Drinking Behavior Case Study Essay

The article, “Alcohol can rewire the teenage brain,” starts by stating that more than 4,750 American kids aged 15 and younger, said they took their first drink of alcohol already. Kids who start drinking before the age of 15 are more likely to become alcoholics because they get addicted to the drug. The article also states that they are more likely to start binge drinking. A study conducted by Lorena Siqueira a pediatrician at the Florida International University and Nicklaus Children’s hospital in Miami, reported that, “When kids drink, they tend to do heavy drinking,” and that, “Their bodies are not ready to handle that kind of alcohol.” Teens think that alcohol will help them feel happier and better, but that is not true. Teens also drink

. In an attempt to reform the drinking age to 18, she provided her audience that many teens today are given a lesson of “the benefit of teen abstinence” and as well as to practice it because the results could be problematic at such a young age. She includes this analogy because sex activities are know by society as inappropriate for teens. Even though that sex should be done when you are an adult yet many teens do it anyways. Which goes for drinking as well, many teens do it and yet they are not taught to properly drink. Which results into teens are not able to control themselves around alcohol. This analogy are very similar activities that society taught to teens to not do because there are major consequences. However, only sex education is provided to teens and not to properly drink. This analogy conveys a valid argument that made the argument

There is a general feeling that filling in the Drinker Inventory of Consequences an individual responds to a number of events that drinker’s experience. It is a well-crafted strategy that helps to assess the problems caused by alcoholism since it encircles the events within personal life, family relationships, job problems, and financial constraints, problems with the police, belligerence, and others associated with drinking. Although the draft highlights most of the key issues affecting or affected by alcoholism, it also in a small extent invades the privacy of the drinkers. For instance, a person is asked if the sex life is affected by alcohol, change in marriage or love relationships, if a drinker has lost a marriage or a close love relationship. These are supposed to be private/personal issues but are brought up in the survey draft. Consequently, the questions asked are on target for clients

Is it worth it to let teens to ruin their whole future by allowing them to start drinking at a younger age? Annually about 5,000 youth under age 21 die from motor vehicle, other unintentional injuries, and homicides and suicides that involve underage drinking.(“Underage Drinking”) It is a current debate on whether or not the minimum drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18 from 21. Though, the reasons why the drinking age should be 21, clearly triumph the reasons for the opposing side of minimum legal drinking age 18. When a young boy named Brian started drinking as a teenager, it resulted into increasing issues into adulthood. According to Brian, he started to drink with friends in middle school. As his drinking led on, his grades became progressively worse and he became less involved with school activities. When his drinking continued into adulthood, Brian notes that he became depressed and wanted to die. ("I Started Drinking as a Teenager"). Underage drinking is a widespread offense that results in serious or fatal physical, neurological, and legal consequences, the minimum drinking age of 21 years old is an effective way to keep these consequences from occurring and lets young adults have a safe and successful future.

Statistics say that 8.7 million Americans between the ages twelve and through twenty said they have recently consumed alcohol(“NIH)”. When a person is under the influence, they have consumed enough alcohol for their mental and physical features to become impaired. Teenage drinking is an issue that has haunted society for generations. Each year, approximately 5,000 teenagers die from alcohol related car crashes, alcohol poisoning, homicides, suicides, and other injuries (“Underage”). Scientists say that developmental transitions are key factors in a teens decision to consume alcohol. Therefore, because the teen’s brain is undeveloped, it has led them to drink. Drinking alcohol with an undeveloped brain may cause a loss of intellectual capabilities,

Teens that do the underage drinking can have many health problems. Health problems that can be caused by underage drinking is Death, serious injuries, impaired judgment, increased risk for physical and sexual assault, brain development problems. All of these health problems are serious, and they aren’t thought about by teens before they have a drink. (Underage) Impaired judgments can be considered irresponsible drinking. Significant increase were also found for other variables: “cutting class after drinking” jumped from 9% to almost 12%; “missing class because of hangover” went from 26% to 28%; “getting lower grades because of drinking” rose from 5% to 7% and “been in a fight after drinking” increased from 12% to 17%; these are examples of irresponsible behavior. (Dr. Ruth)

Drinking at a younger age affects the brain’s development that’s harmful for one’s health. The frontal lobe is used for emotional response and regulation which are essential, and the consumption of alcohol interferes with its development (“Procon”). Lowering the legal minimum drinking age leaves the youth open to brain development problems at an earlier stage in life. The risk for potential chronic problems are greater with the consumption of alcohol like an increased risk of addiction, poor decision making, memory loss, depression, violence, and increased risk of suicide (‘Procon”). The brain needs time to develop and

Alcohol addiction, or alcoholism, is a big problem amongst many drinkers. Many persons who are now alcoholics started drinking before the current drinking age, making them there slave, drink after drink. Lowering the drinking age would only increase the number of clinical alcoholics and further damage the families and people who don’t drink. But drinking addiction is not the worst thing alcohol will do to you and your body. A study on the effects of drinking on the minds of young adults and teenagers was recently published in "Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research", showing conclusive evidence that drinking between the ages of 18 and 21 decreased the size and functionality of the pre-frontal cortex, which is the region of the human brain that controls decision making. The same study went to

Today in the United States many of the adults dealing with alcohol problems is the result from underage drinking. They drink to distress themselves from work or any other problems. It can also affect ones character. “By ages 19 and 20, 70 percent of all drinkers engage in heavy drinking, suggesting that the majority of young people are at great risk of making poor decisions that have significant long-term consequences” (MADD). The person can become more violent with others and have sudden mood swings. Another factor of alcoholism is that it will affect the person’s job performance, whether or not the person is still hangover from the night before. Poor school work will also show in the overall outcome of the persons’ willingness to do work and child-care or household can be neglected. These are the problems associated with early age drinking affected many adults.

From the survey they experimented on, one adolescent states, “My mother’s drinking was the backdrop to my childhood… I am an alcoholic now.” This just shows us, that adolescents can be easily influenced by their own family members, by means if adolescents are brought up in a household that consuming an amount of alcohol is a everyday basis, there is a higher chance that adolescents will grow up thinking that it is acceptable and completely normal to consume a huge amount of alcohol every day, seeing that almost their whole lives they grew up and was surrounded by alcohol-related problems. Which also indicates us, that adolescents are not only pressured by friends, but is also a huge problem/issue in their own homes. This only makes it extremely difficult for adolescents to stand up for themselves, seeing that family plays a huge role in young people’s lives in

Everyday there is an alcohol related incident in the world. The poor decision making by young adults cost people’s lives everyday. The original drinking age was 18 years old, it was changed because scientists discovered the brain doesn 't fully develop until the age of 21. But what people don’t know is that the brain fully matures at the age of 25 years old. Car rental places have the age at 25 to be able to rent a car because of young people decision making on drinking and driving. For students in college alcohol can ruin not only their future of becoming something but it can ruin their life by doing stupid things. Most college kids who stay out and party in college fail or flunk out. The dangers of drinking young can lead to many things,

Every country has their own set of laws to protect society of danger. Some people may agree with the laws, and others will violate them. While many have argued that the U.S should lower its legal drinking age, like other European countries, I believe that young adolescents are not cognitively capable of making good choices. A lower drinking age will result in more deaths. Teenagers are already having problems with alcohol. Among many perspectives, teenager’s view of drinking at a young age is really important. Parents play a big role in understanding their teenagers. Their opinion will be a key element into the risky actions done by young teenagers. Not only parents have their thoughts in this issue, but Psychologist have a reasonable explanation of the young adolescent brain. Many functions of the human brain is taken inconsideration regarding teenage behavior.

Children can still be growing all the way up to even eighteen years old. Because minor’s bodies are still growing and developing, consuming alcohol can interfere with the development of a child’s brain. Consuming alcohol can interfere with the development of a young person’s brain. The teen brain is not as developed as twenty-one year olds, which can lead to risks and damages before they are even allowed to drink. As a result, this early set of drinking may lead to addiction, memory loss, violence, and suicide risk is even greater and it would also be medically irresponsible to lower drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen. Select Federal Agencies discovered, “The brains and bodies of teens are still developing, and alcohol use can cause learning problems.” Children ate the future and we want them to grow up healthy and not have any health issues later on in life. People want them to succeed in life, but if the drinking age is lowered it will result in future health issues and they will not be able to live life to the fullest.

According to current statistics released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “In the United States in 2011, there were an estimated 25.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17. In the past year, more than one quarter of adolescents drank alcohol, approximately one fifth used an illicit drug, and almost one eighth smoked cigarettes” ("A Day in the Life of American Adolescents," 2013, para. 1). Substance abuse is major problem amongst adolescents. Some are experimenting, but some adolescents may become dependent on a particular substance. If one becomes dependent on a substance as an adolescent it could be detrimental to their future health and success as an adult. Spear (2003) stated in an article titled Alcohol’s

Teenagers face many difficult decisions in their lives and have many people in their lives that influence them. One of the major groups that influence teens is their peer group. “Since teenagers are not yet comfortable with themselves, they have a strong need to be accepted by their peers. And to be accepted, they feel they have to be just like their peers” (Ruth Maxwell, p. 24). From Maxwell we learn that teenagers will use alcohol to be accepted by a group. As age progresses the number of alcohol users progress 73 percent of kids that are from the ages of 16-18 are drinkers. In addition, around 90 percent of high school seniors have experienced alcohol at least once in their life.