Interdisciplinary Research Paper

Abstract

It is undeniable that substance misuse has become one of the most common episodes in modern society, with adolescents being the most common victims. According to studies, there is a strong link between teenage substance abuse and juvenile delinquency. Through this aspect, the interdisciplinary approach comes in since the issue of substance abuse among adolescents affects them and affects their social and family life. However, there have been several efforts made by different institutions to look for solutions that can help solve the issue and minimize its adversities. Together with the help of the policymakers, the government has found a restless battle to ascertain the best route to follow when solving the issues of adolescent substance use. The research found that most substance abuse cases that the youth gets associated with and gets arrested for are not actions they do out of their will. Several dynamics that contributed to the problem include; peer pressure, family issues, and psychological issues. Through the research, some recommendations were made to help the organizations solve the issues together with the policymakers to give the best form of care to those affected or rather involved in the issue of substance use, specifically the youth and adolescents. The research found out there are procedures set to help in the trials of any accused adolescent to ascertain that their act was fully their decision or other reasons that may have caused them to do the same. The research also highlighted the need to ensure a sensitization of the impacts and the effects of substance use among the youths and its impact on the entire society. 

Interdisciplinary Research Paper

Substance abuse has become a controversial issue in the modern-day generation, and several aspects need to be considered and policies adjusted to ensure that the issue is mitigated or curbed completely. There are several challenges that those caught up in substance abuse face, and one of them includes the fact that they get isolated from the community or, rather, no one cares much about them. This issue can be considered a misunderstanding since the issue of substance use has several causes. Some of the causes are controllable but under specific conditions and examination. There is also the insight that will be highlighted in the research. Several stakeholders ensure that they generate regulations and policies that will help contain the adolescents involved in substance abuse and mentor those recovering from it. That will be met by having a program that receives those released from jail to avoid returning to the same business and activities that got them in jail. The research also highlights the interdisciplinary relationship between different perspectives and activities around substance use and juvenile delinquency. The research also explained the relationship that is there between the two. The paper also majorly focuses on the policymaker as a stakeholder, the requirement that one needs to have to become a policymaker, and the steps as well as the educational background required to achieve that. The research also has given the road map that one can easily follow to become a policymaker in the adolescent issue of substance use. The research has also covered the different perspectives, ideas, and understanding that policymakers have on the issue of substance use in adolescents and what is important to be noted about them or what society needs to know about them.

Problem Definition

The subject, or rather the problem, is the link between teenage substance usage and juvenile criminality and the rising number of arrests of adolescents in possession or using the substance. There have also been other situations in which most of those arrested have been found not guilty, raising concerns. There are persons and agencies dedicated to dealing with this issue and developing techniques and regulations that can be utilized to prevent people from being convicted of crimes they did not commit. The research also considered the other issue that whenever people convicted of substance abuse are released, they do not get the embracement they should come from society. That leads them back to the same world of crime, drug and substance use (García et al., 2021). There are issues that the stakeholders, especially the policymakers, face. That is the other issue that the research took care of and how well they can evade the challenges in their daily endeavors. With substance abuse being the main problem of study in this research, some of the interdisciplinary research problems will include how policymakers handle the issue The perspectives used to determine the course of action for adolescent substance users and why I chose the two interdisciplinary research problems is because substance users have underlying issues that trigger them to indulge in substance use in most cases. Secondly, minimal strategies determine who should be convicted and how. That brings the issue of several innocent people locked for criminal acts that they did not commit intentionally.

Justification for using an Interdisciplinary Approach

In most cases, it is clear that the interdisciplinary approach is mainly used whenever the situation is most critical in the world we live in today. The issue of substance abuse has been a controversial issue for decades. The different organizations across the world have been keenly observing the rise in the cases and all the crimes related to substance abuse which turned out to be extremely high, and that makes it necessary to make the approach using the interdisciplinary approach to have all the perspectives and the insights of the issue and why there is the need to curb and work on the issue soon. Using an interdisciplinary approach and teaching, one can tell and uncover the base and identify the preconception of a given situation (Ramalho et al., 2021). One of the most important tactics in exploring the problem is to use these methods. Secondly, using an interdisciplinary approach and teachings, one perspective and critical thinking skills are opened up, and cognitive skills are developed. Finally, through the interdisciplinary approach, one can tolerate and embrace any form of ambiguity that comes their way. For the issue of substance use and juvenile delinquency, the interdisciplinary approach fits the most since this is an issue that most people are fighting slowly and most of the institutions encounter the issues often.

Identify Relevant Disciplines

Substance abuse is an issue that touches several spheres of life and affects different disciplines. Some of the disciplines that relate to substance use include first the Poor educational standards, wherein several adolescents face a challenge in the form of education that they receive and that causes challenges in how they relate to society and their response to the issues around them. This discipline needs close attention because of the future leaders and the next generation’s parents (Boosk et al., 2021). Without them receiving the right form of education, there will always be a challenge for the next generation. The type of school to which the children are sent has a significant impact on the lives and personalities of particular students. For example, in crowded and underfunded schools, there is a more likelihood of indiscipline cases and lack of order in their operations. With the parents lacking a proper engagement with their children’s schoolwork, it has a significant impact on how the child’s behavior will unfold and their delinquent activities.

Secondly is the violence in the individual’s home, one of the largest contributors to delinquency. The juvenile criminal defense attorney has been heard to confirm that even children are subject to violence which is all seen to be a contributor to the substance use and the indiscipline activities they participate in (Paterson-Young, 2021). Teens who have been subject to violent actions or witnessed an act of violence at some point in their life are more likely to act out their frustrations to the world where they develop an don’t care attitude which is mainly their cause of getting into trouble more easily and frequently times such issues.

The Disciplines Insight into the Problem

Concerning how policymakers handle or discern who is to be convicted, the most important insight that I learned is that there is always the need to evaluate and dig deeper into the convict before passing a judgment. Most substance users have issues that range from family, poverty, depression, stress, and life challenges that may lead someone to misuse or indulge in substance use (de Moor et al., 2022). The third perspective is that it is critical to guarantee that the victim’s history information is acquired and that their indulgent can thoroughly convince that the crime is entirely criminal before they are convicted.

The research also revealed another disciplinary insight: substance abusers have traditionally been viewed as people who are unable to seek help. That is, no one is keen to see what they can do or what they’re good at since the perspective everyone has is that they are substance users (de Moor et al., 2022). It is better to have programs that help educate the society on the kind of perspective that the substance users are viewed in and help the society incorporate them and accept them back after they serve their term as well since the study has shown that they face a lot of stigmas.

A disciplinary dispute has also arisen as a result of the notion that anyone convicted or arrested for substance abuse is a criminal. In the vast majority of cases, they are socially unacceptable. This puts a lot of stigma on the convicts, making them feel like outcasts, which is how judgments are made (de Moor et al., 2022). The other perspective argues that anyone convicted of subsistence use should first be evaluated to ascertain whether or not they did the act out of will or choice or had something else pushing them towards the act.

On the same, there are disciplinary agreements that are put in place, and they include the fact that anyone arrested for the possession of substance needs to be tried and face charges for possession and substance use. There is also a need to analyze the victim to determine whether or not they were coerced or pushed to commit the act by someone or anything (de Moor et al., 2022). There is also the need for the policymakers to have rules that guide and govern how the judgments are passed to the convicts.

The research also, through the disciplines, came to a better and new understanding of the issue of substance use and juvenile delinquency, where the problem was found to have several causes. De Moor et al. (2022) argue that policymakers need discernment skills and legal procedures to analyze and testify on how the prisoner should be judged. There is also a need to ensure that the government has several legal personalities who assist in the decision-making process regarding how convicts will be treated, as well as the types of programs that they will need to participate to determine whether they should be convicted or whether and how they will be reintegrated into society.

The roles of a policymaker were also examined, and the conclusion stated that there is tabled information that one gathers as a policymaker. The main responsibility is to ensure that I can filter all of the data and situations into a strategic and logical strategy or policy. For example, regarding the issue of substance use and juvenile delinquency, some policies have been developed over time that helps mitigate or control substance abuse (Baekgaard et al., 2021). Some of the policies created include the fact that any adolescent found abusing substances can now be held in a prison where they are monitored and rehabilitated and shaped into better people. Another policymaker’s responsibility is to ensure that all adolescents charged with drug usage have a fair trial and are found guilty. In addition, I am legally responsible for ensuring that intelligence sources and methods are protected, and I have the authority to select which documents or policies should be declassified.

In my daily and weekly schedule, I encounter several cases of substance. I do believe that the diversification taking place in the world has a significant impact on the high number of adolescents trapped in substance abuse. Reg riding research was conducted within my region. There is an Approximate 2.1 million youths below the age of 18 getting arrested. Despite the numbers and rates of delinquency cases dropping, they are approximately 1.7 million delinquency cases in the juvenile that get disposed of.

In my area of jurisdiction, there are approximately three to four cases of substance abuse and juvenile delinquency. That means that I often encounter or deal with a case of substance use and juvenile delinquency in a week, which makes it a priority. Before, the government has joined hands with the different policymakers and other institutions that champion substance abuse to ensure that the reported cases weekly are reduced. The interaction with these cases also brings about a better understanding of how to handle them and how they are evolving and changing.

Challenges Faced By Policymakers

The biggest challenge that a policymaker faces is a lack of emphasis on preventing the issues from occurring. Even though the issue of substance use has become a common challenge and phenomenon among the youths, it is also clear that little emphasis has been made on devising the methods that can completely curb the issue. Moreover, as technology advances and diversification become the order of the day, the different stakeholders’ trends regarding curbing the issues become useless. As a result, the government has been forced to generate different policies to cope with the substance abusers’ new strategies.

Gratifying Experiences for the Policymakers

On the other hand, the most gratifying experience that I have had in my undertakings is the fact that I was able to seize substance use in my area of jurisdiction through the trace that was made by my team where we managed to get hold of the supplier which has brought down the number of the substance user in the area as well as the cases that were brought on board were considerably low.

The research also found that some of the causes of the issues of substance abuse and juvenile delinquency include peer pressure, genetic factors, mass media representation of drugs used as freedom, developmental changes, and the accessibility of those drugs. In addition, however, the issue of psychiatric conditions such as mood disorder, anxiety disorder, and personality disorder may also lead to the use of the substance.

The research also generated a solution that could help in the generation of solutions for the controversial situation, which include the fact that the problem could be solved by creating sensitization programs that can help individuals who are indulging or planning to understand the adversities related to the process they want to indulge in. In addition, there is also the need to create programs that can help those who want to be reformed from substance abuse where they can be helped and built so that they can be useful in society. According to the stakeholder, the policymaker, there is a need to curb substance use and juvenile delinquency (Meisel et al., 2021). That can be achieved by collaborating with all stakeholders and holding sensitization campaigns to help adolescents understand the adversities of substance use. However, for the government to curb the issue, there is a need to intervene on what leads adolescents and youths to substance use. They create resources such as resource centers to help the youths discover their talent and nature them, hence avoiding the bad companies.

Disciplines

1. Peer pressure

One of the obstacles that most people around the teenage era attempt to overcome is peer pressure. The majority of them have no sense of self and are unsure of what they want to do with their lives. Peer pressure has been observed to have a significant impact on the lives of individuals, particularly adolescents, in that it leads them to engage in activities that they otherwise would not engage in just because their peers do so, and they end up regretting their choices later in life. (Ifenthaler et al. 2021). Research has it that peer pressure has contributed to the largest number of adolescents who have been arrested and tried due to their involvement in substance abuse.

2. Violence in Their Home

Whenever there is peace at home, several aspects of life run as they should. One of them includes the fact that the children, especially the kids, will be disciplined because the parents will have a better time with them in terms of guidance and monitoring than when there is no peace and the family is separated. Pea e at home also gives the child psychological comfort that they will have the quest to get back home (He et al., 2021). They also get conscious of the kind of activities they get involved in because that is where one can align their behavioral pattern that involves the company they are in. Most children raised in family disputes suffer challenges in coping with social life because they spend a lot of time attempting to cover for the life they did not receive at home. In most situations, that leads them to criminal substance misuse.

3. Poor educational standards

On the other hand, the kind of education that an individual receives also plays a bigger role in who and how their behaviors will end up being and how well they can handle their situations. Ins a situation with large numbers of students will nature students who have discipline issues because each student is not given individual attention to portraying what they cannot do independently. That makes them tend to express their feelings differently, leading to the indiscipline activities they indulge in. It is also clear that students get into bad companies from the kind of educational standards since they lack enough attention and guidance. Research has it that whenever there is an active adult in the child’s life, they are more likely to perform exceptionally in their studies than when there is none. The research also concluded that whenever there is parental involvement in a kid’s life, there is a high chance of deterrence from the delinquent activities that the child might get involved in.

Conclusion

In conclusion, substance use and juvenile delinquency are related, and the interdisciplinary approach used in solving or curbing the issues is seen as important and productive. However, the insight learns helped in understand that the issue of substance use is not a new topic. It is an issue that has been there for decades, and the biggest challenge that the policymakers and other stakeholders face is that the world keeps evolving. The dynamics of how these substances are used keep changing, making those responsible for its mitigation face the challenge of remaining updates, which has become hectic since accessing the substances is now made possible remotely. 

References

Baekgaard, M., Moynihan, D. P., & Thomsen, M. K. (2021). Why do policymakers support administrative burdens? The roles of deservingness, political ideology, and personal experience. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 31(1), 184-200.

De Moor, E. L., Sijtsema, J. J., Weller, J. A., & Klimstra, T. A. (2022). Longitudinal links between identity and substance use in adolescence. Self and Identity, 21(1), 113-136.

García, B. H., Vázquez, A. L., Moses, J. O., Cromer, K. D., Morrow, A. S., & Villodas, M. T. (2021). Risk for substance use among adolescents at-risk for childhood victimization: The moderating role of ADHD. Chi d Abuse & Neglect, 114, 104977.

He, A. S., Yarnell, L. M., Schrager, S. M., & Traube, D. E. (2021). Patterns of Violence Exposure and Substance Use among Child Welfare Involved Youth. Journal of Family Violence, 1-12.

Ifenthaler, D., Gibson, D., Prasse, D., Shimada, A., & Yamada, M. (2021). Putting learning back into learning analytics: actions for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. Educational Technology Research and Development, 69(4), 2131-2150.

Meisel, S. N., & Colder, C. R. (2021). An examination of the joint effects of adolescent interpersonal styles and parenting styles on substance use. Dev2elopment and Psychopathology, 1-19.

Paterson-Young, C. (2021). Exploring how children subjected to violence in the home cope with experiences in Secure Training Centres. Chi d Abuse & Neglect, 117, 105076.

Ramalho, I., Leite, H., & Águas, F. (2021). Abnormal uterine bleeding in adolescents: A multidisciplinary approach. Acta Médica Portuguesa, 34(4), 291-297.