SOCIAL PROBLEMS AMONG TEENAGERS

      A social problem is a condition that at least some people in a community view as being undesirable. Everyone would agree about some social problems, such as murders and DWI traffic deaths. Other social problems may be viewed as such by certain groups of people. Teenagers who play loud music in a public park obviously do not view it as a problem, but some other people may consider it an undesirable social condition. Some nonsmokers view smoking as an undesirable social condition that should be banned or restricted in public buildings.

      Every newspaper is filled with stories about undesirable social conditions. Examples include crime, violence, drug abuse, and environmental problems. Such social problems can be found at the local, state, national and international levels.

      There are many social problems that teenagers go threw.  Drugs and Teenagers Drug use is the increasing problem among teenagers in today’s high schools. Most drug use begins in the preteen and teenage years, these years most crucial in the maturation process. During these years adolescents are faced with difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, and there us a temptation to escape from conflicts. The use of drugs by teenagers is the result of a combination of factors such as peer pressure, curiosity, and availability. Drugs addiction among adolescents in turn leads to depression and suicide. 

      One of the most important reasons of teenage drug usage is peer pressure. Peer pressure represents social influences that effect adolescents, it can have a positive or a negative effect, depending on person’s social group and one can follow one path of the other. We are greatly influenced by the people around us.

      According to the lecturer from Faculty of Leadership and Management (FKP), Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM), Madam Marina Muneera Abdul Muttalib said that, in today’s schools drugs are very common, peer pressure usually is the reason for their usage. If the people in the social group use drugs there will be pressure a direct or indirect pressure from them. A person may be offered to try drugs, which is direct pressure. Indirect pressure is when someone sees everyone around him using drugs and he might think that there is nothing wrong with using drugs. Person might try drugs just to fit in the social norms, even if a person had no intentions of using drugs one might do it just to be considered “cool” by his friends. 

      Today drugs are considered to be an acceptable social phenomenon by many teenagers. Here is a personal example of drug use from a teenager, “When I started using, was only on weekends, at parties. I used drugs ‘recreationally’ and therefore thought I had no addiction problem. I used drugs like nicotine, marijuana or LSD to be happy or to have fun. I needed drugs. I kept using drugs, I used drugs like marijuana to fit socially. I had problems in my life, emotionally, that drugs only seemed to solve. Drugs made my problems worse. I started snorting cocaine. I injected heroin into my veins. I almost died. I was addicted.”

      In today’s highs schools the availability and variety of drugs is widespread. There is a demand for drugs and the supply is plentiful. Since drugs are so easy accessible, a natural interest in them may develop. Many teenagers today believe that the first use of drugs is safe. However even though there is no instant addiction with the first try, youngsters tend to experiment further. Soon a person could actively seek the euphoric effects of drugs. Drug addiction is the result of intense preoccupation with the dicer to experience the mental and bodily changes with drug use. The final and the most disastrous stage are when a person needs drugs in order to function adequately. Therefore availability, curiosity and experimentation could result in drug addiction among teenagers.

      According to the staff of government, Mohd Azuan Hussin, 26, said that, one of the most devastating side effects of drug addiction and abuse is depression. Depression is the result of chemical imbalance, environmental influence, or a combination of both. Using heavy and very highly addictive drugs as heroin, cocaine, opium and many others will cause sudden mood changes, deterioration of the immune system, nervous breakdowns, unusual flares of temper and many other side effects. Besides physical side effects, drug addiction can create problems in a person’s social circles. The person may run into many conflicts with his family and friends, resulting in desire for isolation. This in turn will create more problems since the person will have no social support. Furthermore, drug addiction is a financial strain especially for teenagers. When a person is addicted to drugs he will do anything to obtain money to fulfill his needs.  Drug addiction is the results of 3 “I’s”. Teenagers may think of their problems as Inescapable, Interminable and Intolerable. Life may seem bleak and miserable. Seeing no way out feeling lonely and no prospects for improvement leads to depression. This can further lead to attempted suicide.

      Many studies have found that drugs are a contributing factor to suicide. Using drugs may reduce inhibitions and impair judgments, suicide is a possibility. As one statistic illustrates 70% of all young people who attempted suicide used drugs. Illegal drugs, for example, weed, speed, acid, or ecstasy has always been a problem among the younger folks, the problems gets even more serious if it involves additive substances such as cocaine. The most common seen illegal drug around teens in BC is Ecstasy, or generally called “E”. E’s are usually involved in rave parties; people take E’s and dance overnight. The academic name for E is hallucinogenic stimulant, it generally affects the concentration of the brain, and it can change one’s mood, sleep, sexual behavior, body temperature and appetite. The sensation sight, sound and touch are enhanced, that’s why it’s usually used at discos and parties. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes to “get high” and about three to four hours to wear off. Side effects include heart and blood pressure problems, blurred vision, chills and sweating. The tablet changes every week and counterfeits are always around, it is not addictive. It is illegal to buy, sell, produce or posses any amount of E.

      The problems of teenage drug use, depression and suicide are evident in our society. These are very real and threatening issues that have to be dealt with. Going into the 21st century we have to face to problems of our future generations. There are many non-profitable organizations that help teenagers to cope with drug use. There are help lines, community services that offer information about drugs, and individual counseling is available almost in every education institution. There is help available to those who seek it.

      Unplanned pregnancy and the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases continue to be prevalent problems among adolescents. These problems often result in adverse health, social, and economic consequences for teenagers and their families.

      Currently, there is little practice-based information concerning interventions designed to improve communication comfort about sexually related issues within families, especially between parents and their adolescents. Adolescents often engage in a wide range of high-risk sexual behaviors that can result in adverse health, social, and economic consequences for themselves and their families. Many of the programs serving teens and their families do not utilize social learning or other similar approaches to facilitate effective communication about sex between parents and their adolescents. In addition, many programs do not emphasize effective familial communication about adolescent sexuality, specifically the prevention of pregnancy and STIs, and this lack of attention may explain why changes in adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, and skills have not always resulted in corresponding changes in their risk-taking sexual behaviors.

      According to the student from Faculty of Syariah and Law (FSU), Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM), Nur Nabihah Johari,22, said that parents need accurate information and support to feel more comfortable and confident that they possess the necessary communication skills to be effective in discussing risk-taking sexual behaviors with their adolescents. Although effective familial sex communication can lead to decreased adolescent risk-taking sexual behaviors, discomfort experienced by parents and their adolescents in speaking about adolescent sexuality can prevent effective sex education from occurring.

      In terms of communication an emphasis on comfort needs to be given to helping parents increase communication skills while strengthening relationships. Adolescents who are sexually active are more likely to report poor communication with their parents.  Sex education that provides skills training based on social-learning principles can be an important type of practice-based educational approach.  Social-learning theory suggests that the norms and behavior of the people around teenagers, particularly parents, influence their behavior. Most sex education programs communicate that it is desirable to postpone sexual intercourse and that unprotected sex should be avoided. These programs may take place in school or community settings such as hospitals. They usually combine information on human sexuality with specific, concrete skills-building sessions on how to resist influences encouraging sexual activity. Some of these programs also work to increase parent–child communication on sexuality and sexual choices. Although evaluations of these programs have not provided conclusive evidence, they do appear to be effective in postponing sexual activity among virgins. It is important to note that while they do not appear to influence the level of sexual activity of those already sexually active, these programs may help these teens use contraceptives more effectively.  Teens not only need information about their sexuality, but they also need to know how to apply this information in daily life. For most people, including adolescents, there is usually a gap between what people know and what they do. Therefore, sex education programs need to place emphasis on teaching decision-making skills, life skills, and life planning.

      Social workers and other helping professionals need to take leadership roles in designing, implementing, directing, and evaluating comprehensive and effective practice interventions in all areas of practice, including those that involve familial sex education approaches and programs. However, practitioners must first recognize and then acknowledge that parents have a vital role to play in prevention efforts. Preventative sex education efforts of most programs still largely exclude parents as agents of change in agency-based interventions intended to reduce adolescent risk-taking sexual behaviors. Sex education information has been shown to be more effective when combined with familial sex communication^. It seems reasonable to believe that parental involvement could be successfully incorporated into existing sex education programs. Doing so may result in both reduced risk-taking sexual behaviors by adolescents and increased levels of comfort during familial sex communication.

      For the conclusion, one of the most important goals is to prevent children from violating any further so they can become responsible and successful adults. The second most important goal is to protect society from the criminal acts of children. Parents need to teach children self-control by monitoring the child’s behavior, recognizing the different behaviors when they occur, and punishing those which are unacceptable. Through education, treatment, and affection, prevention of criminal acts reaches juveniles and assists them into a healthier and better life. To be able to use these components at the earliest stage possible is to keep these teenagers away from ever entering the juvenile justice system in the first place. With the help of education, training, and support for the staff, probation officers can be better prepared to take on diverse cases of all types. The juvenile justice system needs improvement. Probation officers, judges, and family members need to make effective decisions about who should really be incarcerated and/or receive probation. If an offense made is not extremely serious and the client and officer can agree on a punishment, the child does not need to present himself upon a judge. If either the client or officer wants to make an appearance in court, an agreement cannot be reached, or threats have been made involving either parties or others, a court decision is most suggested.  In addition, to making the correct choices, good community programs are also necessary to place delinquents in a better environment to be able to succeed. Though juveniles tend to steal, trespass, fight, drink, take drugs, use profanity, run away from home, and miss school, many solutions were being thought about to prevent these flaws. The first has already been mentioned and deals with “toughening up” and placing juveniles in adult courts. The removing offenders from society for longer periods of time will reduce crime. Those who have not committed a serious crime will come to the realization of the possible punishments such as life in prison, the death penalty, and others. Violent offenders would be less likely to repeat their crimes by learning from their first lesson.