The Problem of Teen Alcoholism in the United States

It will even lower the rate of college students’ binge drinking, which is half of the eighty percent of students who report binge drinking in the past two weeks (College Drinking). Most college students experience college parties during their educational career. It is part of the “student life”. However, when they consume more than what their body can take, he or she can go into body shock. Therefore, when he or she starts drinking more than he does or she should.

The good news is they do designate drivers. Nearly two thirds of drinking teenagers always establish a designated driver when drinking with friends. The age when young people are taking their first drink is becoming lower each year. Many studies show that preteens are experimenting with alcohol and many are already heavy drinkers. It may be difficult for parents and teachers to believe that a seventh grade student can have an alcohol problem, but a study of student drinking practices shows that 5% of seventh-grade boys and 4.4% of seventh-grade girls are seriously abusing alcohol.

Then by the twelfth grade over eighty percent of all teenagers have had a drink and sixty-four percent have been drunk (Youth and Underage Drinking: An Overview). These are shocking and startling facts for some. But the truth is, it?s there. What is the problem with all of these minors drinking? There are quite a few people who do not think that drinking at a young age is bad for you.

Alcohol is the number one drug problem among America’s youth. More senior high school students use alcohol than any other psychoactive drug. Family doctors, pediatricians, schoolteachers, and parents know that alcohol is overwhelmingly the drug of choice among today’s youth, although trendier substances such as cocaine are often given more attention in the headlines (Carla Felsted, p. vii). Furthermore, it is widely acknowledged that drinking alcohol is a part of the youth culture in America; it may also be understood as a culturally conditioned and socially controlled behavior. In my generation drinking among underage kids is blamed on peers, accessibility, and adulthood.

The greatest question posed, is why does such a destructive activity appeal in particular to this age group? One might initially assume that all people in this age bracket are prone to participate in binge drinking. However, while forty-four percent of college students binge drink, only thirty-four percent of students the same age who are not enrolled in a college or university binge drink. There may be several reason... ... middle of paper ... ...and I would venture to say that it is a small percentage of students who suffer problems of alcoholism and alcohol abuse later in life. I believe that this particular age group is prone to rebellion and experimentation.

Each year most teen deaths have been caused from underage drinking in the United States, which is a big topic that the government is trying to prevent from happening. The government has set the drinking age to 21 but how are teens getting there alcohol? Teens are using fake Id’s to get their alcohol or even asking adults to purchase it for them, because of this, underage drinking has become a big issue in the United States. The age when young people are taking their first drink is becoming lower each year. Many studies report that preteens are experimenting with alcohol and many are already heavy drinkers.

One frightening statistic that shows how much this problem has been increasing is that between 1948 and 1988 the percent of teen drinkers increased by 57 percent (Nielsen 47). Many parents may think that their child may not drink until they are much older, but the average age that teenagers try alcohol is between the ages twelve and sixteen (9). Also, a 1995 study taken by the University of Michigan stated that 35 out of 100 high school seniors drank 5 or more drinks at one time at least once during their two week survey period (Claypool 10). “ A recent poll by the National Association of Student Councils found that alcohol was the leading school problem and 46 percent [of students] said it was the school’s most serious problem (Monroe 53).” This may be because alcohol is very dangerous because it is a poisonous drug that can be very addictive (Mitchell 6). In order to help solve this problem of underage drinking we must first try to understand why teens drink alcohol.

64% of high school students say they have been drunk at least once by their senior year and 33% admit to being drunk in the past month (Teens' Alcohol Problems). Teens today are falsely believing that drinking is acceptable within a large party of friends or familiar faces. However, it is society’s responsibility to bring awareness to the risk and dangers of teen drinking as well as alcoholism as a

By the age of 15, there has been at least one out of five who have tried alcohol and they have become heavy drinkers by the age of 18 (O’Connell, 2005). By the time teens are in 12th grade, there are at over three-quarters of those students reported have tried alcohol and at least three-fifths have reported being drunk once (Brown, et al., 2009). Children who begin drinking in high school continue to drink once they have completed high school (Brown, et al., 2009). Drinking alcohol by teens is risky not only because of the risks that can cause acute impairment, but also it can develop long-term development and well-being (O’connell, 2005). The long-term effect of underage drinker can effect teen’s developmental issues and cause health issues.

40% of these college students binge drink, having four or more drinks. This exceeds the rate of other non-college peers. Research suggests