AOD use in young people
The function of AOD use in young people
Experimenting with, and using, alcohol and other drugs (AOD) can be part of life for many young people (12-25 years).1, 2 As part of their development, young people are natural risk-takers, explorers and experimenters –this can include AOD.1, 2
And, just like adults there’s many reasons why young people use AOD:
- for fun
- for confidence
- to enhance mood
- to relax
- to be able to sleep/dream
- to stay awake
- to fit in with a group/socialise
- to increase sexual experiences
- to cope with physical or mental pain.3, 4
When young people are experiencing trauma or emotional pain, substance use can keep the trauma at bay.3
Many young people experiment with drugs and don’t experience significant harm.5, 6
Not all drug use leads to dependence or significant problems. But, when AOD is causing a young person harm – and even when they recognise this – it can be difficult to stop.
When do young people need support for AOD use?
There are situations where it’s more obvious a young person needs AOD treatment or support.
For example, a family member or carer might bring their young person to an appointment, or the appointment might be booked by a young person’s support worker. In other situations it can be more difficult to determine if AOD use is an issue for the young person, unless they identify it as a problem themselves.
Flags to check in on a young person’s alcohol or drug use include:
- low self-esteem
- changes in mood, appetite or sleeping patterns
- emotional distancing
- mental health needs
- poor school performance
- loss of interest in activities
- school disengagement
- poor connection with family, school and community
- relationship issues
- employment and financial issues.3,7
If a young person is experiencing these issues and drug use is not involved, they may still need support. Suggesting they connect with a youth support service like headspace can be a good first step. Even if they are using drugs, they may not see that as the problem or may not yet have trust in you to comfortably talk about what is going on for them.
In this situation it can be useful to have conversations with a young person over multiple sessions.
Young people’s level of AOD use can change dramatically from one appointment to another, so it may be more useful to build up a picture of the pattern of AOD use over time.8
There are a number of assessment tools that you can use to help determine the severity of substance use. See page 44 of Dovetail’s ‘practice strategies and interventions: youth alcohol and drug good practice guide’
Mental health and AOD use
Some common mental health symptoms experienced by young people are:
- hopelessness
- anxiety
- low mood
- irritability
- lack of quality sleep
- negative or racing thoughts.9
A young person experiencing mental ill health may use alcohol and other drugs to reduce mental health symptoms and experience temporary relief, for example using cannabis to relax or go to sleep or using ecstasy to enhance their mood with friends.10 Conversely, other young people may find drug and alcohol use triggers their first symptoms of mental ill health.11
AOD in young people can escalate when their mental health condition is present or untreated, and vice versa. This can worsen the symptoms of each condition.