Why do teens abuse alcohol?

Why do teens abuse alcohol?

First of all, it is impossible to say exactly what factors (i.e. environmental, social, biological) are responsible for alcohol abuse in the case of any particular teen. Some people attribute mental illness as a leading cause of alcohol and drug abuse in teens. It is true that many people who suffer from mental health issues also abuse drugs and alcohol. Some researchers estimate that as many as 80% of adolescents that meet criteria for substance abuse or dependence also have a mental health diagnoses. However, research indicates that most teens that meet criteria for mental health problems start using/abusing alcohol and other drugs for the same reasons that other teens do. Most teens cite that initially they used drugs and alcohol because they were curious, they like the feeling, they wanted to have a good time, and they wanted to be social.

It is also true that parents sometimes think that their children will not try alcohol until they are of legal age. The thrust of the matter is that teens experiment with alcohol way before it is legal for them to drink it. Although experimenting with alcohol may be common among some teens, it is important that parents talk to their children about alcohol use and abuse. Parents talk to your children about the long and short-term effects and consequences that alcohol could cause in a person’s life. Remember that children may be influence by their friends and they may claim using alcohol or getting involved in alcohol use because of peer pressure. Parents teach your children how to say "No” to peer pressure and assure them that thinking and acting as individuals is very important. Explain to them that the decisions they make today has a consequence tomorrow.

For more information, please visit:

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

What is ADHD?

What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, is one of the most common mental disorders that develop in children. Children with ADHD have impaired functioning in multiple settings, including home, school, and in relationships with peers. If untreated, the disorder can have long-term adverse effects into adolescence and adulthood.

How do you know if your child has ADHD?

It is not always easy to tell. Most kids are inattentive and/or hyperactive at times. Some parents may excuse their child’s behavior and even say to themselves “kids will be kids” they will grow out of it. But when no toy or activity could keep your child’s interest for more than a few seconds or when your child’s disruptive behavior becomes too frequent to ignore, you may have to consider further professional assessment. You definitely want to keep an eye on some symptoms that may indicate a need for further professional assessment.

They have difficulty following instructions.
They have difficulty sustaining attention.
They often blurt our answers impulsively.
Excessive talking.
They are constantly fidgeting in their seat.
They often leave their seat when being seated is expected.

Although raising a child with ADHD can be a struggle, it is important that you remember that children with ADHD are not bad, or acting out on purpose. Keep in mind that children with ADHD act without thinking, they are hyperactive, and have difficulty focusing. It is also important to take into account whether your child acts this way in more than one setting. If this behavior is limited to one place (i.e. school or home) it may indicate that other factors may be causing the problem. Remember that children will benefit from behavior modification programs and cognitive behavioral therapy.

For more information, please visit:

National Institute of Mental Health

Have you ever seen a child behave in manner that you did not understand? Did you ask yourself why that child behaved in that particular way? I asked myself these two questions when my two year old nephew started behaving in an unusual manner. Recently, my nephew has adopted the behavior of spitting to people whenever they come to his house. He does not spit to any of the family members but he does spit to the friends of the family. His grandparents were very concern and embarrass with the new behavior of their grandson and they did not want anyone to think that the child had learned this behavior in their home.

I asked my aunt and uncle if they had notice when the behavior started and they said that it begun when his grandfather started the tutoring classes in the house. My causing thought that the child was miss behaving and that people were going to think that we had the rudest two year old in our family. I on the other hand, thought that my nephew’s behavior was just his way of expressing discontentment. Before he started spitting, he had the attention of all the household members and specially the grandfather’s attention. When he no longer had the attention, he begun spitting other people and in this way he expressed to the adults that he was not a happy camper and that he did not like to be ignored. We started correcting the bad behavior of my nephew by praising him when he would not spit and by ignoring his behavior of spitting when he would do it. We have to understand that children will adopt all source of behaviors in order to get attention; therefore, we need to learn how to lovingly modify and correct the bad habits in our children.

Why and How I created this blog

I am currently enrolled in a communication course at St. Thomas University. As part of the class curriculum we were asked to create a blog in something that we felt really passionate about. We began by brain storming a list of words that would describe our life’s passion. We were then asked to question ourselves why was the topic we chose our passion and then we were instructed to share our answers with our group. Each of the words that I listed was related to the field of psychology. I am a psychology major and one of my life’s desires has been to understand the human behavior and to understand why people especially children behave the way that they do in certain situations.

The second step we had to take in order to create this blog was to come up with a name and then register our blog to the different online sources in order to share it with other online users. The third step we had to make was to choose a design for our blog. I chose the color green which for me signifies hope and children are the hope of the future. I am creating this blog as a source of information where I could post articles related to the development of children and where I could post my ideas and share my opinion with others who are interested on this topic.