Substance Abuse in Higher Education: Peer Pressure, Depression, and Trauma as Contributing Factors
Overview
This letter-essay addresses the rising prevalence of drug and substance abuse on a college campus, specifically bhang smoking and excessive drinking. The author identifies and analyzes three primary contributing factors: peer pressure from friends, depression stemming from academic stress in technical courses, and physical/sexual abuse experienced by students.
What this essay covers
- Introduction and personal observation of substance abuse problem in college
- Peer pressure and social influence as primary cause of drug initiation
- Depression from demanding coursework and examination stress
- Physical and sexual abuse as trauma-related factor leading to drug use
Preview
HARRISON CLINTON,
P.O BOX 325,
MIAMI, FLORIDA.
Dear Harrison,
Hi Harrison? I hope you are faring well at your university? I am also fine and failing on well? I happened to have passed by last week around your school but failed to keep you up. I am sorry that I did not intend to have traveled without looking for you, especially now that you are more than a friend. Anyway, see you soon when school closes. However, I am writing this letter to inform you of the dangers of drug and substance abuse in my college. There have been rising cases of substance abuse, especially the smoking of bhang and excessive drinking. Many students have been so obsessed with drug and substance abut therefore impacting various aspects of life. It has drawn my attention to the point of making me share this information with you as a friend and as a brother to me. Though I am not among the students involved in such activities, it has affected my stay in school since they always look for problems within the school premises and the hostels. I have studied their prevalence to these drugs' uses and have summed up some of the factors contributing to their addiction problems to bhang and excessive drinking.
First, peer pressure from friends has made most students have indulged in drug and substance abuse. Students tend to come from different areas because they always come with different perceptions and different lifestyles.