Drug abuse risk factors can help determine whether you are likely to end up abusing drugs, and there are many of these risk factors that parents and family members should know. Some of the top drug abuse risk factors may be common knowledge, but others are far less known. Substance abuse affects individuals of all sexes, races, ages, economic backgrounds, and family histories. The risk factors involved can be different in every single case, so any treatment plan will need to discover the risk factors that an individual has before treatment and recovery can begin. The top drug abuse risk factors can include:
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A family history of drug abuse and addiction. This is also true if the family history involves alcohol abuse or addiction.
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The sex of the individual is also one of the drug abuse risk factors. Men are twice as likely to engage in drug use as women are, so males have a higher rate of substance abuse.
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Drug abuse risk factors include having one or more mental illnesses or disorders. Depression, mania, schizophrenia, ADHD, PTSD, and other mental disorders may cause the individual to turn to drug abuse in order to self medicate their symptoms.
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Peer pressure can be one of the big drug abuse risk factors, especially for teens and young adults.
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Loneliness and anxiety are both drug abuse risk factors, and the individual may start to use in order to feel better or forget their social isolation.
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Little family involvement and communication is another of the drug abuse risk factors.
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Taking a drug that is highly addictive can cause addiction, even if the drug is only used once.
What other drug abuse risk factors do you know about?