Heroin is a wildly addictive opiate that processes similar to morphine and usually appears as a white or brown powder, or as a black, sticky compound, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Short-term effects of the drug include a euphoric state of being and a clouded and drowsy feeling. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 453,000 Americans aged 12 or older abused heroin at least once within the year 2008. There are several factors that influence the use of this drug; knowing about them can help parents, teachers and loved ones prevent addiction and help addicts into treatment.
Exposure to a Disadvantaged Home Environment
The Disease Control Priorities Projects says that young people exposed to a disadvantage home environment, which includes parental conflict and poor discipline and supervision are associated with increased rates of heroin use. This usually overflows into academic activity, where impulsive or problem behavior are often indicative of home problems. Additionally, children who perform poorly in school are usually early users of alcohol and other drugs and are also most likely to use illicit opioids like heroin. The psychological implications of a broken home and the lack of structure can cause children and young adults to use heroin as a means of coping. Even after they become adults, heroin can provide relief of traumatic youth experiences if the addiction is allowed to progress beyond the teenage years.
Parental or Sibilng Use of Alcohol or Other Drugs
In a 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey, 1.3 percent of eighth graders, 1.5 percent of 10th graders and 1.2 percent of 12th graders used heroin at one point in their life. The increase of youth using illicit opiate drugs often can continue into adulthood as an addictive dependency issue. Growing up with a heroin-addicted parent can expose a child early on a variety of detrimental experiences that predispose the child to similar behavior. A 2009 National Institutes of Health study found that girls often are more resilient than boys when it comes to overcoming adverse events such as a parent or sibling heroin addict. The National Drug Intelligence Center says that adult heroin use rates are relatively stable while adolescent and young adult rates are increasing.
Peer Pressure
For individuals without disadvantaged home environments or parental or familial exposure to heroin, the most common mode of acquisition is through heroin-using peers, according to the Disease Control Priorities Project. Peer pressure alone may be enough for an adolescent to partake in heroin use if he is facing social issues and the awkward stages of growing up. Those with personal issues who do not find healthy means of emotional conveyance are often susceptible to peer pressure, according to the "Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health" article, "A Mathematical Model of a Heroin Epidemic: Implications for Control Policies."
References
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Heroin
- Disease Control Priorities Project: Illicit Opiate Abuse
- Eurekalert!: Girls Growing Up With Heroin-Addicted Parents
- National Drug Intelligence Center: Heroin
- "Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health"; A Mathematical Model of a Heroin Epidemic: Implications for Control Policies; Douglas R. Mackintosh and Gordon T. Stewart; 1979
