Q & A: Motivations For Use

Q: What are the reasons studies hesitate to mention a cause and effect to explain drug use? A: The research literature and books on the topic are replete with theories about cause and effect of drug use. In the case of adolescents, see for example Praitis, J., and Flay, B.R. 1995. “Reviewing theories of adolescent substance use: Organizing pieces in the puzzle.” Psychological Bulletin, 117(1), pp. 67-86. Effects of substance use are summarized in many sources. Perhaps the best is the latest edition of Weil, A., and Rosen, W. 2004. “From Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know about Mind-Altering Drugs.” Boston: Houghton/Mifflin. You can read a review of the book and buy a copy in our Resources section. The most important principle on the effects of drugs is that two factors other than the drug have a powerful influence. These are “set,” or the mental state of the user at the time, and “setting,” or the environment in which use takes place. For example, the effects of alcohol would be barely noticeable at a social event such as a museum fundraiser as contrasted with a college fraternity pledge night party. Q: Why do people see drugs as a way out? A: Whether pharmaceutical or illicit, psychoactive drugs can change the way people experience themselves and the world around them. For some people in some situations these effects are rewarding, for others they are not. Users who regularly experience negative emotional states such as depression, hopelessness, frustration, etc. may find an illegal drug that relieves these feelings and over time develop dependency on that drug. For these folks using is no longer recreational, it becomes their way to feel "normal." These users are at least psychologically addicted and, depending on the drug, may be physically addicted as well. Q: Why do teens use or experiment with drugs? Do you think it is because they are bored? A: The California Student Survey (on alcohol and drug use) has been administered every other year since 1985 to statewide samples of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students. One of the questions on the survey is exactly what you ask, except that it reads, “Why do kids your own age use alcohol or other drugs?” The alternatives selected by the majority of 11th graders (age approximately 16) have always been “To have fun” and “To see what it's like.” Both of these answers reflect positive motives of recreation and curiosity. Alcohol and drug use is a social activity for most youth who do it, and part of “party time.” Other reasons checked by about half of the 11th graders are “to see what it’s like” and “because their friends do.” The latter does not imply that they drink or use because their friends pressure them, however. Many describe getting high on marijuana as a way to bond with peers. “Seeing what it’s like,” reflects understandable curiosity about something that they have been warned against since childhood but turns out to be engaged in by many older students in their school. Curiosity among young people is certainly not a bad thing, but it can lead to trouble at times. Negative motives including boredom, getting away from problems, or to “feel better” are invariably selected by fewer than half of the respondents, with a little less than one third of 11th graders checking “because they are bored” as a reason “most kids use drugs.” Some students may use alcohol and drugs to blunt or forget personal problems, especially those relating to painful relationships with others. In these cases drinking or using is an attempt at self-medication, though an inappropriate and futile one that brings on further problems. These are the youth that need assistance, not only for substance abuse, but also for the personal demons that underlie that abuse. These positive motives reflect the social context that confronts drug education. In support of an abstinence message, children and teenagers are told that drug use is wrong and dangerous. For many teenagers these negative messages from adults are contradicted by positive messages from peers or their own experience. Until drug educators find ways to take this social context into account, their efforts will remain mainly ineffective. Q: Why are drugs a serious problem for today's youth? A: One could write a book on this subject! To answer briefly is to oversimplify, but here goes. First, drug use is not a serious problem for the great majority of young people in Australia or the USA. Perhaps half of older teens have tried an illicit drug, usually cannabis (marijuana), although a substantial majority has used alcohol. Among those who have tried either only a minority can be classified as "abusers" who experience problems (and/or cause problems for others) as a result of their use. Abusive drinking and using seldom stands alone, however. These youth usually have personal problems that predate their substance abuse, especially in their relationships with other people. Professionals that work with such youth report that their use often is an attempt to self-medicate. This group needs assistance rather than punishment. Second, in most developed, Western societies use of all classes of psychoactive drugs - alcohol, illegal drugs, and doctor-prescribed medications - is now common. Alcohol is intensively advertised and promoted. In the USA, so are prescription drugs for personal problems that once were lived with or dealt with by other means - anxiety, depression, even shyness. Many of these pharmaceutical drugs are advertised in television spots which adviser viewers to, "Ask your doctor about…" In this sense the behavior of young people mirrors the behavior of adults. Modern society seems to be drug-besotted! Nevertheless, most youthful drinkers and occasional users of some of the illegal drugs do so moderately and mainly as a recreational activity.