6 - On the constructive role of problem behavior in adolescence

Summary

Introduction

Is substance use good for adolescents? This chapter demonstrates that a simple “no” may obscure the intricate ways in which problem behaviors and normal, adaptive adolescent development are intertwined.

In making the transition from childhood to adulthood, adolescents face a variety of demands and challenges and they must acquire appropriate skills to master these challenges. Resorting to problem behavior such as substance use may be viewed as one way of mastering the developmental difficulties of adolescence. This postulated connection between the typical problems adolescents face and problem behaviors leads us to expect a sharp, but temporary, increase in substance use during this period of the life span. Indeed, prospective longitudinal studies have documented that the increase in substance use in adolescence is transient (Huba & Bentler, 1983; Jessor, 1986; Kandel & Logan, 1984; Magnusson, Duner, & Zetterboom, 1975).

Our perspective on adolescence highlights the constructive function of problem behavior in coping with age-typical demands and difficulties. We do not, of course, dismiss the health and psychological risks resulting from the use of legal and illegal substances. Rather, we propose that young people's problem behaviors can be understood adequately only in the broader context of normal adolescent development. In this chapter we first outline a conceptual framework linking adolescent development and problem behavior. We have referred to this framework as “development as action in context” (Silbereisen & Eyferth, 1986).