Adolescent Risk Behavior And Varying Family Structures Social Work Essay Example

Adolescent Risk Behavior And Varying Family Structures Social Work Essay Example Adolescent Risk Behavior And Varying Family Structures Social Work Essay Adolescent Risk Behavior And Varying Family Structures Social Work Essay or 25.8 million members of the young person population surveyed, reported utilizing marihuana within the 30 yearss prior to the conductivity of the study. With both adolescent substance usage and changing familial constructions increasing over this clip it is difficult non to oppugn if a relationship between the two exists. The addition in divorce in the United States has besides led to much guess on whether or non the rapid alteration in household construction and support has affected the kids involved. It has been shown that divorce is a extremely nerve-racking clip for all members of the household, and being a kid of divorce I can certify to this fact. In most instances, one of parents greatest concerns is how divorce will impact their kids. As predicted, in times of rapid societal alteration ( ie divorce ) or hurt, societal control and norms are weakened and this rapid alteration serves to deregulate values, beliefs, and general norms ( Berkman et al. 1969 ) . As a consequence of the rapid societal alteration caused by divorce, kids may roll from their ethical motives and general norms and go more inclined to prosecute in hazard behaviours. They besides may turn to substance utilizations as a manner to get by or as a manner to suit in with their equal group. Flewelling et Al. found that higher degr ees of illicit substance usage were found for kids in non-intact households or non atomic places and that kids in these places were much more likely to prosecute in initial drug usage. These surveies suggest that there is a relationship between non-intact places and increased substance usage. This survey seems to propose that there is a relationship between striplings and household construction but to what extent is it the changing household constructions that is act uponing the behaviours. Bjarnason and co-workers found that striplings populating with both biological parents engaged less often in heavy intoxicant usage than those populating in any other household construction. The survey found that more alcohol ingestion was observed in kids populating with a individual male parent than a individual female parent. Through their consequences they concluded that increased intoxicant ingestion is associated with non-intact households and supports the thought that some relationship must be between substance usage and non-intact household construction. However, is it merely the deficiency of both parents in the place that cause increases in substance usage or can it change among the different non-intact constructions themselves? Hoffmann and co-workers research found that even after seting for sociodemographic factors the hazard of drug usage is lowest in mother-father households. Hoffman and collegues besides examined other household construction and found was that the highest degree of drug usage was found in striplings in father-custody households ( father-only and father-stepmotherfamilies ) This survey provides interesting consequences because it suggests that Ta difference does be between patriarchal and matriarchal household units. This brings up the inquiry of why are at that place differences between individual female parent places and individual male parent places. If it is merely the difference between integral households and non-intact households that causes the addition in adolescent substance usage so why is at that place changing rates of substance usage between female parent and male parent individual places? In farther analysis of the influences of household construction on adolescent substance maltreatment, it is necessary to see factors besides the physical construction of the household substructure as justification for increased substance maltreatment and analyze a apogee of household hazard factors and the quality of the familiar relationships. It is undeniable that parents are of import an of import portion in furthering healthy behaviours and wonts but is it merely the fact that Mom or Dad are absent at the dinner tabular array that makes a child participate in intoxicant and drug related activities? Much research has been conducted on this subject and most have found that it is non merely this household construction that determines the hazard behaviour but that there are other factors that cause the forms observed. The survey conducted by Flewelling et al. , supports the thought that household behaviours influence increased hazard behaviour in striplings both quantitatively and qu alitatively. The survey presents the thought that it is parental interactions and relationships that influence imbibing. That it is by proxy that the kids in for deficiency of a better word broken places turn to substance maltreatment. They suggest adolescent intoxicant usage appears to run chiefly through deteriorated dealingss between striplings and their parents ( Flewelling ) . This research brings up an of import point that maybe it is factors normally associated with broken places that caused the relationship between household construction and hazard behaviour. Besides, much of society will hold that parents play a critical function in learning their kids the regulations of society and what classifies as proper and appropriate behaviour. Parents provide subject and monitoring as a agency of forestalling aberrant behaviour and engagement in common hazards behaviours. It has therefore been shown that the relationship between parents and their kids is indispensable in act uponing a kid s risks behaviours peculiarly in respects to adolescent substance maltreatment ( Sokol-Katz et Al. 1997 ) . If a individual parent is excessively busy seeking to supply a comfy life manner for their household they may non be able to supply this necessary relationship that their kids need. Over the past two decennaries much research has been conducted to analyze this quandary in individual parent families. Most research workers support the thought that it is the behaviours and positions that tend to be associated with these individual parent places that are really interceding the stripling hazard behaviour. Harmonizing to one survey it is parental bound scene ( Turner ) , that is the cause of the form of increased hazard behaviour in kids from non-intact households. Turner et Al. goes on to explicate that because individual parentage is so demanding parents may be less likely to put bounds and allow early liberty to their kids. This increased independency granted so early in childhood seems to hold a correlativity with increased hazard behaviours. The survey provides the illustration of a sample of 8th graders and after school wonts. Some of the 8th classs were left place entirely while their several individual parents are at work and the others had their parent plac e when they arrived from school. The survey found that the kids who were left place entirely exhibited an increased prevalence in experimentation with baccy, intoxicant and marihuana. The survey concluded that it is parental engagement in their kids s lives that seems to intercede the opportunity of substance usage non merely the fact that the kid lived in a non-intact place. This provides of import penetration into the relationship between household construction and stripling hazard behaviour. If it is non merely the household construction that is doing the correlativity so there are methods that can be taken to cut down the job that is lending to the kid s substance usage other than the unhappy twosomes holding to remaining together. The deduction of this research is great. This research allows one to see if possibly kids in non-intact households are at greater hazard for accommodation because their parents do non hold clip to give the degree of support needed by the kids in an al ready tense late changed environment and that this is what causes the kids to seek support through drug usage. Although many would reason that experimenting with intoxicant and drugs is the norm for adolescents today, Brook and co-workers found that substance maltreatment may be positively influenced by increased parent-adolescent relationship quality and effectual parenting. ( Brook et al. 1984 ) . However how do we quantify what is effectual parenting and how does this contribute to take down stripling substance usage. A survey performed by Barnes et Al. supports the claim that parental support and monitoring are of import forecasters of adolescent results. Barnes et Al. explains that there is by and large a additive relationship between parental support and stripling results. They found that parents who show more support and who exhibit more attachment to their kids produce kids with a lower opportunity of hazard behaviours. The constitution of such interactions is critical to parental consciousness of many fortunes and issues that could potentially promote hazard behaviour amongst strip lings. Parental consciousness and engagement represents a sort of protection from exposure to drugs and intoxicant. It has been shown systematically to hold a positive influence on stripling substance usage through buffering striplings interaction and association with equals of active drug usage ( Wang et al. 2009 ) . Parental consciousness is successful for the obvious grounds, parents are non merely witting of where their kid is but they are besides knowing about the activities that they are involved in and about the persons whose company their kids maintain. Information such as this gives parents the ability to interact more closely with their kids. It allows them to foster safeguard them from a assortment of societal force per unit areas such as substance maltreatment, and maneuver them on a way of less hazardous behaviours. Research workers have demonstrated that strong parent-adolescent relationships tend to function as a resilience factor by cut downing the impact of peer dr ug influences ( Farrell and White 1998 ) . In add-on to the development and practicing of effectual parenting accomplishments and set uping a better more knowing relationship with their kids, the emotional connexion between parents and kids is of great importance in act uponing kids s hazard seeking behaviours. Surveies have shown that a relationship exists between the measure and quality of parent-child relationships and substance maltreatment. As a consequence of their surveies, Farrell et Als have shown that increased adhering with striplings correlatives to a lessening in the hazard behaviours in which they partake. An addition in trust and the development of a common apprehension between two people is frequently the consequence of any bond and therefore, it is apprehensible that increased parent-child relationships would expose such effects on substance maltreatment. When parents are actively involved in their kids s lives they tend to monopolise more of their kids s times merely because of the nature of their increased relationship. Thus, passing leisure clip with parents restricts chances of prosecuting in imbibing and drug activities ( Kuntsche et al 2006 ) . in add-on, high degrees of household struggle appear to increase the hazard for job behaviours, including those associated with intoxicant and drug maltreatment. When looking more specifically at the relationship between female parents and adolescents the same effects of struggle clasp true. Additions in mother-adolescent statements were related significantly to drug usage. Adolescents who classified their relationships with their female parent as positive, describing low engagement in intoxicant and illicit drug usage ( Farrell el al 1998 ) . This relationship demonstrates the importance of societal coherence within the household place. Feeling portion of a group, or in this instance portion of a household, has clearly been shown to be connected to both an person s physical and mental wellness. Overall it is difficult to contend that fact that some relationship undeniably exists between household construction and hazard behaviours. Because adolescent substance usage is such a big job there are many statistics to back up the relationship. However the existent cause of the relationship is what becomes ill-defined. Many research workers have found that non-intact household structures come with many factors that contribute to depression, solitariness, and sudden alterations. The emotional turbulences of the household can act upon a immature individual to experiment more to suit in, to get by with their emotions, or merely as an act of rebellion. Besides, in non-intact households, more specifically single-parent places, societal and economic factors contribute to a great extent to the household moral force. Without two parents in the place a single-parent must equilibrate clip between work, their kids, and their ain lives with it s ain stressors. Many parents struggle with this balance and the consequence is normally that their kids do non have as much support or monitoring that they need and turn to drugs and intoxicant. The relationship presented does non possess a black and white solution. Many methods must be used to do certain young person in non-intact places and even in integral places do nt turn to drugs and intoxicant. Parents should seek to interact with their kid every bit much as possible and constructing a strong household relationship should be of topmost importance. Many of the hazard factors associated with increased substance usage are non fixed and must be adjusted before they become a job.