Free Custom «Teenage drinking» Essay Paper

Teenage drinking has been a societal problem for a considerable time and as such, researchers have been in the forefront to resolve the problems associated with it. Adolescent drinking, also known as binge drinking is the focus of research because of the need to come up with prevention and treatment methods. Too much drinking is caused by the desire to avoid painful states, the need to avoid self-awareness, and fear of failure in particular responsibilities. It is for these reasons that it is significant to define the real problem of binge drinking using the theory of self-awareness and the behavior science. This presentation therefore explains factors that influence teenage drinking using the self-awareness theory and behavior science in a bid to suggest essential interventions for the affected teenagers.

According to Enoch (2000), binge drinking is directly related to genetic variations of individuals as gene difference gives an explanation as to why some adolescents are vulnerable to binge drinking than others. The research by Enoch (2000) indicates that 50 % of the drinking teens emanates from the genetic composition of individuals.

 

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Causes of Alcoholism among Adolescents

The theory of self-awareness is critical in understanding the reason behind teenage drinking as the findings from Laurie, Laura & Kenneth, (1988) show that highly self-aware teenagers are more sensitive to their individual states than those with low self-awareness are. High self-awareness results to the need to conform to explicit proscription against violent behavior as found out by Scheier, Fenigstein & Buss (1974) and the need to cheat as found out by Diener & Wallborn (1976), (cited in Lairie et al., 1988). The self-awareness theory explains why self-aware teenagers are sensitive to explicit legal proscription with respect to alcohol use.

The second cause of teenage drinking as seen in the discussion above is genetic composition of an adolescent. Moreover, low initial sensitivity to alcohol use among the teenagers may later influence their binge drinking. This is probably due to the urge to explore what parents and the law earlier concealed. When the teens discover the use of alcohol from the peers or otherwise, they resort to too much drinking that may remain a problem to them if they get addicted.

The other reason why teenage drink is the need to perform in activities that they consider is vital in their career development. Adolescents drink in order to boost their performance in sports and achieve good results. Moreover, binge drinking may be a consideration for teenagers’ wants to have a sober discussion when high performance is highly expected. As discussed earlier, there is pressure to confront the crowd; especially for adolescents with high self-awareness. The other causes of binge drinking include peer pressure, and the prevailing environments in their area of interaction.

Effects of Binge Drinking

The science of understanding individual behaviors has been critical in comprehending the issues that pertain to alcohol use among teenagers. Some of the issues include the reason why some adolescent drinkers do develop drinking crisis while others do not. Biological science has helped in establishing a link between alcohol-seeking behaviors to brain damage. According to Enoch (2000), “scientists have demonstrated that PKCγ alters the ability of alcohol to affect the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain,” (p. 3 of 11).

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Even though the liver and the brain have the same genes, the brain is quite different from the liver because of the continual expression of the genes in the brain. This explains why genetics plays a fundamental role in establishing the environmental triggers that influence creation of alcoholic behaviors. As a result, behavior science remains a major player in understanding the risks of alcoholism in the life span of an individual.

Moreover, low self-awareness among the adolescents that emanate from family background may result to frequent drinking, which has negative consequences (Laurie et al. 1988). Another effect of binge drinking as discussed earlier is that highly self-aware teenagers may become sensitive to explicit legal proscriptions than those with low self-awareness.

Resolutions for Binge Drinking

The presentation above poses the ardent need of understanding the relationships between behavior science, self-awareness, and teenage drinking. Self-awareness theory explains the origin of teenage drinking and the relationship between highly self-aware individuals and alcohol use. Moreover, understanding the effects of alcoholism on the brain should influence further research in this area for the development of other control mechanisms. In this regard, advances in medical technologies would results into deeper understanding of effects of alcohol on the brain.  

The resolution recommended for affected persons is medical treatment. Victims of adolescent drinking should be counseled accordingly and where need be, treatments should be recommended. Undertaking therapy sessions would require the incorporation of behavior science in assessing case scenarios and developing the best therapies of addressing them. For instance, behavior science suggests that lifestyle changes are essential in protecting adolescents from alcohol use. Are a result, it is easy to comprehend that less drinking before these stages would mean less time for dysfunctional drinking (Enoch, 2000).

Conclusion

From the discussion above, it has been established that teenage drinking is a real problem that affect the society and as such, there is need to resolve the issue. The self-awareness theory and behavior science propose some remedial measures that can be undertaken. The available treatment methods can be improved if new technologies are developed to improve brain examination for potential damages caused by alcohol use. In sum, the theories explored in this presentation and the role of science have resulted into deeper understanding of binge drinking; hence, making recommendations for effective treatment procedures.