Youth Alcohol Abuse: A Dangerous Problem

September 23rd, 2009 by author

Recent alcohol abuse statistics show that alcohol abuse among teens is increasing in the United States. What are some of the reasons for this? Numerous alcoholism experts assert that beer, liquor, and wine advertisements generated by the media are a primary reason for the spread of teen alcohol abuse.

Other alcohol dependency consultants claim that the increase in adolescent alcohol abuse is due to the toleration and ease of access of liquor, beer, and wine in our society.

Still other alcoholism authorities stress the point that more than a few of our young people engage in risky drinking due to the increased disquiet that they feel.

From a slightly different vantage point, because both parents in more than a few families work, the lack of parental guidance surely has to play a primary part in the increase in youth alcohol abuse. And last but not least, different alcohol dependency authorities believe that the increase in teenage alcohol abuse is due, to some extent, to our lenient society.

Coping Skills and Excessive Drinking

One aspect of youth alcohol abuse that looks like it is under reported in the alcoholism research results, nonetheless, is the dearth of educational programs that teach teenagers how to upgrade their coping skills so that their injurious drinking behavior is notably lessened or done away with.

More precisely, scientific research has revealed that there is an indirect relationship between poor coping skills and excessive drinking. Essentially, this means that the worse the coping skills, the greater the prevalence of alcohol abuse. To the degree that this is a correct assertion, why isnâ€™t coping skills training a major part of the academic core curriculum in all of our junior high schools, elementary schools, and high schools?

A Society That Emphasizes Teenage Coping Skills

Let us manufacture a scenario for the purpose of clarification. Let us imagine a society in which students are trained how to achieve good coping skills all the way from kindergarten up to and including the twelfth grade.

In such a society, when life gets challenging, people who are â€coping skills expertsâ€ will be able to respond in a healthier and more rewarding manner, contrary to others who fail to put their coping skills into action.

More to the point, students who demonstrate first-class coping skills will be more able to think logically and exhibit quality decision making as opposed to teens who, because they were unsuccessful in their attempts to develop first-rate coping skills, resort to the â€œquick fixâ€ of abusive drinking.

What would happen in the above â€œidealâ€ society, additionally, if students not only obtained outstanding coping skills instruction but also obtained an extraordinary education that accentuated the short term and long term harmful results associated with drug abuse and alcohol abuse? Emphasizing these kinds of drug and alcohol abuse facts, along with more highly developed coping skills training, it is pronounced, would help teenagers avoid the noticeable charm correlated with underage drinking and, for that reason, would radically lessen the risky drinking behavior shown by adolescents in our country.

Teen Alcohol Abuse: Conclusion

There are indubitably various defensible reasons why so many of our teens drink in a harmful manner. Such a knotty subject demands an extensive and more pertinent educational and preventative response by our students, parents, politicians, and educators so that our teenagers can learn how to cope with lifeâ€™s difficulties in a more productive and responsible way rather than resorting to alcohol abuse to solve their difficulties.