Essay on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse - 2432 Words

Alcohol is the number one drug problem among America’s youth. More senior high school students use alcohol than any other psychoactive drug. Family doctors, pediatricians, schoolteachers, and parents know that alcohol is overwhelmingly the drug of choice among today’s youth, although trendier substances such as cocaine are often given more attention in the headlines (Carla Felsted, p. vii). Furthermore, it is widely acknowledged that drinking alcohol is a part of the youth culture in America; it may also be understood as a culturally conditioned and socially controlled behavior. In my generation drinking among underage kids is blamed on peers, accessibility, and adulthood. â€Å"Research shows that about 10 million Americans between†¦show more content†¦In a study done by Paul Rhode, PhD, a scientist at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, he and his colleagues evaluated whether teenagers with serious alcohol problems were likely to continue their behavior into adulthood. Roxanne Nelson states that the researchers found that serious alcohol problems as a teenager did predict future substance abuse, alcoholism, depression, and symptoms of antisocial and borderline personality disorders by age 24. In addition, teenagers who were heavy drinkers but that hadn’t actually been diagnosed with a serious alcohol problem were also at some increased risk for these same problems. Teenagers face many difficult decisions in their lives and have many people in their lives that influence them. One of the major groups that influence teens is their peer group. â€Å"Since teenagers are not yet comfortable with themselves, they have a strong need to be accepted by their peers. And to be accepted, they feel they have to be just like their peers† (Ruth Maxwell, p. 24). From Maxwell we learn that teenagers will use alcohol to be accepted by a group. As age progresses the number of alcohol users progress 73 percent of kids that are from the ages of 16-18 are drinkers. In addition, around 90 percent of high school seniors have experienced alcohol at least once in their life.Show MoreRelatedAlcoholism And Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism Essay1891 Words   |  8 Pagesconsumers of alcohol do not suffer adverse consequences. Individuals with excessive drinking patterns, nevertheless, have an elevated risk for alcohol-linked problems ranging from social to healt h issues. Alcohol abusers are a sub-population of alcoholic or alcohol-dependent individuals. However, the terms â€Å"abuse of alcohol† and â€Å"alcohol dependence† are dissimilar (Harford Muthen, 2001). Consequently, alcohol abusers may drink excessively without being dependent. In addition, alcohol abuse includesRead MoreAlcoholism and Alcohol Abuse1492 Words   |  6 Pagesmortality rates due to alcohol-related accidents and health issues are close to 35,000† (â€Å"Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse). 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