Underage Drinking Research Paper

Underage drinking has been said to have declined in the past couple of decades; however, recent studies show that it still remains a prominent problem with youth between the ages of 15 and 20. According to a 2003 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, results showed that the onset for first-time alcohol dependence for adolescents is 1.4 percent higher than adults (Windle & Zucker, 2010). The legal drinking age in the United States is 21. Underage drinking refers to the consumption of alcohol by anyone younger than that age. Alcohol is the drug of choice for most adolescents. It is such a problem that prevention strategies are being put into place to start reducing the onset of early alcohol use. Providing after-school …show more content…
Many kids get the talk about drinking two years too late, but age eight is not too early (Virginia Department, 2010). Prevention campaigns suggest speaking to youth early regarding alcohol use is important to delaying the onset of it. Alcohol consumption is drinking any liquor like beer, hard alcohol, or wine. It reaches the bloodstream so quick that it impairs individual’s vision, coordination, judgment and reaction time. Which later cause short-term or long-term effects. These effects vary on how long the individual has been drinking. Short-term effects depend on how much the person has consumed at the moment. For example, low amounts of alcohol can produce a relaxing effect, but in medium and high doses it produces altered emotions or passing out (Only the Strong, 2014). Long-term effects occur because of continued alcohol consumption. Prolong alcohol use can cause health issues with brain development, liver damage and high blood pressure. These health issues, among others, should be a serious cause for concern for adolescents consuming an alcoholic …show more content…
It is important for youth to learn and understand the risks associated with early alcohol consumption because it affects their lives in many ways. Some typical risk factors include the children's very own parents, peers, and even 'harmless' advertising. Studies show that children of alcoholics are between two and ten times more likely to become alcoholics than children from families with no alcoholic adults (Sher, 1997). Seeing parents drink excessively in their homes potentially evolves into a social norm for a child at risk; in other words, this type of action could become acceptable and part of daily life. By parents continually drinking in the home and not showing their children the required attention, this will make the children possibly feel rejected and they may well look for what they need from their parents elsewhere. This, of course, can lead these individuals down the wrong path and into the grasp of the wrong crowds for acceptance. Early alcohol use has shown to have a strong connection to peers using alcohol and being accepted (National Institute, 1997). Peer pressure refers to the influence that adolescents may have on each other to act or behave a certain way. Some of those pressures may also come from advertising. Advertisements can expose and influence adolescents to use alcohol early. In fact, studies indicate that advertising can cause a rise in alcohol

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