Developmental psychology/Chapter 10/Drug & Abuse

• Hormonal surges
• Brain's reward center
• Cognitive immaturity

...are all contributing factors to teenagers abusing drugs. But their bodies and brains cannot handle them. Abusing drugs peak in teenage years and reduce towards adulthood when they realize that drugs isn't so good. Drinking alcohol/smoking increases around age 15, leading to increased depression and sexual abuse. Most teenagers abuse inhalants because they're easy to find.

What has changed over the years?

• Legal marijuana
• Electronic cigarettes on sale
• Opioid deaths increase
• Drug abuse has decreased since the 1970s because of synthetic narcotics. This may occur because of vaping.