What Puts Children at Risk for Substance Abuse?
Three types of risk factors increase the chances that children will turn to alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs:
- Child risk factors, such as serious behavior problems, attention-defecit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), violent acting out, alienation, or rebelliousness.
- Family risk factors, such as communication difficulties, too much or too little discipline, parents' use of substances, and child abuse or neglect.
- Environmental risk factors, such as peer rejection, lax enforcement of purchase-by-minors laws, extreme poverty, neighborhood crime, and failure to do well in school.
Risk factors are more likely to lead to drug use if:
- The occur or begin in early childhood and continue through adolescence.
- Children are exposed to several risk factors at the same time.
Last Updated: March 4, 2002
