Adolescence arrives with a surge of emotional energy. It can empower youth to expand their capabilities, make new friends, depend less on parents, and live more passionately. The influence of parents remains important in a child’s life, and is necessary to support teens in making good choices.
Adolescence is also a time when some teens look to experience alcohol or drugs (such as heroine, cocaine, marijuana, and prescription medicine, among other substances). All too often, tragic results follow.
As therapists, how can we help more teens and families avoid or repair the damage and danger of substance abuse? What can we know about adolescent development to better understand the needs, risk factors and vulnerabilities at this life stage, and respond effectively?
Adolescence Spans More Years Than Most People Realize
Adolescence starts at about age 11 in girls, 12½ in boys, and continues into a person’s mid-twenties. Neuroscience tells us that the brain changes dramatically during this time and does not fully develop until age 27.
Brain remodeling refers to the process of physical and neurological transformation. Excess neurons that formed during childhood die off naturally — a process of synaptic pruning. A performance-enhancing sheath (myelin) grows along the remaining active neurons — a change called myelination. The myelin sheath allows impulses to flow up to 3000 times faster along the brain’s circuits. The brain becomes more specialized, efficient and more integrated.
New Thoughts, Feelings and Vulnerabilities Emerge
We also know that new ways of thinking, feeling and behaving appear — sometimes dramatically — during this time. Four qualities emerge with adolescence: “Novelty seeking, social engagement, increased emotional intensity and creative exploration,” says Daniel Siegel in his book Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain. These qualities inspire many young people to do amazing and wonderful things. However, without the benefit of healthy attachments, these drives can also misguide others toward dangerous, high-risk, even deadly behavior.
How vulnerable are adolescents to risky and dangerous substance use behaviors? The numbers are staggering. While they do not predict the risk for any one person, they reveal unmet needs for education and appropriate guidance for adolescents:
- One in five youth between the ages of 12 and 17 in the US have an abusive/dependent or problematic use of illicit drugs or alcohol
- Alcohol poisoning and related incidents cause 4,358 deaths each year for youth under age 21,
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