AOD Use Disorders

Published: Thursday, November 29th, 2007

During the high school years, adolescents' use of AODs escalates significantly. People ages 14–18 typically start using tobacco and alcohol prior to other drugs - that is, they are considered gateway drugs.

Adolescents in treatment for AOD use disorders also are likely to smoke. Like adults, adolescents who pass through treatment programs—even those who stay abstinent—are likely to continue smoking after treatment; 80 percent of those who smoked at the time of treatment were still smoking 4 years later.

Treating adolescents and young adults can pose special challenges, because this population is developmentally different from adults. Adolescents identify strongly with their peers, and the social rules (or norms) and expectations that govern behavior may have greater influence on adolescents then on adults. Adolescent nicotine dependence also differs from adults—adolescents are likely to become nicotine dependent from a smaller daily dose.

Several recent studies suggest that the most effective way to treat adolescents with AOD use problems who smoke is to use client-centered therapies that motivate adolescents to change their behavior. When therapies that have been developed for adults are modified with adolescents in mind—for example, by emphasizing group over individual interventions, using motivational approaches, and educating patients about the effects of tobacco and nicotine—they can be effective in helping adolescents quit smoking, and do not negatively affect AOD-related outcomes. In treating adolescent smoking, clinicians should pay particular attention to how the adolescent's peer group views smoking, and to the role cigarettes play in his or her social life, and should teach skills to resist the temptation to smoke.

Drug Use Hurts

AOD Use Disorders

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