Signs of Teen Alcohol and Drug Abuse

By: Terry McCarthy

Parents of teenagers are rarely without something to argue over, worry about, or be annoyed with. For instance,it's not unusual for teenagers to sleep late, talk back to their parents, or lose interest in the friends, hobbies and activities that occupied their time during elementary school. All teenagers go through changes that are both understandable and expected. However, when parents aren't able to tell the difference between normal teen behaviors and those that signal teen alcohol and drug abuse, the family is in for a crisis.

Most teenagers who abuse alcohol or drugs began their experimentation during their middle school years. As children enter adolescence, they undergo tremendous changes-changes that impact them physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. They begin to experience themselves as individuals, to question authority, and to feel a powerful attraction toward the opposite sex.

To make sense of their feelings, overcome social awkwardness, dispel boredom or simply to fit in, many young adolescents turn to drugs and alcohol, substances that are now as ubiquitous as soft drinks and pizza whenever teenagers get together socially. Teen alcohol and drug abuse leads easily to sexual activity, especially for teenage girls,and like many experiments, can quickly take on a life of its own.

The following warning signs of drug and alcohol abuse should be cause for further investigation by parents observing them in their teen.

• The teenager's normal questioning of authority becomes an absolute rejection of any authority, especially the parents.
• The teenager's experience of seeing him or herself as an individual degenerates into a prideful arrogance and a sense of entitlement.
• Decline in personal hygiene; e.g. the teen who once monopolized the bathroom now must be reminded to shower and shampoo.
• Changes in dress such as wearing long sleeves regardless of temperature, wearing layers of clothing or clothing with images of drugs or alcohol.
• Physical changes such as glassy eyes, dilated pupils or 'pinpricks' despite the ambient light, and dull, pasty looking skin.
• Unfamiliar odor on clothing, in hair or from skin such as chemical smells, pungent odors, smoke or alcohol.
• Changes in spending or borrowing habits, such as consistently having more or less money than usual and with no explanation for the source/cause.
• Lethargy that interferes with regular responsibilities and routine, including a persistent inability to wake up in time for school, go to a part-time job, care for pets, etc.
• Loss of interest in healthy activities and friends, coupled with an attraction to and association with peers who have similar symptoms.

Parents can find out more about these andother indicators of teen alcohol and drug abuse by visiting the following websites:

• By Parents, For Parents
• Health A to Z
• Parents, The Anti-Drug (Note: this site also features the "How Well Do You Know Your Teen?" quiz)
• The Parenting Teens page on About.com
• Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base

The Family Foundation School offers teens struggling with alcohol and drug abuse an integrated program of rigorous academics, daily therapeutic counseling, and 12-Step recovery. The school's safe,nurturing family environment provides the structure, responsibility and accountability troubled teens need to get back on track physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, while mending and building their family relationships.