The concern over the adolescents’ use of alcohol in the US has seen more of the spotlight due to the number of adverse ways in which the habit impinges on their health. A number of recent studies have revealed that when the adolescents start to drink at an early age, the epidemic of heavy drinking elevates amongst the general population. These studies also draw links between the age at which the youngsters take their first drink and the alcohol-related disorders. These studies provide evidence that if alcohol consumption starts before 18 years of age, the risk of heavy use is much higher as opposed to when the consumption starts at 21.
Even though many adults drink frequently during their time, but the habit takes form mostly during the adolescent years which means that young adults drink more compared to the rest of the US population. According to a recent research study undertaking in 2011, one-quarter of the children in the 8th grade, half of those in the 10th grade and two-thirds of the 12th graders confessed to drinking alcohol within the month prior to the research interview. The research also uncovered the facts that a shocking number of young adults sustained the habit of binge drinking (Drinking five or more different types of alcohol).
Adults often abuse different types of alcohol in comparison to adults and, for this reason, require a different treatment. The adolescents are also less likely to share their withdrawal symptoms with others and, therefore, do not willingly reach out for help. Only 10 percent of the youth between the ages of 12 and 17 even though require treatment of abuse, actually end up
getting it. This is the reason why the adolescents are more likely to need interventions for their habits and need to be dealt with expertly in comparison to adults. The methods that are mostly employed to treat these adolescents comprise mostly of behavioral therapy and addiction medication even though quite effective for treating adults with alcohol abuse are not legally permitted to be used for treating the young adults.
Adolescents who have to live in households where there is excessive alcohol abuse go through a series of different emotions including anger, sadness, hopelessness, lack of an authority figure in their house, and are sometimes even abused themselves by drunk parents. There also arise incidents when even though the young adults may not be abused himself/herself, he/she may have to witness a close family member being tortured at the hands of a drunk. These young ones have barely any feelings of love or gratitude towards the person who is an addict, and they may not be living in very closely knit families. These conditions are likely to have long-lasting impacts on these youth where they may themselves become alcohol addicts in order to cope with their situations and may not succeed in their academics, at work or even in relationships as long as they are under the torture of an abuser.
Adolescents are growing up in healthy households, on the other hand, live healthier lives may be more closely attached to their families and may even find it easier to cope with academics, and also with life in general. These young ones grow up into healthy human beings and live happier in comparison to those living under the influence of an alcohol addict. These people are even less likely to suffer from psychological disturbances that might result from an abusive childhood. While adolescents tend to suffer a great deal from adverse family environments,
young adults are comparatively more stable and are able to deal with these problems in a more mature way.
Even though young people tend to fall into the habit of drinking and the number of alcohol-related incidents that are reported continue to climb higher and higher. According to a survey carried out during 2001 and 2002, 70 percent of the young adults in the United States had consumed alcohol within the year prior to the survey.
The problem with drinking at this age is that these young ones drink too much and from a variety of classes of alcohol. This increases the health risks that they could be exposed to more than it can for the adults. These adolescents, as well as young adults, do little to follow the legal limits of alcohol consumption and mostly drink more than the limit that is recommended during a week. Apart from the health risks of excessive alcohol consumption amongst the teenagers, the habit could also lead to more dangerous consequences like fatal vehicle crashes, deaths from overdose and sometimes even sexually transmitted diseases. In a shocking discovery, the traffic accidents report revealed that 51 percent of the drivers who dies in car accidents tested positive for alcohol. The troubling part of the problem is that in their carelessness, they not only hurt themselves but also a number of others around them.
List of References
Megan E. Patrick, J. E. (2013). Prevalence and Predictors of Adolescent Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking in the United States. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2006, April). Young adult is drinking. Retrieved from National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa68/aa68.htm
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Principles of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Research-Based Guide.
Wenbin Liang, T. C. (2015). Age at first use of alcohol predicts the risk of heavy alcohol uses in early adulthood: A longitudinal study in the United States. International Journal of Drug policy, 131-134.
