Alcohol abuse

michaelApril 24, 2019comment (0)

Alcohol Prevention Among Adolescents: An Overview

The abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol among adolescents continues to be a major global problem, faced by countries all over the world including the US. It is estimated that every year, more than 2.5 million people die due to alcohol-related complications. Excessive alcohol consumption is a growing problem in many countries of the world.

Problems Caused by Alcohol Abuse

The number of people who die because of alcohol abuse is several times more than the number of people killed by the consumption of cocaine, heroin, and other class A drugs. Apart from causing death, alcohol abuse can also have several long-term consequences for the addict as well as for their family and friends. This is because alcohol addiction can lead to violence, criminal behavior, accidents, and many more personal and societal issues.

Alcohol addiction is also hard to treat and quite expensive, which creates a financial burden on society. Due to the cost, a relatively small minority of addicts ever receive treatment for their condition, which further exacerbates the problem.

According to various studies, a high correlation exists between adolescent alcohol abuse and long term addiction and alcoholism during adulthood. This points to the fact that many adult alcoholics started quite early on the path of substance abuse. Adolescent alcohol abuse may also lead to academic under-achievement, teenage pregnancy, depression, and delinquency.

The Need for Prevention and Intervention

Mentioned above are some of the major risk factors associated with adolescent alcohol abuse. Alcoholism is also a leading cause of suicide in teenagers and young adults. Therefore, alcohol prevention programs that minimize the risk factors leading to addiction, through school, family, and community intervention, are the need of the hour. Such school-based prevention programs can play an instrumental role in saving future generations from the ruinous clutches of alcoholism.

Identifying Risk Factors

The first step towards preventing teenage alcoholism is identifying the factors that usually push youngsters towards substance abuse. Many of these factors are modifiable or entirely preventable. Some risk factors associated with adolescent alcohol usage are:

Early exposure to alcohol and other addictive substances.
Poor parenting or proximity with alcoholic family members.
Influence of friends and peer groups.
Socioeconomic status of the family and the community as a whole.
Biological or genetic predisposition towards addiction.
Mental illness among family members or guardians.

Knowing about these risk factors and being aware of their effects on an adolescent is essential for effective alcohol prevention. Schools, community workers, family members, and healthcare professionals can then work together to identify and help at-risk youth as well as trying to minimize the risk factors in their environment. It has also been found that adverse childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect can significantly enhance the risk of teenage alcohol abuse.

Alcohol Prevention Programs

Drug and alcohol prevention programs in schools are extremely essential in the modern world. However, there are certain key factors that need to be present in order for these programs to be effective. Some of the factors that can enhance the effectiveness of an alcohol prevention program have been mentioned below:

Program coordinators must proactively identify and address risk factors. Students who are thought to be at risk of alcohol abuse or addiction should be counseled and their situation assessed on a one-on-one basis. Then, personalized help and guidance should be provided to these individuals to help them overcome the lure or substance abuse.
Program coordinators must also provide accurate and developmentally appropriate information to the adolescents, in accordance with their age and maturity levels. No alcohol prevention program can be successful without transparency and the dissemination of accurate and relevant information, as there would be a lack of trust between the teenagers and their mentors.
Moreover, young adults must be made aware of the various pressures that they might face when it comes to alcohol and drug consumption. Therefore, the alcohol prevention program must help teenagers recognize and resist peer pressure promoting substance abuse. They must be taught how to effectively handle potentially risky situations without succumbing to peer pressure.
Another important factor when it comes to alcohol prevention is personal and social skill development. Teenagers must be taught how to handle their own negative emotions, such as fear, insecurity, loneliness, anxiety, and depression, without resorting to alcoholism. Moreover, they must be taught effective social skills that will help them avoid alcohol consumption and seek help for any problems that they might be having.

In Conclusion

A successful alcohol prevention program must incorporate all or most of the above-mentioned characteristics. Such a program might be delivered to adolescents through schools, community centers, healthcare facilities, etc. According to a 2010 study, both family and community intervention can play a pivotal role in minimizing the risk of adolescent drug and alcohol abuse.

An effective school or community-based alcohol prevention program can change the destiny of individuals and communities as a whole, which makes such programs a very valuable investment in the future of the country and the world.

How Alcohol Media Literacy Can Help Prevent Alcohol Abuse

michaelFebruary 27, 2019comment (0)

What Is Alcohol Media Literacy and How Can It Help Prevent Alcohol Abuse?

Did you know that three out of every four students have already tried alcohol even before completing high school?

Alcohol consumption is not uncommon in adolescents or high-school students. Media messages and advertisements repeatedly expose students to appealing portrayals of alcohol consumption, which causes them to want to try alcoholic beverages. This is known to be a major cause of alcohol abuse, illness, injury, poor grades, and bad behavior in adolescents.

Although many factors influence the use of alcohol, media communications and portrayals contribute to a great extent. This makes alcohol media literacy a necessary part of any curriculum of school-based alcohol and drug prevention programs.

In this article, we will evaluate how media can influence adolescents to consume alcohol and what educational institutions can do to stop or minimize such influence.

How Media Encourages Alcohol Abuse?

From movies and television shows to advertisements and commercials, every type of media communication can have a profound effect on young and impressionable individuals. This is especially true when they involve the use of alcohol. The appealing setup and popular actors enable youngsters to perceive alcohol consumption as a necessary and desirable part of their lives.

Here are some factors which encourage young people to abuse alcohol:

Young adults who regularly watch television or movies are more likely to start consuming alcohol at an early age. The reason behind this is the glamorization of alcohol use in movies, which encourages youngsters to believe that alcohol use can make them look attractive and confident.
In 2009, research revealed that alcohol companies spend USD 1.7 billion on advertisements. That amount has only grown over the decade that has passed. All the money spent on alcohol advertisements is used to provoke adolescents to start alcohol consumption.

One effective method for reducing alcohol consumption among adolescents, by encouraging them to think critically about portrayals of alcohol consumption in the media, is alcohol media literacy. If these programs are successfully implemented in schools, a reduction in substance abuse and unhealthy habits can be observed.

What Is Alcohol Media Literacy?

Alcohol media literacy is evaluating, analyzing, and understanding the motivations behind digital media communications and messages. It helps adolescents assess the quality and authenticity of the media they are consuming. Some aspects of alcohol media literacy are:

What is being propagated by the media?
Whether or not it is true?
Why media messages are constructed in a certain manner?
Who is the target audience?

Understanding and analyzing these questions helps young adults to better process the context of messages propagated by the media. This reduces the chances of underage drinking and other unhealthy behaviors.

How Alcohol Media Literacy Helps in Preventing Alcohol Abuse?

Many studies carried out on the effectiveness of alcohol media literacy revealed that it could improve the critical thinking abilities of children and teenagers. This helps them become more resistant to messages promoting the use or consumption of alcohol. In fact, the effects can be seen even years after attending a program that taught alcohol media literacy. This long-term impact also eventually enables students to resist peer pressure and other types of coercion and persuasion with regards to alcohol consumption.

A particular study meant to find the relevance of alcohol media literacy programs explained that these sessions can lessen the desire for alcohol consumption in children. The students from 3rd grade were resistant to alcohol use after attending the intervention and they were less likely to rate alcohol-related media as positive.

It was further explained that regular intervention by parents paired with alcohol media literacy can reduce the impact of late-night parties, sports, shows, and music on the incidence of underage drinking. This also highlights the importance of parental involvement in delivering and promoting alcohol media literacy.

In yet another study, 14-19 year olds from two clinics were analyzed. The students were analyzed for covariate-adjusted bivariate relationships, alcohol use measures, expectancies, and health literacy. In total, 293 children were studied and 45 percent of them had consumed alcohol in the past six months. The study concluded that students who received alcohol media literacy training were less likely to try alcohol than their peers. It enabled adolescents to understand and process information delivered through the media.

Key Aspects of Alcohol Media Literacy Programs

Alcohol media literacy helps young adults to evaluate, analyze and process information shown on the media. Studies even found that early exposure to media literacy can make children less vulnerable to self-destructive behaviors when they grow up.

Let’s discuss the key aspects of implementing alcohol media literacy:

Assess and Evaluate

Educational institutions should find relevant data for developing students’ trust in the program. This information should be thoroughly checked for quality and relevance. The point of view of the data should be checked in accordance with the audience to have maximum impact.

Reflect and Act

Parents should be taught to reflect the practices of the media literacy program in real life. Considering the impact alcohol abuse can have on youngsters, the teachings of an alcohol media literacy program should be practically followed for increased impact.

Lastly, educators and parents should work in collaboration to reduce underage alcohol consumption. Problems at home and school should be analyzed and a solution should be offered to students through two-way communication.

In Conclusion

Underage consumption of alcohol can make youngsters aggressive, distracted, mean, and unhealthy. Furthermore, alcohol consumption can also promote risky behaviors such as drinking and driving or unprotected sexual intercourse.

Alcohol media literacy is an effective means of reducing alcohol abuse as it teaches students about the importance of thinking critically about advertisements and movies that glamorize alcohol consumption. This can help teens avoid alcohol and build strong personal belief systems. However, for maximum effectiveness, the program should involve active communication, query resolution, and frequent follow-ups.