Bad parenting contributing to rising teen drug abuse

Drug abuse in teens is caused by a number of factors that include individual, family, genetic, and social causes apart from bad parenting. Studies on teenagers who are similar in age and gender reveal that parental influence is more profound than that of peers in use of alcohol and other drugs. On the contrary, teenagers having workable relationships with parents are observed to be less involved with drugs and are less influenced by drug-oriented peers. Especially, teenagers who start using drugs as juveniles are at higher risk of becoming addicted as compared to those who begin as an adult due to the infancy of the teenage brain.

What is bad parenting?

Bad parenting includes harsh treatment of children, causing emotional absence despite being a parent, giving silent treatments to exercise control, abusing alcohol or substances in front of the children, neglecting their basic needs, lack of parental support, not being able to cater for children’s needs because of everyday disputes and non-monitoring among others. Bad parenting hinders a child’s demeanour and psychology in the long run. The increasing numbers of teenage drug abuse are mostly attributed to bad parenting. 

Let’s now discuss in detail how various components of bad parenting can cause children to abuse drugs.

Harsh treatment

Harsh parenting that includes yelling, hitting, verbal or physical threats usually results in aggressiveness among children besides other emotional and behavioural issues. Harsh parenting involves a series of acts like reprimanding the child excessively even after admitting their mistakes honestly, embarrassing/ disciplining the child in front of everyone, not encouraging, withholding affection, avoiding physical touch, setting excessive rules, using a criticising tone, not praising, disrespecting their feelings and opinions, not giving your time, lack of trust, being overprotective, etc..

How bad parenting sets stage for drug abuse in teens

Children raised under the influence of bad parenting are mostly insecure with less self-confidence and brain development. They find themselves awkward in social circumstances. They may become anti-social with a poor knowledge of how their actions might be affecting others around them.  This is especially true with children whose parents displayed critical, negative, and coercive behaviours in front of them. They do not know how to cope with emotional, mental, and physical trauma because their parents set a bad example for them. 

Low confidence and peer pressure

At the same time, they also observe their peers excelling in academics and staying composed in worst of the circumstances. This observation leads them to thinking that they do not fit in the crowd. While some children try to adapt to the outside circumstances, the others resort to alcohol first and gradually upgrade to illegal substances to overcome the anxiety and depression they hide within themselves. It has been established via studies that parents, not shielding a child during a crisis or not teaching the child to handle negative emotions, rubs off on the child as loneliness and in-adaptability that never ceases their brains.

Lack of monitoring

Lack of monitoring is another situation that lands children in substance abuse. With a number of illegal resources lurking around the school campuses, it’s as easy as a pie for the teenagers to get their hands on drugs or alcohol without having to buy them from an official store. Due to advent of technology, groups of teens are developing specific ways to find drugs and distribute them to each other with ease. Teenage drug dealers operate in shrouds of secrecy around school campuses, potentially spotting and involving the vulnerable students on a regular basis. 

Lack of tracking

Parents who do not keep a track of their teen’s whereabouts and financials, often enable them to use drugs despite being at home. At school, teens have been noted to have access to a larger pool of drugs than what they would be accustomed to seeing in their own social groups. Most children make and carry fake IDs to obtain alcohol and substances from obtained from bars and shops.

Not exercising caution

Teenagers also take advantage of their own homes to get high. The liquor cabinets at home are frequently the targets of teens who either abuse drugs or alcohol themselves or sell them to other students at school. Medicine cabinets are the way to go for teens who abuse prescription drugs.

How to get help?

 If you suspect that your teen is abusing drugs or alcohol, they may need addiction treatment. Rehab is a good place to start for help and resources. Specialised care programs designed for adolescents coupled with after care services can help get them back on a healthy track.