Drug abuse amongst adolescents is becoming increasingly prevalent placing serious consequences in their development and their relationship with family and society. The present paper discloses some epidemiological data on protectors and risk factors for drug abuse in this population demonstrating that personal and family stressors during early life are associated with drug abuse. On the other hand, engaged parents, personal motivation and constant monitoring are associated with avoidance of drugs. Major prospective studies in this field are also reviewed. Psychodynamic theories related to addiction and their evolution through the thoughts of authors such as H. Kohut, J. McDougall, H. Rosenfeld, C. Olievenstein, Khantzian, are analyzed. The application of the thecnics based on psychoanalytic psychotherapy in chemical dependents is also discussed.
Adolescence; adolescent; psychodynamics; psychoanalysis; psychoanalytic psychotherapy; chemical dependency; drug abuse and dependency