Part 1: Evidence selection
Introducing school-based alcohol program is important amongst the youth since it helps save the future generation in particular societal setup. I chose the articles because of the issues that they address in relation to abuse of alcohol and the related effects. Because of my interest to learn the importance of introducing alcohol based education in NSW programs, I chose the articles.
The article “Beyond invulnerability: The importance of benefits in adolescents' decision to drink alcohol” presents an evidence on how the teens think that they are invulnerable and therefore engage in risky behaviors such as taking alcohol. Most of the teens think that they benefit from taking alcohol not knowing that they are presenting themselves to danger. Positive feelings that such youth develop when taking alcohol results from their perception. The article presents high-level information on the topic.
The article” Harm reduction approaches to alcohol use: Health promotion, prevention, and treatment” illustrates the controversies that have arisen when using human approaches to solving alcohol-related problems (Marlatt & Witkiewitz, 2002). The article provides high profile information on the importance of school-based alcohol teaching programs. The article is relevant to the topic of study as it presents the importance of school-based alcohol teaching programs amongst the teenagers who take alcohol.
The article” New Developments in Prevention and Early Intervention for Alcohol Abuse in Youths “illustrates the mechanism of preventing alcohol risky behavior at an early stage before it becomes ingrained in an individual. The universal prevention schemes put in place mechanisms to find solution to the problems arising due to the youths engaging in early alcohol abuse. The article which is a symposium on alcoholism in British Columbia tends to make the necessary interventions programs for the adolescents that take alcohol.
The articles are analogous in the manner they address the alcohol-related problems and how they affect the youths. The way in which they address each problem differs in the way each variable is presented.
Part 2: Evidence summary
Introduction
Alcohol has claimed the lives of many people, more so the teenagers. Introduction of school-based alcohol education is important as it enables the teenagers to carry themselves carefully and prevent problems that could arise due to addiction. Introduction of school-based education will enable the teenagers avoid accidents that could put their lives at risk. Teenagers who engage in drinking alcohol have high chances of developing liver cirrhosis and therefore educating them on the negative effects of taking alcohol is important.
Marlatt’s “Harm reduction approaches to alcohol use: Health promotion, prevention, and treatment” states that controlled drinking is possible but it exposes an individual to many effects because after some time an individual becomes addicted. Individualizing alcohol prevention methods is important as it help solves the problems that an individual faces. Individualizing alcohol prevention schemes help prevent misuse of alcohol as it helps accommodate the preferences of the individual targeted by the mechanism. In order to solve the multifaceted nature that results due to behavior change, harm reduction helps in seeking the specific needs of the individual (Marlatt & Witkiewitz, 2002).
Stewart’s “New Developments in Prevention and Early Intervention for Alcohol Abuse in Youths” address not taking alcohol as the best mechanism of solving alcohol problems. Universal prevention mechanisms do not only produce modest effects on the youths drinking behavior but also influence them not to take alcohol. Some existing targeted prevention programs are effective, but do not fully capture the potential of intervention such as motivation to the youths who use alcohol (Stewart et al., 2005). Making intervention’s that are relevant to the lives of the adolescents such as focusing on motivational and personality factors in relation to alcohol misuse also help in reducing alcohol effects on the youth.
Goldberg et al "Beyond invulnerability: the importance of benefits in adolescents' decision to drink alcohol." States that adolescent indulge in risky behaviors because they think they are invulnerable to many sorts of risk. Perceptions of benefiting from activities related to drinking pose the youths to problems that could threaten their health (Goldberg et al, 2005). Positive experience due to alcohol also influences perception and behavior of an individual. Adolescents should be taught the risks regarding taking of alcohol.
The articles are analogous they address issues pertaining to the effects of alcohol on the teenagers. They both view alcohol as harmful to the youths in one way or the other. The article relates to the original question as it attempts to give an explanation on the importance of school-based teaching on alcohol. The article points out the effects of taking alcohol especially to the youths. Therefore the article illustrates the importance of school-based teaching on effects of alcohol.
Alcohol pose danger to the youth and therefore school-based teaching on alcohol is important as it helps enlighten the youth on the dangers of alcohol.
References
Marlatt, G. A., & Witkiewitz, K. (2002). Harm reduction approaches to alcohol use: Health promotion, prevention, and treatment. Addictive behaviors, 27(6), 867-886.
Stewart, S. H., Conrod, P. J., Marlatt, G. A., Comeau, M. N., Thush, C., & Krank, M. (2005). New developments in prevention and early intervention for alcohol abuse in youths. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 29(2), 278-286.
Goldberg, Julie H.; Halpern-Felsher, Bonnie L.; Millstein, Susan G. (2002) Beyond invulnerability: The importance of benefits in adolescents' decision to drink alcohol. ealth Psychology, Vol 21(5), 477-484.
Monti, P. (2012). Adolescents, Alcohol, and Substance Abuse: Reaching Teens through Brief Interventions. New York: Guilford Publications.
