Why some young people take drugs and others don’t
Why some young people take drugs and others don’t
In order to deal with drug related issues we need to understand the reasons why some young people use drugs and others don’t. The factors which make some people more likely to use and develop an issue with drugs are called ‘risk factors’. The factors which seem to protect others from the risk of drug use are called ’resilience factors’. No one can predict who will go on to use drugs and each situation will be different. Some people will experience issues with drugs and others may not. We know that the younger a person starts using substances then there are higher risks that they will experience mental health or dependency issues later in life.
What parents can do is look at the factors below – young people who have many risk factors and few resilience factors are more likely to use drugs.
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Risk factors |
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Resilience factors |
Environmental context |
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Drugs are easy to get |
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Positive adult role models |
Family factors |
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Parents use drugs |
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No experience of loss or separation as a child |
Own lives |
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Starts smoking, drinking at early age |
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Starts smoking, drinking at later age |
Personality |
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Feels stressed |
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High self-esteem |
Education |
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Poor school performance |
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Gets on well with teachers |
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