http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/high-school-youth-trends|date=September 30, 2012}}, National Institute of Drug Abuse. (July 2012). "Drugfacts: High school and youth."</ref> More drastically, cigarette smoking has become a far less prevalent activity among American middle- and high-school students; in fact, a greater number of teens now smoke marijuana than smoke cigarettes, with one recent study showing a respective 23.8% versus 43.6% of surveyed high school seniors.<ref name="NIDA" /> Recent studies have shown that male late adolescents are far more likely to smoke cigarettes rather than females. The study indicated that there was a discernible gender difference in the prevalence of smoking among the students. The finding of the study shows that more males than females began smoking when they were in primary and high schools whereas most females started smoking after high school.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mudhovozi |first1=Pilot |last2=Mashamba |first2=Tshilidzi |last3=Sodi |first3=Tholene |title=Gender differences in cigarette smoking among university students |journal=African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance |date=1 September 2012 |volume=18 |issue=sup-3 |pages=117–130 |hdl=10520/EJC128326 }}</ref> This may be attributed to recent changing social and political views towards marijuana; issues such as medicinal use and legalization have tended towards painting the drug in a more positive light than historically, while cigarettes continue to be vilified due to associated health risks.

Different drug habits often relate to one another in a highly significant manner. It has been demonstrated that adolescents who drink at least to some degree may be as much as sixteen times more likely than non-drinkers to use illicit drugs.<ref name="Greenblatt">{{cite report |last1=Greenblatt |first1=Janet C. |year=2000 |title=Patterns of Alcohol Use Among Adolescents and Associations with Emotional and Behavioral Problems |id={{ERIC|ED448387}} |citeseerx=10.1.1.365.6700 |publisher=Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration }}</ref>

=====Social influence=====
[[File:Night Life in Cork, Ireland.jpg|thumb|Irish teenagers over 18 hanging around outside a bar. People under 18 are not allowed to drink alcohol outside the home.]]
Peer acceptance and social norms gain a significantly greater hand in directing behavior at the onset of adolescence; as such, the alcohol and illegal drug habits of teens tend to be shaped largely by the substance use of friends and other classmates. In fact, studies suggest that more significantly than actual drug norms, an individual's perception of the illicit drug use by friends and peers is highly associated with his or her own habits in substance use during both middle and high school, a relationship that increases in strength over time.<ref name="Duan et al">{{cite journal|last=Duan|first=L.|author2=Chou, C.|author3=Andreeva, V.|author4=Pentz, M.|title=Trajectories of Peer Social Influences as Long-term Predictors of Drug Use from Early Through Late Adolescence|journal=Journal of Youth and Adolescence|date=July 2009|volume=38|issue=3|pages=454–465|doi=10.1007/s10964-008-9310-y|pmid=19636757|s2cid=24306753}}</ref> Whereas social influences on alcohol use and marijuana use tend to work directly in the short term, peer and friend norms on smoking cigarettes in middle school have a profound effect on one's own likelihood to smoke cigarettes well into high school.<ref name="Duan et al" /> Perhaps the strong correlation between peer influence in middle school and cigarette smoking in high school may be explained by the addictive nature of cigarettes, which could lead many students to continue their smoking habits from middle school into late adolescence.

=====Demographic factors=====
Until mid-to-late adolescence, boys and girls show relatively little difference in drinking motives.<ref name="Kuntsche et al">{{cite journal|last=Kuntsche|first=E.|author2=Knibbe, R.|author3=Gmel, G.|author4=Engels, R.|title=Who drinks and why? A review of socio-demographic, personality, and contextual issues behind the drinking motives in young people|journal=Addictive Behaviors|year=2006|volume=31|issue=10|pages=1844–1857|doi=10.1016/j.addbeh.2005.12.028|pmid=16460883}}</ref> Distinctions between the reasons for alcohol consumption of males and females begin to emerge around ages 14–15; overall, boys tend to view drinking in a more social light than girls, who report on average a more frequent use of alcohol as a coping mechanism.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" /> The latter effect appears to shift in late adolescence and onset of early adulthood (20–21 years of age); however, despite this trend, age tends to bring a greater desire to drink for pleasure rather than coping in both boys and girls.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" />

Drinking habits and the motives behind them often reflect certain aspects of an individual's personality; in fact, four dimensions of the [[Big Five personality traits|Five-Factor Model]] of personality demonstrate associations with drinking motives (all but 'Openness'). Greater enhancement motives for alcohol consumption tend to reflect high levels of extraversion and sensation-seeking in individuals; such enjoyment motivation often also indicates low conscientiousness, manifesting in lowered inhibition and a greater tendency towards aggression. On the other hand, drinking to cope with [[negative emotion]]al states correlates strongly with high neuroticism and low agreeableness.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" /> Alcohol use as a negative emotion control mechanism often links with many other behavioral and emotional impairments, such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" />

Research has generally shown striking uniformity across different cultures in the motives behind teen alcohol use. Social engagement and personal enjoyment appear to play a fairly universal role in adolescents' decision to drink throughout separate cultural contexts. Surveys conducted in Argentina, Hong Kong, and Canada have each indicated the most common reason for drinking among adolescents to relate to pleasure and recreation; 80% of Argentinian teens reported drinking for enjoyment, while only 7% drank to improve a bad mood.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" /> The most prevalent answers among Canadian adolescents were to "get in a party mood," 18%; "because I enjoy it," 16%; and "to get drunk," 10%.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" /> In Hong Kong, female participants most frequently reported drinking for social enjoyment, while males most frequently reported drinking to feel the effects of alcohol.<ref name="Kuntsche et al" />