Counseling Substance-Abusing Young Males (From Handbook of Counseling Boys and Adolescent Males: A Practitioner's Guide, P 357-373, 1999, Arthur M. Horne and Mark S. Kiselica, eds. -- See NCJ-181846)

• NCJ Number: 181856
• Author(s): Richard C. Page
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reviews counseling approaches for use with substance-abusing young males.

Abstract

The average age at which boys take their first drink is 11.0 years; about 28 percent of high school seniors consume five or more drinks a week. Use of alcohol is the most serious drug problem for adolescent males. The primary sets of factors consistently associated with adolescent drug abuse are cultural or social factors, family interaction factors, peer relationship factors, and the personal characteristics of the abuser. It is important that counselors, psychologists, and other treatment professionals choose interventions that meet the individual needs of their clients. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous programs, inpatient/residential drug treatment programs, individual/family counseling, and group therapy could be appropriate and effective for some but perhaps not all drug abusers. Many more treatment programs and treatment options are needed for male adolescent drug abusers. Too often, effective treatment options are not available within clients’ communities.