14 Jul
Teenage Alcoholism Is Real, Dangerous, Yet Treatable
Posted on 2009 under Teenage Alcoholism | No CommentIt is common knowledge that some teenagers use drugs and some become addicted. When the behavior is looked at closely, we find that teenage alcoholism exists in some. These individuals can be solely alcoholics rather than others who are also addicted to other drugs found in our culture. That shouldn’t surprise us when we see alcohol as one of the drugs teens use. Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by teenagers. About half of junior and senior high school students drink alcohol on a monthly basis, and 14% of teens have been intoxicated at least once in the past year.
Why do teens drink? “According to the 2007 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study of 6,511 teens, the number one reason teens see for using alcohol/drugs is to deal with the pressures and stress of school. In this national study, 73 percent of teens reported that school stress is the primary reason for drug use, indicating that teens’ perceptions of motivating factors for using drugs are dramatically different than past research has indicated.”
Family risk factors for teenagers developing drinking problems include low parent supervision or communication, family conflicts, poor parental discipline, and a family history of alcohol or drug abuse. Individual risk factors include problems managing impulses, emotional instability, thrill-seeking behaviors, and perceiving the risk of using alcohol to be low. Teenage peer pressure from other drinking teens tends to be strong.
As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “alcohol dependence is a negative pattern of alcohol use leading to a number of problems, which may include needing more alcohol to get intoxicated (tolerance), difficulties that occur when the effects of alcohol wear off (withdrawal), using more alcohol or for longer time than intended, and other life problems because of the use of alcohol.”
What are the symptoms of teens drinking? Some of the most common symptoms of alcohol abuse in teenagers include the smell of alcohol on their breath or body, mood swings, stealing, and changes in friends, lying, making excuses, breaking curfew, staying in their room, becoming verbally or physically abusive toward others, having items in their possession that are connected to alcohol use.
Adolescents may have established regular usage, have become preoccupied with getting intoxicated (“high”) and have developed problems in their social, educational, vocational, or family life as a result of using the substance. Teenage drinking and driving endangers not just the teenager, but other people as they become victim to the reckless teenage driving brought on by intoxication.
The final and most serious stage of alcohol or other drug use is defined by the youth feeling normal only when they are using. During this stage, risk-taking behaviors like stealing, engaging in physical fights, or driving while intoxicated increase, and they become most vulnerable to having suicidal thoughts.
These teens can change and put their drinking into manageable levels or even abstinence. Recovery may require that the whole family’s behavior to be looked at and evaluated as it relates to the teenager. This requires some change. For the teenager, new thinking needs to be introduced, healthier friends need to be found, and a few limits need to be applied. A stay in rehab may be in the teen’s future, but these facilities and their treatment approaches need to be evaluated before putting a teen in one. Furthermore, many support groups are available, but some are not going to be helpful, and some groups aren’t safe for minors. Some groups teach abstinence while others are centered on moderation.
To begin to understand all the options, start by visiting the largest online site containing non-12-step addiction articles, http://www.addictioninfo.org/. If you need help sorting all this out, I suggest visiting Marc Kern, Ph.D.’s website, http://www.habitdoc.com/, where one-to-one help is offered.
There is hope, teenagers do change, and so do their families.
A short film about what happens when teens get behind the wheel after drinking
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egrassi High
Powerpoint slides from presentation developed by Christopher Brown highlighting key features of teen brain development, the negative impact drinking alcohol has on brain development, and the increased risks of injury associated with teens drinking alcohol.
Bernie Mac was born in Chicago in 1957, Bernard Jeffrey McCollough. He grew up in Chicago, in a rougher neighborhood than most others, with a large family living under one roof. This situation provided him with a great insight into his comedy, as his family, and the situations surrounding them would be what dominated his comedy. Mac worked in the Regal Theater, and performed in Chicago parks in his younger days. He became a professional comedian in 1977, at the age of 19. He refused to change his image for television and films, and therefore was not very well known for most of the eighties. In 1992 he made his film debut with a small part with Mo’ Money (1992). This started a string of small parts in a string of movies, mostly comedies, including Who’s the Man? (1993), House Party 3 (1994) and The Walking Dead (1995). 1995 proved to be a turning point in his career. He did an HBO Special called “Midnight Mac” (1995), and took a part as Pastor Clever in the Chris Tucker comedy Friday (1995). Bernie Mac developed a cult following due to the movie and had many small parts since. In 1996 he starred in the memorable Spike Lee movie Get on the Bus (1996), and was very funny in Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996). About this time he had a recurring role in the TV series “Moesha” (1996). Bernie Mac’s star was slowly rising from this point. His next couple of movie parts were more substantial, including How to Be a Player (1997) and The Players Club (1998). In 1999 Bernie Mac got his most high profile part up to that point in the film Life (1999/I) starring Eddie Murphy.