No one wants their child to go through the heartache of drug addiction. That’s why there are so many antidrug programs around. Their methodology is taught in schools, on TV, and at home to children. Their hope is that they will manage to scare them off drugs for life.
Why is it then that so many teenagers and young adults still turn to illegal substances? It’s because antidrug programs alone are not enough since some kids are more likely to follow this path than others. A child with one of these 4 traits is at a higher risk of drug addiction.
Why Antidrug Programs Don’t Work
We’ve all heard of D.A.R.E. and the “Just Say No” campaigns by now. The idea behind them is to teach kids the dangers of narcotics and tell them all the reasons that they shouldn’t take them. Their main message to children is to not give into peer-pressure and simply not take drugs.
While those programs have good intentions, they just don’t work. Kids and teens will hear what they want to hear, so just telling them to say “no” to drugs isn’t effective. Most of the time, trying to scare them off them with horror stories of things that have happened to people on drugs won’t work either.
The Method That WORKS
Since you can’t just scare kids off of drugs or tell them to be strong enough to say no, what can you do? Preventative programs seem to be the solution that parents, teachers, and caregivers have all been looking for.
The idea is to figure out if the children that you’re dealing with have any of the high-risk personality traits associated with drug abuse and addiction. From there, you can deal with the personal problems that those children face which makes them more inclined towards substance abuse. This is far more effective since it gets to the root of the problem rather than using scare tactics.
The 4 High-Risk Personality Traits
A lot of research has been done into drug addiction in recent years. Because of that, we can now understand the deeper reasons behind why people feel the need to abuse drugs. This also leads us to a better understanding of which kinds of people are more likely to follow this behavior.
These personality traits will begin to present themselves in early-childhood. They are impulsiveness, anxiety sensitivity, hopelessness, and sensation-seeking. Since each of these personalities is very different, they also come with their own reasons for being inclined towards narcotics.
Spotting these traits early will give you the ability to help the child in question overcome their negative emotions. It’s not necessary to change their personality completely, however. You only need to help them overcome any issues they may be having in a positive way. Doing so will make them far less likely to turn to drugs in later life.
Drug abuse is a scary subject, especially for parents and caregivers. No one wants to see their child grow up to suffer at the hands of drug abuse. Thankfully, by identifying these 4 personality traits and giving children specialized support, we can lower the chance of that happening.
Share this article with any parents, teachers, and caregivers that you know to help them support the children in their lives.
