Case Study : Teens Go for Drinking

Teens Go for Drinking

( Drinking of Alcoholic Beverages of Teens with their Barkadas )

 

I. Statement of the Problem

Adolescence period is a kind of transition where the body goes through significant changes, such as development of the brain and alterations of hormone. Teenage is also the time when juveniles start to correlate more with their peers and associate further than their childhood acquaintances. During this period, teens build their rapport not just only with their family but also with their friends and to the friends of their friends. This is the time “barkadahan” are created.

Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by teenagers. About half of high school and college students drink alcohol on a monthly basis, and 14% of teens have been intoxicated at least once in the past year. Nearly 8% of teens who drink say they drink at least five or more alcoholic drinks in a row.

Teenage Alcoholism needs to understand the risk factors. There are a couple of reasons why children will drink. Let’s divide kids into two groups:

The first group is just looking for fun and excitement. They want to be a part of the crowd, so they do what their friends do, or what they THINK their friends do. They want to be cool. Even in elementary or intermediate school, kids want to be cool.

The second group is the kids who want to feel better. They might have emotional or mental issues, or they come from an abusive home, or something else is not right, regardless of how loving and supportive their parents are. They want to feel better, or just feel “normal.” They are self-medicating to feel better. Alcoholics will tell you about the “click,” that effect they receive when taking the first drink. Don’t assume that a child is exempt from using alcohol to feel better.

II. Background of the Problem

Alcohol is widely used by young people. Around 80 percent of Filipino teenagers over the age of 15 years have tried alcohol at least once. Binge drinking, drink driving and unsafe sex can all result from the misuse of alcohol. Alcohol is tolerated as a socially acceptable drug, yet it is responsible for most drug-related deaths in the teenage population.

Beer and liquor are everywhere in the Philippine culture. Alcoholic beverages are advertised on television, radio and in the print and internet. People drink at ball games, they drink at parties and they drink at church socials. The idea of a young child drinking is frightening. Some people think it’s harmless to give a little child a taste of beer or a sip of wine.

One fun thing that most barkadas/peers are doing is drinking- alcoholic beverages to be exact. It is hard to resist a shot given by one of your peers when they say that “we’re having fun, don’t be KJ”. Well, most response is to accept it, give it a try and then find one’s self into it. Teens like to have friends around them. And drinking is great paraphernalia to make a group closely bonded even though they are still not allowed to drink. Well, it is hard to give obstruction to what teen’s curiosity is seeking.

Drinking and socializing are very congruent. They are like twins, best friends or maybe a couple. It’s hard to separate them from each other because when you drink with peers, socialization is already created. And one of the most common ways of socializing nowadays is through alcohol.

Here are some of the factors about alcohol abuse that Teenage Alcoholism should look for:

- Too much free time

- Weak family structures

- Peer pressure

- Social pressure

- Media glorification of drinking

III. Desired Criteria for Solving the Problem

Studies have shown that the most influential role models for children are their parents. Children learn by imitation, so it is important that parents demonstrate sensible drinking behaviors. Parents and guardians are important role models for their children—even children who are fast becoming teenagers. Studies indicate that if a parent uses alcohol, his or her children are more likely to drink themselves. But even if you use alcohol, there may be ways to lessen the likelihood that your child will drink.

Parents can’t prevent their teenagers from experimenting with alcohol, but they can encourage sensible drinking habits. Suggestions include:

·         Offer good role modeling.

·         Start teaching your child about alcohol from an early age.

·         Explain the downside of heavy drinking, such as vomiting, head spins, passing out and hangovers.

·         Educate your child on the links between drinking and dangerous behavior, such as unsafe sex.

·         Teach your child sensible tactics such as how to say no, standard drink recommendations, ‘pacing’ themselves, alternating alcohol drinks with non-alcoholic beverages and not drinking on an empty stomach.

·         Talk about the dangers of drunk driving and plan alternatives together, such as public transport, designated drivers or calling home.

·         Encourage your child to talk about the dangers of alcohol with their friends, so they can come up with ways to look out for each other.

According to research, there are many important factors that help reduce the likelihood of a young person abusing alcohol. As well as good parental role modeling, these factors include:

·         A loving, supportive home life

·         Educational programs in schools on the use and misuse of alcohol

·         Developing personal, social, academic and employment skills

·         A healthy lifestyle, such as regular exercise and a love of sports

·         Restrictions on alcohol advertising

·         Avoiding the use of scare tactics, which can backfire and increase alcohol use among teenagers.

IV. Alternative Solution under Consequences

Related Studies:

·         It is alarming to know that our teens now a days are really involve in different vices particularly the alcoholic beverages, pronounced by the Department of Health Under Secretary Tayag during a presscon for “Youth Alarming Vices”, 2009. The youths of today are the one who largely get participated in alcohol drinking specially the high school and college students. “Pabata ng pabata ang mga umiinom na mga kabataan ngayon” added by UnSec. Tayag. This issue is another threatening fact that our nation faces now.

·         Environmental factors, such as the influence of parents and peers, also play a role in alcohol use. For example, parents who drink more and who view drinking favorably may have children who drink more, and an adolescent girl with an older or adult boyfriend is more likely to use alcohol and other drugs and to engage in delinquent behaviors.

·         Research also shows that many adolescents start to drink at very young ages. In 2003, the average age of first use of alcohol was about 14, compared to about 17 1/2 in 1965. People who reported starting to drink before the age of 15 were four times more likely to also report meeting the criteria for alcohol dependence at some point in their lives. In fact, new research shows that the serious drinking problems (including what is called alcoholism) typically associated with middle age actually begin to appear much earlier, during young adulthood and even adolescence.

·         Children who begin to drink at a very early age (before age 12) often share similar personality characteristics that may make them more likely to start drinking. Young people who are disruptive, hyperactive, and aggressive—often referred to as having conduct problems or being antisocial—as well as those who are depressed, withdrawn, or anxious, may be at greatest risk for alcohol problems. Other behavior problems associated with alcohol use include rebelliousness, difficulty avoiding harm or harmful situations, and a host of other traits seen in young people who act out without regard for rules or the feelings of others.

·         Other research shows that the younger children and adolescents are when they start to drink, the more likely they will be to engage in behaviors that harm themselves and others. For example, frequent binge drinkers (nearly 1 million high school students nationwide) are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, including using other drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, having sex with six or more partners, and earning grades that are mostly Dropped and Failed in school.

Interview

Date:                February 29, 2012

Interviewer:       Mico Renson B. Amazona

Interviewee:      Mrs. Evangeline O. Maglinao

                        Physics and Chemistry Teacher, Fourth Year

                        Fernando Air Base National High School

1.       What Is Alcohol?

-          The scientific name for alcohol that people drink is ethyl alcohol or ethanol. Beer, wine and liquor all contain ethyl alcohol. Other types of alcohol, like rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol), are poisonous if ingested.

2.       What Happens When You Drink Alcohol?

-          After you drink an alcoholic beverage like beer or wine, the alcohol enters your bloodstream from your stomach and small intestine. From there, it travels to your brain. There, it slows reaction time, makes you less coordinated, impairs your vision, and -- even at relatively low doses -- leads to unclear thinking and problems making good judgments.

3.       Is Alcohol Addictive?

-          Yes, alcohol is highly addictive. About 18 million adults are addicted to alcohol. This means they need to drink alcohol in order to function normally, and their drinking causes problems in their lives.

-          Alcohol addiction can begin at any time in someone's life, but starting to drink when you are a teenager increases the risk for addiction. About half of Filipino teens who start drinking alcohol before age 15 will be addicted to it at some point. Only 9% of people in the Philippines who wait until they turn 21 will be addicted at some point.

4.       Is One Type of Alcoholic Drink Safer than Another?

-          No. All alcoholic drinks contain alcohol, and all can be just as dangerous. The more alcohol you drink, the more you will be impaired. Beer, wine, and liquor all contain different amounts of alcohol. Beer is between 3% and 5% percent alcohol; wine is about 12%; and liquor usually is about 40% alcohol. One beer has about the same amount of alcohol as one glass of wine or one "shot" of liquor.

5.       Why Do People Drink Alcohol?

-          Drinking alcohol is a social activity -- most people drink with friends. Because alcohol makes people feel less inhibited, they feel more at ease socializing after a drink. People also drink just because other people are drinking. For many people, it feels good to be doing what everybody else is doing. But drinking just because everybody else is can lead to problems, especially if people are drinking too much.

-          On the other hand, many people enjoy the taste of alcoholic beverages. And when consumed by adults in small to moderate amounts, especially with meals, alcohol may good for the heart.

6.       What Is Binge Drinking?

-          Unfortunately, at some teen parties, the emphasis is on drinking to get drunk. This "binge" drinking happens when someone drinks more than four (for women) or five (for men) alcoholic drinks in about two hours. Binge drinking is the most harmful type of drinking.

7.       How Many Teens Drink Alcohol?

-          More and more teens are choosing not to drink alcohol. Less than one in 10 teens under 14 years old has drunk alcohol in the past month. For teens 15 to 17 years old, less than three in 10 have drunk alcohol in the past month. If somebody says you need to drink because "everybody" is doing it, don't believe them. Even though teenage drinking may seem to be common or even normal, it isn't.

8.       Why do you think that more of those involved in alcoholic drinking are teens?

-           Maybe because they are in the stage of curiosity. And there are lots of factors to consider why teens in particular go for alcoholic drinking. One of the reasons is the peer pressure. They greatly affect the development of an adolescent especially in the social aspects. And also because Teens are more likely to start experimenting with drinking if they have parents who drink, if they have friends who are also drinking, and if their parents don't give them clear messages about not drinking outside the house (if they are allowed to drink some wine with dinner, for instance).

9.     In your own opinion, how can we avoid our teens today in the abuse of alcoholic drinking?

-          For me, they can also join school and community efforts to discourage alcohol use by teens. By working with school officials and other members of your community, you can help to develop policies to reduce alcohol availability to teens and to enforce consequences for underage drinking.

Teenage alcoholism requires specialized treatment centers treat both teens and adults, but these may not be help. Teens face different issues than adults, and they also respond in different ways to different ways of treatment.

Here are some types of treatment that have proven effective for teens.

Group Counseling. Teens respond very well to group counseling may be helpful as well, but teens often lack the capacity for the introspection that is the often the goal of that type of counseling. It can also be difficult to get them to open up in one-on-one situation.

Education About Teenage Alcoholism. Education is extremely important treatment of teenage alcoholism. Teens rarely understand the dangers of drinking alcohol. They need to be educated about the health risks they face when they drink. Because teens tend to feel they are invincible, they sometimes do not feel these risks apply to them. Sometimes speaking with experienced serious health problems related to drinking can help.

Academic Education. Teens suffering from alcoholism are quite from often behind academically. Their drinking has interested with their schooling. They need to catch up to their peers so that school is no longer a stressor and they can graduate on time.

Family Counseling. Family counseling is a crucial of the treatment for teen alcoholism. Family relationships are generally quite strained by the time a teen goes for treatment. Teens who drink heavily usually withdraw from their families. They become defensive when family members express concern about their behavior. Parents and other family members don’t know how to deal with the teens’ behavior and react with anger.

V. Choose from Alternative

There are many reasons teens turn to alcoholic drinking, but almost all of them can be satisfied with other recreational activities. Teenage or underage alcoholism causes many problems and damage to a person’s health that it’s a good idea to look for other ways to satisfy the needs that draw us towards alcoholic drinking in the first place.

Traditional efforts to reduce underage drinking have focused solely on youth education and prevention techniques, often simply trying to convince youth no to drink. Research shows that this model has been only marginally successful.

Reducing underage drinking through Coalition is embracing a new approach that focuses instead on how the social environment encourages- even enables- alcohol abuse among young people.

 

VI. Justify Your Choice

Teenage drinking prevention is a crux because in order to prevent something one must first realize that there is a problem, or the potential for a problem.

After all, the best prevention measure for children is strong parenting and alcoholism prevention initiatives in schools, churches and the community. The prevention programs need to adapt to the environment where the effort is taking place.

In addition in the programs in schools, programs can be tailor made to meet the needs in churches or community centers that deal directly with people who live in the area which have been part of the growing teen.

To God be the Glory!