Research Paper on:
Substance Abuse and Teenagers

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
some teens might fall into drug and alcohol abuse. Human nature is defined by myriad elements, not the least of which is the social need to categorize people into distinct  groupings based upon certain criteria. These innate classifications can represent significant social power, as in the case of beauty, wealth and status, or they can symbolize aspects of society  that people would just as soon forget, such as juvenile rebellion. For teenagers to become fully functional within a society that expects perfection from those who least possess it,  the theory of structural functionalism illustrates how the presence of myriad internal and external considerations reflects the protective shield. "The idea of self-esteem, if you just tell a child  hes good, and hes well, hes fine, does not produce anything, nor does it increase the childs self-esteem. Children begin to feel that no matter what they do, that  its okay. Theyre losing the concept of right and wrong" (Citizens Commission on Human Rights, 2002). According to structural functionalists, societys social system is based upon the status  quo; those who step outside those stringent boundaries are immediately looked upon as an outsider. If there is ever a time in ones life when one experiences an abundance  of hostility from external sources, it is during ones formative teenage years; as such, adding yet another aspect of alienation -- choice of clothing, peer pressure, etc. - can  readily push a young man or woman into substance abuse. Research indicates there are a number of social and environmental factors that encourage  teenage substance abuse, with a significant number of adolescents engaging in some form of drug and/or alcohol testing period at some time during their formative youth without falling into the