Teenage Alcoholism

image: college couple toasting one another with champaign

Teenage alcoholism is the excessive and progressive use of alcohol in adolescents and young adults between the age of 12 and 20.

Though consumption of alcohol by people under 21 is illegal, a significant number of teenagers are facing problems of excessive drinking.

The causes of teenage alcoholism are quite different from that of adult alcoholism.

While most adults take up drinking when faced with problems, most teenagers start drinking as a celebration, for excitement or under peer pressure.

Other causes may include lack of parental support, harsh inconsistent discipline or rejection in any form by the society or family members.

Parents' drinking behavior may also cause a teenager to start drinking early in life. Peer drinking and pressure have also been associated with teenage drinking.

Confusion, anxiety, depression and inability to manage one's emotional state may lead a teenager to excessive drinking. Influence of media, especially advertisements that make alcohol attractive is another cause of teenage alcoholism.

Drunk driving statistics report that alcohol-involved crashes accounted for 10 percent of property-damage-only crash costs, 21 percent of nonfatal injury crashes and 46 percent of fatal injury crash costs.

image: college student on summer break drinking on patio According to researchers, teenagers who begin to drink alcohol before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who drink after the age of 21. It has been estimated that about 3 million teenagers in US suffer from alcoholism.

The dangers associated with teenage alcoholism are death, health problems, behavior disorders, and legal implications. Accidents like car crashes, drowning, burns, homicides and often unintentional injuries because of violent behavior have been seen to lead to deaths and suicides.

It’s time to put aside much of the talk about drinking in moderation and responsible drinking for problem drinkers. The vast majority of alcohol abusers and alcoholics simply cannot drink in moderation and, as a result, need to totally abstain from drinking, get alcohol treatment, get sober, and stay sober.

image: male college student drinking beer at a pub Since the brain of a teenager is still under a developing process, excessive consumption of alcohol can affect not only in its development but also the thinking abilities and memory power.

Behavior disorders like violent behavior and impulsiveness are generally seen in teenagers with heavy drinking problems.

Since it is illegal to drink under the age of 21, teenagers found with an increased alcohol content in the blood can be penalized or arrested.

The alcoholism research literature on alcohol treatment info demonstrates that alcohol addiction, if untreated and if the individual lives long enough, will progress to the point that the alcoholic will have limited thinking ability, poor decision-making skills, a diminished sense of personal responsibility, and will get to the point that denial of the problem interferes with the person’s sense of reality.

Teenagers with warning signs of alcoholism should be immediately checked and treated as this could lead to serious health problems and can scar their future permanently.

Alcoholism provides detailed information on Alcoholism, Alcoholism Treatments, Signs Of Alcoholism, Effects Of Alcoholism and more. Alcoholism is affiliated with Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

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Alcohol contributes to 100,000 deaths annually, making it the third leading cause of preventable mortality in the United States after tobacco and diet/activity patterns.

Recent alcohol addiction statistics reveal that more than 7% of the people in the U.S. who are 18 years old or older are problem drinkers. Not only this, but of the 13.8 million Americans drink excessively and abusively, 8.1 million individuals are alcohol dependent. By doing the math, it can be seen that there are millions of problem drinkers in the U.S. who are not addicted to alcohol, but who do indeed, engage in abusive and excessive drinking behavior. This also means that there are millions of Americans who are in need of alcohol abuse rehab.

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