Running head: FINAL PROJECT
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Final Project
Stephanie A. Vega
Southern New Hampshire University
FINAL PROJECT
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Getting Started
I have chosen to address the problem of Prescription Drug Abuse Among Rural
Teens. When we think about the drug abuse we automatically think of big cities, but now
in rural areas outside of the city there's no shortage either. Teenagers in these rural areas
are now able to get their hands on these pain killers and abuse them. The problem has
become why these teens from rural areas have become so much more likely to abuse
painkillers, then any other youth. A preventative measure that could be taken is by
implementing easily accessible medical treatment centers with stricter guidelines. This
would ensure hospitals and physicians abide by these measures regardless of location.
That can reduce the availability of these painkiller and therefore, decreasing the high
percentage of rural teens abusing them.
Opposite to contrary belief, according to data from a nationwide survey (Gever,
2010) showed that out of nearly 18,000 teenagers, 13.0% of rural teens reported non
medical use of prescription drugs, compared with 11.5% of teens living in suburban or
small metropolitan-area counties and 10.3% of those in urban areas. It is imperative that
we Americans come up with a plan to prevent the use of drugs use among teens. (Texas
A&M University, 2016) Between 2000 and 2014, the rate of overdose deaths involving
opioids (both opioid pain relievers and heroin) increased 200 percent, resulting in the
deaths of 28,647 Americans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), with a 14 percent increase from 2013 to 2014 alone. Deaths from
prescription painkillers alone quadrupled since 1999, killing more than 16,000 people in
the United States in 2013. If this isn't a reason to come up with a better plan, I don't know
what is.
FINAL PROJECT
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The first source, “The Role of Traumatic Event History in Non-medical Use of
Prescription Drugs,” includes data that factors in reasons why people use prescription
drugs for non-medical use. The goal of this (McCauley et al., 2009) research was to talk
to the reader about predicting variables of the different types reasoning’s and how its
associate's to drug use to try to prevent and/or end the use of non-medical prescription
drugs in teens. The researchers (McCauley et al., 2009) achieved their goal by allowing
us to see the results of more than one study done nationally and the different contributing
factors and variables and how it plays a role in drug abuse among teenagers. This source
draws on the concept of social norms. This source uses the concept of social norms in the
sense that from the findings of this study, it showed the risk factors of teens "friends" use
and availability of controlled substances were significant predictors of non medical use of
prescription drugs as well as use of the other three substances (alcohol, cigarettes, and
marijuana). Therefore, "friends" use being forewarning of non medical prescription drug
use is consistent with this factor’s prediction. Similarly, perceived availability is often
