Essay On Underage Drinking

The article “Why the Drinking Age Should be Lowered: An Option based upon Research” is about twenty years of research based underage drinking done by Ruth Engs. It talks about the way things were in the past compared to how things are now. The research done for this article shows that binge drinking is mostly found in the age below 21 due to the lack of being taught responsible drinking habits. In this article there are many statistics dealing with drinking at a college level over a long span of

Simply remarking that such a decision is dangerous fails to suffice as concrete evidence of the negative effects of underage alcohol consumption, and so statistical evidence must be given. Approximately five thousand underage drinkers die each year; the most prevalent cause is, not surprisingly, motor vehicle accidents. What many do not understand is what other factors constitute the other approximately three thousand; sixteen hundred to homicides, that is, murders and other deliberate killings, as well as 300 to suicide, usually caused by an exacerbation of underlying depression or other psychological difficulties. The remaining thousand are usually caused by such grisly circumstances as falling, burning, and drowning. While this may seem a relatively small number in the vast amounts of the twelve to twenty year old age group, estimates are that within the past month one-quarter of underage persons used alcohol, while two-thirds of those were binge drinkers. Not only does underage drinking increase the chance of dying in related incidents it encourages other destructive behaviors: engage in sexual activities, carry a plethora of illegal substances, and correlations have even been found that links underage drinking to poor performance in school. Other observations have been made that negatively link underage drinking with mental

Every year, thousands of minors die from the use of alcohol. Many young adults abuse the drinking age policy. It is put in effect for substantial reasons, which contribute in making the safest environment for all. Drinking underage is not only illegal, but also damages one’s health tremendously. Furthermore, drinking in large amounts is extremely dangerous and can cause detrimental things to occur. There have been numerous attempts to create a law to lower the drinking age, but none have gone through. In contrast to what some people may say, the drinking age should not be lowered because it would decrease maturity, promote poor behavior, and damage reputations.

Based on information taken from NIH (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) by the age of fifteen around half of teens have had at least one drink and seventy percent by that age of 18 have had a drink. It seems harmless for youth to experiment with alcohol but there are serious risks that come with underage drinking such as injury, sexual assault, and even death. In 2008 there were more than one hundred ninety thousand underage people to visit the emergency room for alcohol related injuries. Drinking can impair decisions on sexual activity and can lead to sexually assaulting someone, or if in a crowd of drinkers the chance of being sexually assaulted is increased and even more so when it comes to youth. Alcohol in youth can even lead to death, around five thousand death are reported annually for alcohol related underage deaths. To help prevent underage drinking you can learn to look for signs in your youth. Look for problems in school, lack of concentration, bad memory, less regard for appearance, signs of alcohol use like smell and containers. If you are underage and thinking about drinking, don’t, wait tell you’re the appropriate age and then only drink in moderation and responsibly, also avoid youth that would pressure you into drinking, what may be cool isn’t the way to success.

Underage drinking is very common in the United States. Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug in the United States, even more so than illicit drugs (Marijuana, Cocaine, etc…) and tobacco. “In 2012 the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 24% of youth aged 12 to 20 years drink alcohol and 15% reported binge drinking. In 2013, the Monitoring the Future Survey reported that 28% of 8th graders and 68%

Despite the current legal drinking age being 21, underage drinkers have a virtually unlimited supply to alcohol because parents, siblings, and friends that are of age can easily supply them with booze; 26 percent of underage drinkers receive alcohol from parents or family members. In fact, 40 percent of young adults receive alcoholic beverages from friends and family (2008, Edgar Snyder). “When asked how easy it would be to get alcohol, most 8th, 10th, and 12th graders said ‘fairly easy’ or ‘very easy’” (2008, Edgar Snyder).

“Eighty percent of twenty-one year olds admit to purchasing alcohol for younger friends (Bonnie 5). If twenty-one year olds give alcohol to their younger friend, what makes people think that eighteen year olds wouldn’t do it too. If the legal drinking age is lowered to eighteen, eighteen year olds in high school might have sibling that is in middle school so those middle schools will also have access to alcohol. Surveys show that the most common source for alcohol among eighteen to twenty year olds is their twenty-one to twenty-four-year-old peers (Clark). Teen drinking can cause suicides. There is more pressure on teen than adults and when alcohol is added to the mix is only increases those effect (Arguments). Alcohol an affect you being a good student and it can also increase the risk of depression, violence and suicide. “Drinking and drug use may begin very early for young Americans. A new study has shown that by the time a teen reaches late adolescents, most of them have drank alcohol and use illicit substances”(National Institute). The younger you start can increase the risk of alcoholism at a young age. This can eventually lead to death.

An alcoholic parent can affect what a child thinks is morally acceptable because, they are more tolerant of misbehavior, and often are not very moral people themselves. Alcoholic parents may not often be present or in a stable state of mind, allowing their children to partake in the activities they choose, which are often bad for them. The parents are not conscientious enough to put down the actions, making the child think they are acceptable. Children of alcoholics are more likely to steal and be violent, use drugs and or alcohol, and be engaged in activities that are potentially dangerous ("Children Of Alcoholics | American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry"). They are being raised in an environment where they see this happening, and then imitate it, because that is how they think a person is allowed to act. Some children are just copying what they see their parents do. Alcohol may be the parents’ way to deal with the pressures of daily life, and children observe the use of alcohol as a coping mechanism, making

It’s Monday night at about 11:30, but I’m doing something different tonight that I haven’t done on a Monday night in a while; I’m staying sober. Yes, I am underage (19 years and 6 months to be exact) and it won’t be until my Junior year of college before I can take my first legal drink in the United States. But I am not the only one who drinks while under the legal age limit; there is an estimated 63% of underage college students that get drunk on a minimum basis of one night a week (Foster, 1996).

First off, alcohol addiction and abuse among teenagers today is a bigger problem than ever before. The root of the problem lies in the fact that the teens are so exposed to the culture of this day and age, leading them to where they have easy access to alcohol. For example, their parents may already be alcoholics, and it's merely a few bad decisions later which could cause the child to have a few drinks and cloud their judgement. This is a big problem because their young bodies have never encountered anything like alcohol before, so in turn, the body does not know how to process it, and therefore leads to their downfall. A publication released by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAA) suggests that by age 18, an astounding 60% of US teens would have had at least one drink. Moreover, according to the NIAA, youth between the ages of 12 and 20 will often binge drink as well.

open your eyes. They call 911 and you are taken to the hospital. You are

Social influences include low socio-economic status of the individual, low levels of parental guidance and education, family or domestic issues at home, presence of a history of alcoholism in the family, lack of rules on alcohol use in the family setting and peer pressure.

Every problem has a beginning, where the domino effect starts. In most cases people get started drinking not because they like it, but because it is illegal and it gives them a chance to rebel. The so-called “rebel” becomes bored of drinking alone and eventually seeks “company” when they are drinking. The only catch is that the “rebel” can not be the only one drinking so the “company” has to drink. This is where the problem with peer pressure and teenage drinking begins and the first domino starts the chain reaction. There are two types of peer pressure. There is direct peer pressure where a subject’s peers actually force him into having a drink. There is also indirect peer pressure where the subject enters a setting and his peers are drinking so he decides to have a drink to fit in with the rest of his peers (Articles-Teenage Drinking 2). Surveys show that alcohol abuse is related to teenage activities such as going on dates and going to parties (Teenage Alcohol Misuse 2).

As stated by NIAAA, UNDERAGE DRINKING: A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE, The younger you are when you start drinking, the greater your

The social influence that I have identified is peer pressure in alcoholism. Allen, Fretz, et. al (2008) explain that the increased use of alcohol among adolescents can be related directly to peer pressure. This stand is supported by Bourke (2010) of ABC News who reports that teenagers usually end up drinking alcohol even when they do not plan or want to just so that they can be counted as part of the crowd. She identifies this as peer pressure coupled with the desire to belong (Bourke, 2010).