Teenage Alcohol Abuse: A Serious Problem
Recent alcohol abuse statistics demonstrate the fact that alcohol abuse among adolescents is increasing in the United States. What are some of the reasons for this? Many chemical dependency specialists believe that alcohol ads constructed by the media are an important reason for the proliferation of teen alcohol abuse.
Other chemical dependency consultants argue that the increase in teenage alcohol abuse is due to the toleration and ease of access of alcohol in our society.
Still other substance abuse professionals think that many of our adolescents engage in injurious drinking due to the increased stress that they are subjected to.
From a slightly different viewpoint, since both parents in quite a few families are employed, the lack of parental supervision unquestionably has to play an important role in the increase in youth alcohol abuse. And finally, various alcohol abuse experts articulate that the spread of teen alcohol abuse is due, at least partially, to our laissez-faire society.
Excessive Drinking and Coping Skills Education
One feature of youth alcohol abuse that looks as if it lacking in the alcohol addiction research results, however, is the lack of educational programs that teach teenagers how to improve upon their coping skills so that their risky drinking behavior is significantly diminished or exterminated.
Stated more precisely, scientific research has demonstrated that there is an indirect association between poor coping skills and alcohol abuse. Basically, this means that the more mediocre the coping skills, the greater the prevalence of alcohol abuse. To the extent that this is a truthful affirmation, why isn’t coping skills training a primary part of the educational curriculum in all of our high schools, junior high schools, and elementary schools?
A Society That Accentuates Youth Coping Skills
Let us create a scenario for the purpose of clarification. Let us imagine a society in which students are trained how to develop excellent coping skills all the way from kindergarten up to and including their senior year in high school.
In such a society, when life gets challenging, students who are “coping skills masters” will be able to respond in a healthier and more rewarding manner, as opposed to others who fail to execute their coping skills.
Stated differently, students who show evidence of superior coping skills will be more able to think proactively and engage in superior decision making as opposed to adolescents who, because they failed to obtain outstanding coping skills, are drawn to the “quick fix” of hazardous drinking.
What would happen in the above “ideal” society, furthermore, if young people not only got first class coping skills training but also received an exceptional education that stressed the long term and short term damaging results associated with drug abuse and alcohol abuse? Emphasizing these types of drug and alcohol abuse facts, along with more highly developed coping skills instruction, it is affirmed, would help teens avoid the clear allure of underage drinking and, as a consequence, would fundamentally reduce the destructive drinking behavior displayed by adolescents in our country.
Teen Abusive Drinking: Conclusion
There are without a doubt more than a few defensible reasons why so many of our teens drink in a hazardous manner. Such a thorny issue demands a far-reaching and more meaningful preventative and educational response by our parents, educators, politicians, and students so that our teenagers can learn how to cope with life’s predicaments in a more fruitful and responsible way rather than resorting to excessive drinking behavior to solve their problems.
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