Teenage alcoholism

Causes of teenage alcoholism

The reasons for first exposure to alcohol are very diverse. But their characteristic changes depending on age can be traced. Before the age of 10, the first acquaintance with alcohol occurs either by chance, or it is given "to whet the appetite", "treated with wine", or the child himself tries alcohol out of curiosity (a motive inherent mainly to boys). At an older age, the motives for the first use of alcohol become traditional reasons: "holiday", "family celebration", "guests", etc. From the age of 14-15, such reasons appear as "it was awkward to lag behind the guys", "friends persuaded", "for the company", "for courage", etc. Boys are characterized by all these groups of motives for the first acquaintance with alcohol, for girls, the second, "traditional" group of motives is typical. Usually this is, so to speak, an "innocent" glass in honor of a birthday or other celebration. And although this happens with the consent of the parents, in the family circle, still such introduction of children to wine is dangerous. After all, it is worth touching alcohol once, as the psychological barrier is removed and the teenager feels the right to drink with friends or even alone, if such an opportunity arises. It is not for nothing that people say: "Rivers begin with a stream, and drunkenness with a glass."

Teenage alcoholism and motives

In general, the motives for drinking alcohol by teenagers are divided into two groups. The motives of the first group are based on the desire to follow traditions, experience new sensations, curiosity, etc. The formation of these motives is facilitated by certain properties of the adolescent psyche, the awakening sense of adulthood, the desire to be like everyone else, the desire to imitate their elders, etc. The age characteristics of adolescents can to a certain extent explain their consumption of alcoholic beverages "for courage". This motive is associated with the lack of life experience in adolescents, knowledge that allows them to freely communicate with others (for example, with older people, girls). In addition, a certain part of adolescents is characterized by shyness as a character trait, which is more pronounced in youth than in adulthood. Hence the overestimation of such personal qualities as courage, physical strength. When drunk, the apparent possession of these qualities often turns into impudence. Thus, even before the first acquaintance with the taste of alcohol, the teenager forms a certain idea of ??this product, about its special, as it is incorrectly believed, pleasant stimulating effect. But the first acquaintance with alcohol unexpectedly turns out to be completely different from what the teenager imagined: the “bitter taste” of vodka, burning in the mouth, dizziness, nausea and, in some cases, vomiting even from a single intake of small doses. After such an unpleasant acquaintance, most teenagers avoid alcohol for some time. However, at the age of 13-16, in connection with some events (graduation from school, admission to an educational institution, holidays, birthdays, weddings, etc.), the temptation to drink wine resumes, and gradually it begins to acquire new psychological content. In this regard, the second group of motives for alcohol consumption, which form drunkenness as a type of behavior of offenders, deserves special attention. These motives include the desire to get rid of boredom. In psychology, boredom is called a special mental state of the individual, associated with emotional hunger. Teenagers in this category have lost or significantly weakened interest in cognitive activity. Teenagers who consume alcohol are almost not involved in social work. Significant shifts are observed in their leisure time. These children are less interested in fiction, rarely participate in amateur performances, almost never go to the theater, and lose interest in serious music and painting. True, they love cinema, but often only for its entertainment value.
Internal spiritual limitations and the inability to show themselves well in a school community cause the teenager to frequently usealcohol for the sake of self-affirmation in a street group of friends. The need for self-affirmation in adolescence is common and understandable. It's all about the means of self-affirmation. The lack of skills in useful activities (study, work) and interest in them in a drinking teenager leads him to drink alcohol as a form of self-affirmation, which, however, entails very harmful consequences. Finally, some teenagers drink alcohol to relieve stress, to free themselves from unpleasant experiences. A tense, anxious state can really arise due to their alienated position in the family, school community. An analysis of how teenagers who are prone to drinking alcohol spend their free time shows that, in general, they are characterized by primitive, aimless pastimes: computer games, including for money, many hours of scrolling music discs, "strumming" guitars, idle strolling along the streets, visiting bars, cinema. Spending free time mainly with friends is typical for teenagers. And although teenage groups are formed spontaneously, they are made up of guys who are close in level of development, needs and interests. But if a teenage group is not united by any useful activity, it is dominated by the "empty" pastime of bored minors, and such a group becomes fertile ground for drinking alcoholic beverages. Most teenagers know about the harmful effects of alcohol, but among them there is also a widespread opinion about the "benefits" of alcoholic beverages, which are regarded as an indicator of adulthood, which is indirectly supported by some foreign works of literature and cinema, where the state of intoxication is savored and even poeticized. They impose on young people the false idea that in the life of an adult, drunken drinking parties are a common thing and therefore not reprehensible.

Teenage Alcoholism and Behavior

How often do some teenagers proudly note their friends' increased resistance to alcohol, believing that this is due to physical health. But in fact, increased resistance to vodka is the first sign of incipient alcoholism, a symptom of a serious illness. For an alcoholic, a shot glass, a glass, or a bottle of wine are all the same. Even a glass of alcohol brings him into a peculiar state of euphoria - excitement, which only increases his desire to drink, and then subsequent doses change his appearance little, although noticeable shifts occur in the body. At first, the teenager shows extreme activity, trying to drink another shot "out of turn", begins to rage or fool around. But then the last drop overflows the limits of stability, and the teenager "disconnects" from the outside world, falling into oblivion. Loss of control over the amount drunk, excessive greed for alcohol and the accompanying uncontrolled, cheeky, often cynical behavior are persistent signs of alcoholism. The drunkard's will is weakened - and not only in limiting alcohol intake, but also in relation to other, businesslike aspects of everyday life.

Teenage Alcoholism and the Stages of Intoxication

Let's follow the stages of intoxication and alcoholism in more detail. A group of teenagers gathered for a birthday party, guests gathered, a battery of bottles with attractive labels towers at a table set with food. Here, wine, beer and vodka are an indispensable attribute of feasts. After the first toast, there is silence at the table for some time, but after a few minutes, a casual conversation begins. Everything is decorous and noble. But somewhere at the far end of the table a chuckle goes by - this is the first joke told, the witticism launched. A little later - after a couple more toasts - a general hubbub begins. Someone climbs across the table with their glass to their friends, and someone else starts singing a song. To a sober person who unexpectedly finds himself in a drunken company, many things seem wild, although he himself, being tipsy, did not notice the absurdity of the behavior of those around him. Here one of the guests with annoying persistence persuades his neighbor to drink an extra glass of vodka, and another is already nodding off over a full plate, "sleepy" from the large amount he has drunk. Such a festive feast is episodic.
And if you ask its participants how often they drink, most will answer that they drink irregularly. However, even after a single drink of alcohol, teenagers have a restless night, and in the morning theywake up exhausted, with a swollen face and a sore head. The work day, as a rule, turns out to be ruined, and at school or college everything goes wrong, thought processes deteriorate significantly, the speed and accuracy of calculations decreases.
So, even after irregular, accidental alcohol consumption, serious problems occur in the body, indicating severe poisoning. If alcohol consumption becomes systematic, the teenager drinks on any occasion, looking for any reason to get drunk, then this is already called everyday drunkenness. For any drunkard, the meaning of the festive event does not matter, he does not care whether others approve of his behavior or not. At this stage of initiation to alcohol, the drinker's attitude to others, to generally accepted and acceptable norms of behavior changes significantly. For a drunkard, his drinking buddies become his closest people, even if they are at the table with him for the first time. The time, place and environment in which people drink lose their meaning. Let it be a restaurant or a canteen, a kitchen table or a counter in a snack bar, finally, just a gateway or a dirty staircase - the drunkard does not care.

Thus, the difference between occasional drinking and drunkenness lies not only in the amount drunk at one time, but also in the psychological attitude of the drinker. In the first case, the teenager celebrates some solemn or significant event, in the second - he drinks only to get himself drunk. If you stop the teenager from drinking in time, this prevents his further decline and the development of alcoholism.