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.