Drug abuse and low self esteem

A study was carried out at Florida State University, claiming that boys who suffer from low self-esteem at the age of 11 are more prone to abusing drugs at the age of 20 than those who have no self-confidence issues whatsoever. In fact, 870 boys were involved in the research and they were asked many different questions related to potential connections between drug abuse and low self-esteem.

The Results

The first interview took place while the boys were still in their sixth grade. Then, more interviews were carried out during the course of nine years. Finally, the last interview was done when the boys were between 19 and 21 years old.

The drug dependency was described as one's inability to stop using the drug over a longer course of time, increasing the dosage or the frequency of taking the drug in the long run. Additionally, withdrawal from family or friends was taken into consideration as well.

Basically, boys who were suffering from low self-esteem while they were in their 6 grade had about 1.6 times greater chances of becoming drug addicts in their 20s, especially if they came from social environments where drugs, alcohol or tobacco use were not condemned in any way. Moreover, this type of drug abuse can take place as early as after 11th year of one's life. Thus, early intervention and putting of preventive measures to action can make all the difference when it comes to keeping an individual with low self-esteem away from drug abuse.

The parents need to pay close attention to their child's behavior, as well as teachers, reacting timely if signs of drug abuse are noticed. Finally, even though girls were excluded from this study, low self-esteem is likely to trigger depression and eating disorders in their case, rather than resulting in drug abuse.

Types of Drugs Abused by Teenagers

Adolescents are known to be prone to consuming any possible type of drug they can obtain. Thus, the list is quite long. However, some of the most commonly abused drugs, as far as teenagers are concerned, are tobacco products, cannabinoids such as marijuana and hashish, cold medications, inhalants, depressants, stimulants, narcotics, hallucinogens, dissociative anesthetics and club drugs.

Teenagers can obtain these drugs on the street or through various other sources. Either way, numerous subcategories of these drugs exist and are commonly abused by many teenagers. Therefore, if low self-esteem at an early age can cause their proneness to this type of abuse, prevention of this can improve their lives significantly.