Prescription Drug Abuse among 12 to 17 Year Adolescents in the United States

This study examines issues related to prescription drug abuse among 12 – 17 year olds in the United States; namely, the physiological effects of prescription medications, current treatments, and prevention methods. The following research questions are addressed: 1) What factors influence and promote the growing prevalence of prescription drug abuse among 12 to 17 year olds in the United States? 2) What efforts are being made to address/prevent the prescription drug abuse among 12 to 17 year olds in the United States? 3) What is the relationship between mental disability and prescription drug abuse among 12 to 17 year olds in the United States? 4) To what extent do gender and ethnicity have an effect on the prescription drug abuse among 12 to 17 year olds in the United States? and 5) To what extent does a history of substance abuse lead to current prescription drug abuse among 12 to 17 year olds in the United States? Conclusive answers to the above questions are difficult to establish because further research still needs to be conducted on the various factors surrounding prescription drug abuse among adolescents