Causes and correlates of adolescent drug abuse and implications for treatment

FRANÇAIS :
Les facteurs de risque d'abus de drogue chez les adolescents sont étudiés à partir des publications de la littérature. Sont ainsi passés en revue les prédispositions biologiques, les déficits de socialisation, l'influence d'un contexte familial peu favorable (manque de communication, mauvaises relations parent-enfants, abus ou maltraitance...), les problèmes psychiatriques, l'inadaptation, l'influence des pairs, l'échec scolaire, la délinquance, le comportement anti-social et l'initiation précoce à l'usage de drogues. Des modèles de conceptualisation de l'étiologie de l'abus de drogues sont proposés mais la complexité du problème ne permet pas d'y trouver des solutions simples.
ENGLISH :
On the basis of the literature, the following risk factors for drug abuse by adolescents were identified: biological predisposition to drug abuse; personality traits that reflect a lack of social bonding; a history of low quality and consistency of family management, family communication, family relationships and parental role-modelling, a history of being abused or neglected; low socio-economic status; emotional or psychiatric problems; significant stressors and/or inadequate coping skills and social supports; inadequate social skills; history of associating with drug-using peers, rejection by prosocial peers due to poor social skills; a history of low commitment to education, failure at school; a history of anti-social behaviour and delinquency and early initiation to drug use. Models for conceptualizing the aetiology of drug abuse are discussed, namely Jessor's problem behaviour syndrome and Rhodes & Jason's Social Stress Model. It is clear that the path to drug abuse is complex, so simple solutions to the problem are unlikely to be effective. (Author's abstract.)