Module 4 Written Assignment Risk and Protective Factors

Name

Arizona State University

April 18, 2022

Table:

Domain

Personal Risk Factors

Personal Protective Factors

Individual

Early aggressive behavior

Impulse control

Family

Lack of parental supervision

Parental monitoring

Peer

Substance abuse

Academic competence

School

Drug availability

Antidrug use policies

Community

Poverty

Strong neighborhood attachment

Narration:

Drug and substance abuse is a major issue among adolescents and young people, and to me, it has been a major challenge to stay away from drugs. Being born in a black neighborhood, most of the people were addicts to alcohol and other hard drugs such as cocaine. I was brought up in a humble family, with my parents trying as much as possible to keep my siblings and me away from drugs. Occasionally, my father used to take alcohol, though moderately. He wasn’t a heavy drinker.

Individual domain - Children are different in nature, and this means that I have a different personality from other people. Being born and brought up in a black neighborhood taught me to be tough. Being tough means that I could take care of myself, including being rebellious toward my parents. As a result, I could have engaged in drugs and substance abuse easily as they were easily accessible on the streets. Having an aggressive behavior could have led me straight into drugs and substance about. However, I had a strong impulse control that played to restrain me from indulging in drugs and substance abuse such as alcohol. I can say that I did not have trouble controlling my emotions, and this helped as it served as a protective factor.

Family domain – Family can be a major determining factor as to whether a child gets to abuse drugs and other substances. I was born and raised in a protective family, where my mother would always question whatever I was engaging with, including personal matters. I can say that my mother asserted parental control by monitoring my behavior and punishing me whenever I did something wrong. This played a crucial role in shaping my behavior such that I stayed out of drugs to avoid punishment, and therefore, parental monitoring served as a personal protective factor against drug use. However, my father was also strict, but at times he would loosen the belt, giving me the freedom to do whatever I wanted when my mother wasn’t around. This played a role in shaping my careless behavior as I knew that I would not be in trouble if I made a mistake. Lack of parental supervision can be a risk factor for drug use and addiction.

Peer domain – Peers are people with who you are brought up together and are mostly of similar age. A young boy from the streets faces a lot of challenges, including associating with bad companies. Most of my peers are either in alcohol or coke, and this has really been a major challenge for me. I find it tempting to take alcohol, and at times, they get the better of me, although rarely. Based on this, associating with peers of bad influence can be a risk factor for drug use and addiction. However, being in school was the best thing that happened to me. I like competition, and in school, I found peers who were up to the challenge of graduating with a high GPA. This provided me with an opportunity to escape some of my friends whom I purported to be of bad influence and who could have lured me into drug and substance use. Based on this, I can say that academic competence was a preventive factor, and up to date, I sacrifice my time in studies rather than associating with peers doing nothing.

School domain – School, is not always a safe haven for students. There are people who sell drugs in school, and this makes drugs readily available. With drugs being at their disposal, it becomes challenging for students to abstain from drugs, especially those who want to maintain their sobriety. While taking drugs can be a choice, being readily at disposal may be a risk factor for drug use and addiction. On the other hand, a school is an institution that has rules and policies that prevent students from engaging in activities that may harm their academic progress. Schools act as a safe place to shield children from drugs and outside influence, and this can be attributed to the school policies such as anti-drug policies in school. As a person who is dedicated to improving his life through education, I could not risk being expelled from school as this could have impeded my future. Based on this, school rules and policies, including anti-drug policies, played a crucial role in shaping my behavior away from drugs as substance abuse, and therefore, they can be deemed as protective factors.

Community domain – The community exposes a person to various stressors that can increase the risk of drug and substance abuse. Coming from a black neighborhood characterized by crime, most households live below the poverty line, which means that their children have to struggle when growing up. Most children from these neighborhoods engage in criminal activities such as prostitution and drug trafficking. These are risky jobs, as they predispose a person to drug and substance use; thus, poverty is a risk factor for drug use and addiction. However, despite coming from such a neighborhood, my parents were well-off, and this helped me in that I didn’t have to engage in crime to get money for what I wanted. My parents always got my back. However, strong neighborhood attachment can help reduce the risk of drug use and addiction. The neighbors have a sense of responsibility for checking and reporting children who might depict signs of child use. I can say that I was lucky to have neighbors who were always rushing to my mother whenever I was sported doing something bad. I might have been angry about them, but as of now, I can understand that it is because they cared. Therefore, having a strong neighborhood attachment can be considered a protective factor against drugs and addiction.

In conclusion, after considering my past, I can say that I had minimal risk factors for drugs and addiction. For example, in regard to family, despite my father allowing me some freedom, my mother, on the other hand, was tough and always on my throat. Besides, in regard to peers, I spent less time in the streets and more time in school, where I was busy competing with other students who had the need to quench their academic thirst. Finally, despite being exposed to students who took drugs, I could not risk being suspended or expelled from school as these were the anti-drug policies in school. All of these played a crucial role in shaping my behavior away from drugs. Regardless of my past experiences, I can say that my sympathy for other people experiencing addiction is high despite having not experienced addiction myself.