Teen Behavior With Technology Can Put Them At Risk For Addiction

Dec. 12, 2010 - PRLog -- Teen behavior can be a red flag for future problems related to drug addiction.  In the past few weeks, there have been two research studies published about teen behavior and drug use that parents need to be aware of.

Sex Drugs and Texting
Excessive texting and spending time on Facebook correlates with an increased risk of teens engaging in sex, drugs, drinking.

According to a new study, teens that engage in heavy texting and social networking may increase teens' risk for dangerous health behaviors.  The new study was released at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting and reported that heavy texters and networkers were much more likely to have higher rates of substance use and thoughts about suicide.

The study defined hyper-texting as sending more than 120 messages per school day and hyper-networking as spending more than three hours a school day on social networking sites.

Early Pot Smoking Harms Brain
Smoking pot in early teen years may cause long-term harm to the brain, according to a new study**.  Researchers at McLean Hospital have found that young adults who start smoking marijuana before they turn 16 may damage their brains more than people who start later.

According to the McLean Hospital research, developing teenage brains may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of marijuana.  The New York Times reports:

Young adults who started using the drug regularly in their early teens performed significantly worse on cognitive tests assessing brain function than did subjects who were at least 16 when they started smoking.

Challenges Addiction and Relapse Prevention Treatment Center Clinical Director Dr. Jeffery Huttman notes that it is important for parents to communicate with teens:

“Clear communication by parents about the negative physical, emotional and functional effects of drugs can help reduce teen drug use before it starts."

"Parents may wish to consider limiting cell phone and texting use to times of the day that they are permissible and helping their teenager to learn moderation. Putting the computer with internet access in a common household location that is readily viewed by parents can also help regulate time spent on social networking cites that may be excessive or unhealthy."

"Limiting the amount of alcohol, prescription and over-the-counter medications that are kept in the home to amounts that can be closely monitored and accounted for can also decrease potential substance abuse by teens.”

Learn more about Challenges Addiction Treatment Program on the Challenges website, http://www.challenges-program.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you are a member of the media interested in interviewing one of the doctors or experts on the Challenges Addiction and Relapse Prevention Treatment Center staff, please contact Michelle Lamar or Shelly Kramer at V3 Integrated Marketing. Contact us at info@v3im.com or call 816-200-2520.

If you are not a member of the media and you are interested in learning more about Challenges’ addiction and relapse prevention programs, please contact us by phone at 888-755-3334 or online at http://www.challenges-program.com.  The team at Challenges is available to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Challenges Addiction and Relapse Prevention Treatment Center
5100 Coconut Creek Parkway
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33063
(888) 755-3334 Toll Free