Teen Alcohol Abuse: A Thorny Issue

Alcohol abuse statistics demonstrate the fact that alcohol abuse among teens is increasing in the United States. What are some of the reasons for this? More than a few alcohol addiction consultants think that liquor, wine, and beer advertisements generated by the media are a major reason for the increase in teen alcohol abuse.

Other alcoholism specialists think that the increase in teen alcohol abuse is due to the toleration and accessibility of alcohol in our society.

Still other alcoholism specialists believe that many of our teens get involved in abusive drinking due to the increased tension that they feel.

From a somewhat different viewpoint, since both parents in quite a few families are employed, the lack of parental supervision without a doubt has to play an essential role in the escalation of youth alcohol abuse. And last but not least, diverse alcohol abuse authorities claim that the escalation of adolescent alcohol abuse is due, at least partially, to our permissive society.

Excessive Drinking and Coping Skills

One aspect of teenage alcohol abuse that seems to be poorly reported in the alcohol addiction research results, alternatively, is the absence of educational courses that teach adolescents how to upgrade their coping skills so that their risky drinking behavior is substantially decreased or eliminated.

More specifically, science has made obvious the fact that there is an indirect correlation between poor coping skills and hazardous drinking. Basically, this means that the poorer the coping skills, the higher the frequency of alcohol abuse. To the degree that this is a correct argument, why isn’t coping skills training a major part of the educational core curriculum in all of our junior high schools, elementary schools, and high schools?

A Society That Accentuates Teenage Coping Skills

Let us create a scenario for the purpose of explanation. Let us imagine a society in which all people are taught how to develop superior coping skills all the way from kindergarten up to and including the twelfth grade.

In such a society, when life gets demanding, people who are “coping skills masters” will be able to respond in a healthier and more rewarding manner, contrary to others who fail to put their coping skills into practice.

Stated another way, students who demonstrate outstanding coping skills will be more able to think proactively and engage in quality decision making as opposed to students who, because they were unsuccessful in their attempts to implement quality coping skills, resort to the “quick fix” of excessive drinking.

What would happen in the above “ideal” society, moreover, if adolescents not only received outstanding coping skills training but also obtained an outstanding education that stressed the long term and short term damaging outcomes associated with drug abuse and alcohol abuse? Such an emphasis on drug and alcohol abuse facts, along with more advanced coping skills instruction, it is emphasized, would help students avoid the noticeable allure of teen drinking and, for that reason, would drastically decrease the hazardous drinking behavior exhibited by the youth in our country.

Youth Abusive Drinking: Conclusion

There are certainly scores of valid reasons why so many of our teenagers drink in an excessive manner. Such a complex issue demands a wide-ranging and more applicable educational and preventative response by our students, parents, politicians, and educators so that our youth can learn how to cope with life’s difficulties in a more rewarding and responsible manner rather than resorting to abusive drinking behavior to solve their problems.