Service Reflection

Imagine growing up on an empty stomach, constantly thinking about when or if you will eat another meal. Everyday children form around the world go to bed hungry and in pain. They don't have a pantry, a refrigerator, or maybe even running water. Feed My Starving Children is a Christian non-profit organization helping malnourished children from 70 different countries receive meals. All of their food is scientifically proven to bring children back from the devastating effects of starvation and malnutrition. In one meal, a child will receive vitamins, vegetables, soy (protein), and rice (carbs).

Over the past few weeks I have been volunteering at the Feed My Starving Children site in Aurora, IL. There are many different tasks that one may chose from such as packaging the meals, boxing, labeling, etc, however each time I volunteered I was packaging the meals. On April 21st, in particular, I went with my friend from school, Morgan. This experience was especially unique because we ended up in a group with other students, which gave us a common link. Morgan and I switched off with the other students between scooping the ingredients, and sealing the bags. Although each session is two hours long, FMSC plays upbeat music that makes the time fly by. Its almost as if you are trying to keep up with the rhythm and pack faster and faster each time, increasing the amount of meals you end up with. There were a variety of people there from students, to a church group, to ordinary people wanting to contribute their service. The entire environment was cheerful, exciting, and created one goal: to save children.

When in the process, I couldn't help but to smile and laugh. The thought of knowing you are saving a child's life from starvation is amazing. The experience really made me think about how much I have living in Naperville, and how my problems are nothing compared to what children in Haiti or Brazil have to deal with. I have never had to worry about my next meal, water, shelter, clothing, etc, and these children worry about that every day while still keeping a smile on their faces and gaining joy from such simplistic things.

At the end of the session everyone cleans up their station, and has the opportunity to pray over the boxes they have packed. Although I did not attend the prayer with Morgan, I did attend the prayer my first time volunteering about a week earlier. There was a school girl that couldn't have been more than eight, who raised her hand to say the prayer, and what she said brought tears to my eyes. She asked God to keep the boxes safe while they traveled, bring health to the children receiving them, and thanks for the people who packed them. That was all routine, but what she said after was powerful. She asked God to help and watch over the children who are hungry, who are abused, who are in sickness, and who are without families. It came out so natural, and without hesitation. It was hard to hear, and a few other adults were also moved by it as I could see the tears in their eyes.

Overall, we packed over 100 boxes that day and gave 57 (if I remember correctly) children meals for an entire year. We were shown photos of a little boy before and after he started eating FMSC's "mana pack" meals, and the results were reassuring that I had done something great. In such a small amount of time I was able to help save lives of children around the world. After volunteering for FMSC several times now, it is something I will absolutely continue to do as it gives such a positive and rewarding feeling. I would recommend to anyone looking to help the community, or who has a few hours to kill, to volunteer at their local FMSC site. It is a simple online process, where you pick a day, sign up, and attend!

Allowing Source To Speak Exercise

Comorbid MHDs are highly prevalent in youth who are substance abusers" (Lamps et al. 265).

• Additional psychiatric disorders are increasingly present in adolescents who abuse substances
• Adolescents who misuse and abuse substances have higher presences of co-occurring psychiatric disorders.
• Adolescents who misuse and abuse substances have an increase in co-occurring mental health disorders than those who are abstinent from substance use. 

"CBT focuses on the interactions between behavioral, cognitive, social, and development factors to bring out not only changes in individual behavior, but all changes in his/her perceptions" (Deas and Thomas 183).

• Cognitive based therapy (CBT) targets the relationship between behavioral, cognitive, social, and developmental factors in youth to change their behaviors and perceptions. 
• By focusing on the behavioral, cognitive, social, and developmental factors, cognitive based therapy (CBT) is able to change adolescents behavior and their perceptions. 
• The core elements of CBT target the relationship between behavioral, cognitive, social, and development factors which contribute to positive changes in an adolescents behavior and perceptions. 

At the Medical College of Virginia, Lamps et al. explains the correlation between mental health disorders (MHDs) and substance use disorders (SUDs). It is seen that adolescents with SUDs have an increase in co-occurring disorders (CODs) such as MHDs like depression, anxiety, attention-deficit disorder/attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), etc (Lamps et al. 265). Such MHDs create psychological imbalances that may contribute to the causes of substance use and abuse. In addition to diagnoses, effective treatment for adolescents with CODs should address all disorders to ensure that underlying factors are also treated. From and article in The American Journal on Addictions, medical professionals Deas and Thomas provide an overview of adolescent substance abuse treatment. Within the five treatment modalities for adolescents suffering from SUDs, the most promising for co-occurring MHDs was cognitive based therapy (CBT). The core elements of CBT targets the relationship between behavioral, cognitive, social, and development factors which contribute to positive changes in an adolescents behavior and perceptions (Deas and Thomas 183). Specifically, the cognitive factors that may be imbalanced with MHDs can be focused on in CBT to try and improve overall psychological function. 

Connecting Sources Exercise

Source A: "Youth With Substance Abuse and Comorbid Health Disorders." Lamps, Chrisopher, and Aradhana Sood, and Rishi Sood 

Source B: "Risk Factors for Adolescent Substance Abuse and Dependence: Data from a National Sample" Kilpatrick, Dean G, et al. 

Source C: "An Overview of Controlled Studies of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment" Deas, Deborah, and Suzanne E. Thomas

Project Proposal

Project Proposal

Although society tends to think of addiction as a personality trait, it is actually a medical illness that must be diagnosed and treated with the care of a medical professional. In my research paper, I intend to investigate adolescent substance abuse, and more specifically what the causes are and what prevention and/or treatment is available in the United States. In order to do this, multiple aspects of adolescent substance abuse must be looked at.

Firstly, I must acknowledge that adolescence is a vulnerable time period when one is developing physically and cognitively, both of which create an identity crisis. Through research I was able to find that the cognitive development in adolescents is a critical period in which their decision making processes are still developing, and their egocentric thinking contributes to risky behavior. With that in mind, it leads me to raise the question, to what extent does adolescent development and psychology play a role in the use and abuse of substances?

Secondly, I must find out if there is a cause for adolescent substance abuse. This pushes me to ask the question “what risk factors contribute to adolescent substance use and abuse?” Through research I have been able to target such factors that include victimization, witnessed violence, familial use, etcetera, all of which are environmental factors that lead me to a similar question; what are the cognitive risk factors for substance abuse? From research on adolescent substance use and abuse, it is seen that mental health disorders (MHDs) are often associated with substance abuse disorders (SUDs), and vice versa. With information on why substance abuse may occur I hope to answer two questions. First, what are the treatment modalities used in adolescent substance abuse? Second, how does treatment address co-occurring disorders (CODs)?

Lastly, I must look at the current prevention practices of adolescent substance use and abuse. Through research I have found that there are two main approaches, educational and deterrent. Between the two, I intend to focus on the effectiveness of the educational approach as I believe it is more effective because it targets the psychology behind the reasons that adolescents might use and abuse substances. 

Using the research I have gathered on risk factors for substance abuse, co-occurring disorders (CODs), adolescent psychology, recognition and management, treatment studies, and prevention approaches, I intend to answer all of the questions previously mentioned. Hopefully, society will no longer look at adolescent substance abuse as a negative choice of personality, but will see that it is an illness with many contributing factors that must be addressed accordingly. 

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Deas, Deborah, and Suzanne E. Thomas. “An Overview of Controlled Studies of Adolescent    Substance Abuse Treatment.” American Journal on Addictions 10 (2001): 178-189. Print. 22 Mar. 2015.

In this peer reviewed article from the American Journal on Addictions, medical professionals provide an overview of adolescent substance abuse treatment. Deas and Thomas focus on five treatments including family-based and multi-systemic interventions, behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, pharmacologic interventions, and twelve step approaches for adolescents suffering with substance use disorders (SUDs.) Deas and Thomas reference nine different studies that include the five treatment modalities and their efficacies. They concluded that although some therapies have contributed to the success of adolescent SUDs, there are still many limitations in the approaches. Provided the research, this article will help generate my thesis of which treatment approach or approaches are most effective for adolescent substance abuse, and what may be included that would enhance the outcomes such as standardizes assessment instruments.

Griswold, Kim, et al. "Adolescent Substance Use and Abuse: Recognition and Management."    American Family Physician 77.3 (2008): 331-336. Print. 19 Mar. 2015.

This peer-reviewed source is written by medical professionals from the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Buffalo, New York, published in American Family Physician. Griswold et al. emphasize that family physicians are in the place to recognize adolescent substance use and abuse. They provide the prevalence of adolescent substance use disorders (SUDs,) and how they are often associated with comorbid mental illness such as depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder/ attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD). Griswold et al. explain the contributing factors to adolescent substance abuse that may include environmental factors, psychological dysregulation, familial substance use, and cultural and ethnic factors. The information provided will give additional support to my thesis that co-occurring mental health disorders play a role in adolescent substance use and abuse. The information provided on family and community roles in the management of adolescent substance use and abuse will further support my position that it is imperative that adolescents have a network of support to help prevent the use of substances, and furthermore help the recovery from abuse of substances.

Kilpatrick, Dean G, et al. "Risk Factors for Adolescent Substance Abuse and Dependence: Data from a National Sample." Journal Consulting and Clinical Psychology 68.1 (2000): 19-31. Print. 20 Mar. 2015.

This peer-reviewed article is from the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. It contains a sample of national data gathered from a phone interview focused on adolescent substance use and the risk factors which include victimization from assault, witnessed violence, post-traumatic stress disorder categorization, and familial substance use. Kilpatrick’s et al. hypothesized risk factors proved to have a positive correlation to an increased risk of substance use or dependence. However, the study conducted was not a longitudinal investigation, and only used one assessment method. The information provided will help support my belief that environmental factors play a huge role in the risk of substance use/misuse in adolescents. Kilpatrick’s et al. findings of substance abuse risk factors may also be considered risk factors for developing co-occurring mental health disorders, which will further my investigation into the psychology of adolescent substance abuse.

Lamps, Christopher, and Aradhana Sood, and Rishi Sood. “Youth With Substance Abuse and Comorbid Mental Health Disorders.” Current Psychiatry Reports 10 (2008): 265-271. Print. 25 Mar. 2015.

This peer-reviewed article from Current Psychiatry Reports includes information provided by medical professionals from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. Lamps et al. explain that many patients with a mental health disorder (MHD) also have an SUD, and that most patients with an SUD have co-occurring psychiatric disorders, including MHDs. In this article, Lamps et al. review theories of development, treatment options, and prevention techniques about adolescents with co-occurring disorders (CODs) that include SUDs and MHDs. It is concluded by Lamps et al. that effective treatment for adolescent CODs should address all disorders. The information provided will support my thesis that despite the common belief that substance abuse is a personality, it is really a medicalization that often occurs with MHDs, and must be treated accordingly.

Tze, Virginia M.C., and C.-H. Johnson, and Jacqueline Pei. “Effective Prevention of Adolescent Substance Abuse- Educational versus Deterrent Approaches.” Alberta Journal of            Educational Research 58.1 (2012): 122-138. Print. 22 Mar. 2015.

This peer-reviewed article from the Alberta Journal of Educational Research serves to inform scholars, educators, and policy makers of adolescent substance abuse prevention. Tze et al. investigate the effectiveness of educational and deterrent approaches, and provides the psychology behind the two preventions. In depth empirical evidence suggests that the egocentric thinking, identity crisis, social learning, and decision marking processes of adolescents contribute to the reasons behind their substance use and abuse. The information provided will support my thesis that psychological factors of adolescent development should be incorporated into educational prevention programming because it allows for the targeting of specific reasons that adolescents use and abuse substances.

An important note on this source is that it is from Alberta University, a Canadian university, while the rest of my research is based on the United States adolescent population. Most of Tze’s et al. information is the same or very similar to that of the United States. The psychology and development of adolescents does not change, per se, by a small difference in location, however, the medical treatment available in Canada may be different than that of the States. 

3 Sources with MLA citation

Acierno, Ron., Best, Connie L., Resnick, Heidi S., Saunders, Benjamin., Schnurr, Paula P. "Risk                Factors for Adolescent Substance Abuse and Dependence: Data from a National Sample."                   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 68.1 (2000): 19-31. Print. 20 Mar. 2015.

http://ezproxy.lewisu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pdh&AN=2000-13544-003&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Ames, Susan L., Skara, Silvana., Sussman, Steve. "Substance Abuse Among Adolescents." Substance       Use & Misuse 43 (2008): 1802- 1828. Print. 20 Mar. 2015.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lewisu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d4e99887-1c8b-4304-856d-ddd01706c166%40sessionmgr198&vid=1&hid=115  

Aronoff, H., Kahn, LS., Kernan, JB. "Adolescent Substance Use and Abuse: Recognition and                     Management." American Family Physician 77.3 (2008): 331-336. Print. 19 Mar. 2015.

http://ezproxy.lewisu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mdc&AN=18297958&site=ehost-live&scope=site

New Source

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=cb8a7457-66a9-4883-8364-5ec0f49a743a%40sessionmgr4002&vid=0&hid=4212&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=mdc&AN=18297958

"Adolescent Substance Use and Abuse: Recognition and Management"