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Adolescent Athletes and Substance Abuse
Marvin L. Sims, MSW, Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC),
Social Work Specialist II, Department of Sports Medicine,
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Fall 1996.
Drug use among adolescents in the U.S., including student athletes, is again
on the rise. Marijuana, the most frequently used illicit drug, accounts for
much of the increase, but the use of cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD, and other
hallucinogens is increasing as well. While parents, educators, and health care
providers have well-justified concerns about the use of cocaine and marijuana
by adolescents, alcohol is still the drug of choice for the majority of students
in middle school and high school. It is twice as popular as marijuana, and five
times as popular as cocaine.
The dictates and discipline of athletics help to counter the impulsiveness, irresponsibility, individuation, and conflicts with authority that mark the developmental stage we call adolescence, but the expectations produced by sports participation can make some adolescent athletes even more prone to substance abuse.
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The young athlete must perform and succeed both scholastically and athletically. The effort required to accomplish this is enormous, and naturally leads to increased anxiety and tension. As a result, some adolescent athletes will experiment with alcohol and other drugs. The reasons they cite for such experimentation are to relax, relieve stress, socialize, and have a good time. The problem arises when they can no longer enjoy themselves unless that are using drugs.
If you suspect an adolescent has a problem with alcohol, your first step
is to let the teenager know that you want to help. Next, make it clear
that you will respect his or her confidentiality. Then, refer the adolescent
to a professional counselor.
Addiction to alcohol is slow to develop, and may take many years of steady,
heavy drinking. But many adolescents who are not, and will never become,
true alcoholics will suffer from life-long problems that can be directly
attributed to drinking too much.
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Problem drinking
As a health care provider, you can initiate a discussion of alcohol
and other drug use as part of a broader discussion about the adolescent's
social relationships and emotional supports.
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Questions might include:
- How do you spend your leisure time?
- Who do you spend it with?
- Do you have close friends whom you trust?
- Do you use alcohol with your friends?
- Do you have non-drinking friends?
Indications
of problem drinking include:
- Neglecting obligations to family, friends, school, work.
- Frequent, heavy drinking.
- Morning drinking.
- Getting into fights when drinking.
- Getting arrested for drunken behavior.
- Blackouts - periods of total or near complete amnesia
while drunk.
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Referral resources and other help
For professional help or referral information, contact:
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, 1-800-662-2255
The National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA).
Your local chapter of Alateen or Alcoholics Anonymous (check the white pages in your community phone
book).
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