Abstract
Substance use disorder and the availability of certain over-the-counter drugs are worldwide issues that affect many individuals, both mentally and physically. As a result, the frequent use of this substance can lead to substance abuse. This phenomenon is also becoming more prevalent with time, and it does not differentiate between genders, ages, races, or religions. This review aimed to provide an overview of studies related to substance abuse, the individuals who tend to abuse these substances, and their risk factors. We also aimed to discuss, identify, and analyze the factors that increase the risk of substance abuse among young adults. We performed a thorough search for related studies using PubMed to provide a comprehensive review of the risk factors and side effects experienced by young adults. The selected indexing terms included "substance abuse,""risk factors," and "personality traits," among others. Information was gathered from relevant peerreviewed publications, and thereafter refined, and summarized.