Drug Treatment for Teenage Girls

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Teenage girls now have the dubious distinction of having passed males in prevalence rates of drug and alcohol abuse.

Teenage girls are more likely to smoke, to abuse prescription medications and other illicit drugs. Teenage girls are also more affected by the negative repercussions of drug abuse, and are significantly more likely to experience depression, developmental problems, social interaction problems and sexual issues if using and abusing drugs. Drug treatment for teenage girls can require more intensive intervention than for teenage boys, as girls often suffer an increased devastation from drug and alcohol abuse, and suffer greater rates of concurrent mental health problems linked to substance abuse.

Why are teenage girls using drugs and alcohol?

To some degree, addictions professionals concede that the period of adolescence is a period of experimentation, and that to expect all teens to completely abstain from drugs, alcohol and sex is unrealistic, but they say that the later a teen begins to experiment with such behaviors, the better the eventual outcome.

Teenage girls now use drugs and alcohol more often than their male teen counterparts, and seem to be using these drugs for different reasons. While teenage boys use drugs for the intoxication and excitement, teenage girls are far more likely to use in response to peer or social pressure, or as a way to escape from personal problems or insecurities.

Teen girls perceive enormous pressure to fit within their social environment, and feel an enormous motivation to look and act a certain way. Drugs that may facilitate weight loss, increase self confidence and are used as a part of a peer group of social using friend's can become very attractive. Drug treatment for teenage girls needs to provide programming specific to the needs of teen girls, and treat the very different motivations towards use.