Substance abuse and risky behaviors have been a growing concern for the Kutztown Area and surrounding community. This leaves parents, teachers and community members with many questions: What can be done? How can we prevent this from happening? Where can we go for children and teens that need help now? Families struggling with substance abuse often feel left out in the cold, and due to the stigma attached to substance abuse and mental illness are anxious to ask for help.
The link between mental illness and substance abuse has been well documented in several studies. It has been recorded that children and teens with untreated mental health issues such as anxiety and depression “self-medicate” with illegal substances as a form of escape. Children with externalizing behaviors, such as attention deficit disorder and oppositional defiance disorder, are more prone to risky behaviors and often find themselves in situations where they are tempted to try drugs.
According to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, almost 21 percent of children living in the United States have a mental health or substance abuse problem that can affect their ability to function. SAMSHA also points to a 2005 study they had funded that showed that teens who experienced a depressive episode in the past year were more than twice as likely to use drugs compared to teens who were not experiencing emotional turmoil.
Some eye opening statistics also shed light on the lack of identification and gap in services for children who are experiencing mental health illness or substance abuse problems. SAMSHA reports that 60 percent of children who have a diagnosable mental health condition do not receive counseling services. SAMSHA goes on to say that out of the 6.1 million youths between the ages of 12 to 17 who could have benefited from substance abuse treatment, only 1.1 million were enrolled in services. That means that a staggering five million teenagers across the United States did not receive the help they so desperately needed.
What can be done to reduce this enormous gap in treatment? First, there needs to be a reduction of the stigma attached to mental illness and substance abuse. By educating the community of the risks associated with untreated mental illness or substance abuse, counseling treatments will be more commonly accepted and requested.
Second, early detection and identification is key. As children grow, they develop resiliency in coping with life’s hardships in healthy ways. However, this behavior develops over time and many children need the assistance of professionals such as teachers, social workers, clergymen and parents to help guide their behaviors in a positive direction so that they can grow into healthy adults. Some specific behaviors in early childhood which can predict possible difficulties in adolescence are sensation seeking behaviors (a tendency to desire novel or intense experiences), impulsivity (a tendency to act without thinking) and hopelessness (the expectation that only negative events will occur to the child).
According to a 2013 study completed by Battista, et.al, for The International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, the three personality traits above were shown to predict future mental illness and substance abuse use when these children grow to be adolescents. The good news is that the behaviors outlined above are often malleable and the risk can be reduced by behavioral interventions, and counseling. Other environmental factors, such as an absent parent due to military deployment or incarceration, frequent relocation of the family or early traumatic events such as a loss of a family member or divorce early in the child’s life can also lead to emotional disturbance. This in turn puts the child at greater risk of substance abuse in the future. By enrolling children in counseling services early on, they can develop the tools they need to cope with these environmental hardships and gain skills that can help them cope with hardships in the future in healthy rather than self-destructive ways.
Emphasis on “protective factors,” or factors that prevent mental illness and substance abuse, can also help reduce these behaviors and help the child feel loved and nurtured. These factors include family stability, supportive and nurturing relationships, strong community and school commitment and participation in faith organizations. By ensuring that your child has these facets in their lives, their risk for future mental illness and substance abuse drops drastically.
Although early identification and treatment is important, it is never too late to seek treatment for your child. There are several mental health and substance abuse agencies in the area that are more than willing to help your child if they needed. Where do you start? Reach out to a school guidance counselor, who often has resources in the area and can point the family in the right direction. Another place to turn is your child’s insurance company. Many insurance agencies have a mental health and substance abuse number, usually located on the back of the insurance card. This number will link you up with your insurance representative who can help you find mental health and substance abuse providers in your area. Speaking to clergymen or community members is also an option, and often times they too can help refer your child to agencies in the area.
The more our community sheds light on this issue, the less stigma and negative connotations will be associated with it. Mental health and substance abuse is not a personality weakness, or a reflection of “bad parenting.” It is an illness as much as the common cold or chicken pox. Like any illness, it needs fast, early and effective treatment. By speaking about these issues and getting your child the treatment they need, we can reduce the gap of diagnosed teens that go untreated and better the overall health of our community.
