Alcohol Essay, Research Paper

We live in a society that drinks heavily, and this influences teens. Most Americans use

alcohol to celebrate wedding anniversaries, to welcome the New Year, and to enjoy many

other special events. Alcohol is a legal drug for people over the age of twenty-one. By

the time most teens reach senior high school, nearly all will have faced a choice about

whether or not to take a drink. Although this drug is illegal for teenage use a large

percentage of teens use alcohol. Many teens die in automobile accidents, which could

have prevented if they had chosen to say no.

How does the conflict perspective relate to

Kids who are drinking regularly in high school seem to be fully aware of the

penalties and laws against underage drinking, possession but don’t care. They agree that

driving while intoxicated is a key role in fatal car accidents, yet they still do it. Many teens

also believe cold showers and coffee can sober up a person that is drunk

Teens may drink for many different reasons. A big reason for teens to start to drink is

because of problems in their family life. Teens could have a bad relationship with their

parents or their parents could get in a fight or even get a divorce and thid could cause a

drinking problem among their child. Many experts agree that the main reason teens are

becoming alcoholics is low self-esteem. Sometimes these children have been neglected or

abused which makes them feel unwanted or they have been pressured and feel worthless if

they fail. They have to deal with problems that he is too immature to handle, or worries

about problems, which are problems at all. Many kids drink to make them feel older and

mature. It makes you more confident and sociable.

Another cause of teenage drinking is escape from stress of school if they are

overwhelmed with work or that they get really worried over slipping grades and that they

just need to relax. Though they believe differently, drinking will only make things worse

for them..

Many teens drink because of peer pressure or just to fit in. Kids may think that if they

drink then they will fit in with the crowd and become more popular. Kids spend most of

their spare time partying. The kid who doesn’t take something to drink has a dozen

friends all over him. This may be true for the first couple of times that you drink, but it

begins to become a habit and soon you are not only drinking at parties but also drinking

alone and that is a sign you need help.

Teens drink for the effect. To get high, to rebel, to alter their feelings of their

environment, if only temporary. One of the main reasons kids drink for effect is the

freedom it gives them. A problem of drinking for effect is whatever age the child is when

he starts depending on the effect of alcohol, that’s the age they are when they have

overcome there drinking problem. In other words, when a child is fourteen and starts

drinking to become more social and relaxed, when he is eighteen he will still be fourteen

socially.

Many adults fail to take teenage alcohol problems seriously because they believe

that their teens are too young to worry about. To them the word alcoholic makes them

think of a malnourished person who lives on the street. Many young people live in

families where the use of alcohol is a part of normal life. Many parents who are drinkers

themselves look past teenage drinking. They see drinking as a normal activity and part of

growing up. Children of alcoholics are a high-risk group for alcoholism. (They are more

likely to follow in their parent’s footsteps. Few parents encourage their child to drink, but

few see nothing wrong with occasionally drinking. Some parents are relieved when teens

drink rather than smoke pot or do other drugs. Only when adults start regarding alcohol

as a toxic drug can an effective alcohol education program for America’s youth begin.

By the time students are in seventh grade sixty-three percent of boys and fifty-four

percent of girls have at least tried alcoholic beverages. In a 1985 study of 6,144 seventh

graders, forty-three percent had experimented with beer and wine, twenty-two percent

with hard liquor. By twelfth grade ninety-three percent of young men and eighty-two

percent of young women have tried at least one drink .

Getting alcohol is easy. Kids can drink their parents supply, they get an older friend

to get it, buy a fake driver’s licensee, or go somewhere that doesn’t check ID’s.

The younger a child starts drinking the greater the risk of becoming dependent. As

children’s nervous systems are not fully developed, the alcohol is absorbed into their

bodies faster, making them more likely to get alcohol poisoning. Young people get drunk

off less and stay drunk longer. It can stunt young people’s emotional growth and prevents

them from developing the judgement skills they need as adults.

The government spends millions of dollars every year on alcohol prevention each

year. Traditional programs stress the dangers of alcohol. This is not always effective

because of their moralistic approach. They were lectured about the dangers, but their

parents, teachers, and friends were still drinking and they seemed fine .

Effective educational programs help teenagers understand the true impact of drinking

on American society. They reinforce the young person’s ability to make independent

decisions and they provide accurate information instead of attempting influence through

social tactics.

Alateen is a program for alcoholic recovery. Meetings are free, anonymous,

and confidential. There primary purpose is to help families and friends of alcoholics

recover from the effects of a drinking problem. The only requirement for membership is

to have a problem of alcoholism. Members give and receive comfort and understanding

through an exchange of experiences, strength, and hope .

Defining the drinking problems of teenagers is more complicated than doing so for

adults for several reasons. Since teens have had a shorter period of time and fewer

opportunities to experience alcohol use, they suffer less from long term effects of heavy

drinking. Most teens so not have to support themselves. If they may lose a job because of

drinking it probably wouldn’t be a problem.

There are many different ways that teens can get help. Drinking can be prevented.

It can be hard for someone to admit that they have a drinking problem. To prevent a

drinking problem teens should not give in to peer pressure and try to fight the urge to

drink.