Module 3:CMN 554:Module 3 Primary Study Guide (Substance Abuse): Updated A+ Guide Solution

Substance use disorders (SUDs) account for about 6 percent of all deaths worldwide and cost an estimated $700 billion in the United States, alone. The vast majority of adults (approximately 80 percent) with chronic addiction started using drugs or alcohol as teenagers.  Although the majority of adolescents in the United States report experimenting with drugs or alcohol before graduating from high school, most do not progress to a SUD.  The estimated risk of developing an SUD by the age of 18 is 23.8 percent.  Risk of progression to an SUD is increased in those who have pre-existing disruptive behavior disorders or other mental health problems, academic problems, and/or have experienced chronic adversities or maltreatment during childhood. Adolescent-onset SUDs are more likely to progress to chronic addiction in adulthood and also increase the risk of developing mood and anxiety disorders as well as antisocial personality disorder.  At-risk youth can be identified in children as young as 3 to 5 years of age, often presenting with impulsivity, aggression, hyperactivity, inattention, poor persistence, and emotional lability.  This constellation of symptoms, characterized as “behavioral dysregulation,” is highly heritable and a strong family history of SUD is often present.  Such children often continue to have poor self-control, develop disruptive behavioral disorders (oppositional defiant disorder [ODD], attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], conduct disorder [CD]) in later childhood, and are at high risk of developing SUDs during adolescence. It is important for school personnel, pediatric primary care, and mental health clinicians to screen children for risk factors and refer for evaluation and interventions that may prevent or reduce their risk of early-onset SUD. It is also important to highlight that repeated use of drugs or alcohol can alter brain function in ways that reinforce or promote continued use and development of SUD even in youth without