In this report I am going to use 2 physiological theories to explain New Zealand's rampant alcohol culture. In particular the use of alcohol by teenagers. I will first write about the research that already exists and is available on the topic of teenage drinking in new zealand. Then I will explain about New Zealand's alcohol culture using genetic and sociocultural theories.
Alcohol is classified as a drug. It is addictive and is the most commonly used one in New Zealand. Alcohol is an alcoholic beverage/liquid that is designed for people to drink. Alcohol is defined as “A colorless volatile flammable liquid, synthesized or obtained by fermentation of sugars and starches and widely used, either pure or denatured, as a solvent and in drugs, cleaning solutions, explosives, and intoxicating beverages”. [1]
What is a standard drink?
A standard drink in New Zealand is equivalent to a 330ml can of beer, a 100ml glass of table wine or a 30ml glass of straight spirits (dependent on the alcohol percentage). This is approximately 10 grams of alcohol, which is the standard drink. A standard drink measures the amount of pure alcohol being consumed.
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Spirits- Rtds- Wine- Beer-
Youth Binge Drinking
While many New Zealanders enjoy alcohol in moderation, there are others who consume large amounts all at one time, this is called binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as “episodic excessive drinking”. [2] Alcohol is widely used and misused by adolescents, estimates suggest that over 1 in 3 young people aged 12-16 engage in binge dr...
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...ure and awkward, and make them feel comfortable and engaged. The desire to be around mates without feeling uncomfortable will draw reens to decide to consume alcohol.
Deterrent-
Friends can also act as a deterrent to a teen drinking alcohol. A teen will most likely not drink if their friend or others around them are not drinking as well. Having a friend who drinks alcohol is the ultimate prediction of alcohol use predictions. Therefore teens who don't drink alcohol and focus on school, and other activities, and avoiding alcohol are a preventative factor. [18]
Genetic theories relating to alcoholism http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh312/111-118.pdf http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-3/172-180.htm http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/alerts/l/blnaa18.htm https://www.sparknotes.com/health/addiction/section2.rhtml
Getting Serious About Eradicating Binge Drinking is an informative article by Henry Wechsler. Wechsler has worked with the College Alcohol study since its creation in 1992, and he also lectures at the School of Public Health at Harvard. In his article, Weschler discusses the prominent trend of binge drinking on college campuses and how to solve the widespread problem. Binge drinking is a term used to describe the act drinking alcoholic beverages with the intention of becoming intoxicated over a short period of time.
Secondly, observing people binge drinking was the moist difficult. Because the definition I used for binge drinking was “Drinking 5 or more alcoholic drinks, on the same occasion, on at least 1 day in the past 30 days (NIH),” it was quite difficult to find people drinking that much in only an hour. Furthermore, I could not determine the amount of drinks consumed by those who were already at the bar prior to my arrival. With that being said, I decided to observe people and their surrounding while consuming alcohol and not worry about binge drinking.
Gender, age and socioeconomic status are predisposing factors to regular binge drinking, and the burden of alcohol abuse is approximately six times higher in males (World Health Organization, 2003). Charles, Valenti & Miller (2011) discovered in a sample of adults aged 19 years and over, 15% of participants were regular binge drinkers and almost one-third of patients aged 18-24 years were regular binge drinkers. Patients from an English speaking background were twice as likely to binge drink regularly as those from non-English speaking backgrounds (Charles, Valenti, & Miller, 2011). Remote populations were more likely to be binge drinkers than those from major cities or regional areas (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2008). The percentage of Australians who reported consuming risky levels of alcohol has increased from 8% in 1995 to 13% in 2004-05 (Teesson et al., 2010). This demonstrates that there has been an increase in the percentage of binge drinking over time, or ...
...them when they take just one drink of alcohol, even if it is just one shot or one beer, it affect you. Most college student drink to socialize and that is not a good thing to do. When a students, or anyone, drink to be social there are more likely to have more then what they intended. Alcohol will affect the way that students think, feel, act, and socialize with others. Drink is a dangers action to participate in but that is a choice that one needs to make on their own. It is always fun at the time, but at that same time one does not think that they are permanently arming to their bodies. Whether children and teens drink 15,25 or even 30 percent of the alcohol consumed, the reality is that America has an underage drinking epidemic and alcohol is by far the drug most used by children and teens and poses the greatest threat to their well-being” (Underage, CNN.com pg2).
Lily, Henrietta M. and Harmon, Daniel E. Alcohol Abuse and Binge Drinking. New York: the Rosen Publishing Group Inc., 2012. Print.
Makela, Pia. "Views into studies of differences in drinking habits and alcohol problems between sociodemographic groups." Contemporary Drug Problems, Winter 1999 v26 i4 p633.
Insecurity is another incentive to why students binge drink. Drinking alcohol has been a large part of society for many years. People find that it is easier to meet people when they have been drinking. Drinking has also been used as a way to get close to some one. There are also many social events drinking has created. There are cozy bars “where every body knows your name,” cocktail parties, and the high school favorite, house party.
Researchers have found many risk factors for drinking among teens and young adults. Adolescents long to have fun, and enjoy their youth years as much as they can. They reach out for things that make them feel older and more alive. Little do they know that the result of alcohol is detrimental to a fun easy-going lifestyle. According to Deborah Morrow (2017), binge drinking is when someone abuses alcohol, and they go over the 5/4 limit in two hours or less. The 5/4 limit is just an explanation that he or she is binge drinking if a man has more than five drinks, and a woman has more than four over a two hour period. Allowing teenagers to unknowingly throw away their lives is a problem. Recently they have found that
A lot of the time, teens think it is ‘cool’ to drink because everyone else does it. Almost every television show that young people watch have some underage substance abuse, leading adolescents to believe that it can’t be that bad. While society plays a big part in this huge problem, both teens and parents need to learn that there can be severe consequences from as little as one drink. Allowing them to think this kind of behavior is acceptable will haunt them for the rest of their lives, even if they are not alcohol related. Believing that such behavior is acceptable now will lead them to bad decision-making skills in the future when faced with an ethical decision. Teens need to know the major effects can come from underage drinking before going to that party or when being pressured into something they may not be willing to participate in. It is obvious that the long and short-term effects of alcohol abuse can be easily avoided by getting educated and thinking before engaging in any self-destructive
Wechsler, Henry and Kuo, Meichun. College Students Define Binge Drinking and Estimate Its Prevalence: Results of a National Survey. EBSCO Publishing 29 Oct. 2000
18% of men and 29% of women do not drink or drink less than once a month. (http://www.alcohol.org.nz/effects December 10) Men consume 73% of all alcohol. 83% of the top 10% of drinkers are male. (http://www.alcohol.org.nz/effects December 10) On average the top 5% of male drinkers consume the equivalent of 63 cans of beer a week. (http://www.alcohol.org.nz/effects December 10)
This research paper will help enable sociologists to determine what the ongoing effects have on an alcoholic and further provides information on the long-term effects that society has to deal with. The significance of alcoholism and sociology is the ability of sociologists to research and discover how human behaviour is affected on many aspects of its effects on a person. An alcoholic can be described as someone who is addicted to drinking alcoholic beverages in excess. What starts out as social drinking can lead to excessive drinking and the many problems associated with alcohol abuse and i...
Avoid social gatherings and places where there may be alcohol. This can keep you from being tempted to
Let’s ask a question: why do people start using alcohol at the first place? And why they start doing it at such young age? Well, just “like other adult drinkers, college students expect alcohol to produce a series of positive effects – relaxation, socialization, sexuality – and the strength of these positive expectancies is related to drinking” (Walters & Baer, 2006). And who wouldn’t take a couple drinks to gain a group of friends? It lowers social inhibitions, so it is very well known among shy individuals as well. However, this activity can be also pressurized by peers. In this case, pressure wouldn’t be effective on people who do not accept or see positive aspects of occasional drinking. That means, everyone starts by saying ‘yes’ to a glass.
The cause of alcoholism is a combination of biological, psychological, and cultural factors that may contribute to the development of...