write an article on under-age drinking: concerns and recommendations Paper must be at least 2000 words.
Hi, I am looking for someone to write an article on under-age drinking: concerns and recommendations Paper must be at least 2000 words. Please, no plagiarized work! Combination of these factors makes some adolescents more vulnerable to early alcohol use and abuse as compared to others. Understanding these factors has helped in the development of intervention strategies that can help in reducing the prevalence of underage drinking. These strategies span different aspects of the individual’s life and provide all-round support that helps in abstinence behavior. Introduction Alcohol use is prevalent in many countries and is viewed as a favorable activity for adults, particularly males (Lerner & Steinberg, 2004). This provides an aspirational quality to alcohol consumption and adolescents are tempted to explore the behavior without adequate understanding of the consequences of doing so. While many minors consume only a limited amount of alcohol, unsupervised drinking among adolescents is associated with a number of health issues and negative social experiences for the drinker and others in their lives (Pasch, 2011). As the age of onset for alcohol consumption reduces, the problems associated with it increase (Lerner & Steinberg, 2004). This makes it necessary to understand and address the issues related to alcohol consumption by minors. This paper attempts to understand these problems and to explore the possible solutions for the same. Understanding Under-age Drinking Most countries have age limits that restrict the availability of alcohol to adolescents and children. In the United States of America an individual has to be 21 years of age to legally buy alcohol (NIAAA, 2006) while the legal drinking age is 18 in the United Kingdom and Australia (Lerner & Steinberg, 2004). In spite of strict laws, a large number of children younger than the legal age frequently consume alcohol. In order to address this, many countries have laws that allow alcohol consumption with parental supervision to provide a supportive environment in which children may experiment with alcohol (Carr, 2003). Regardless, most alcohol consumption by minors happens without parental knowledge and with peers. Studies conducted in the United States of America in 2008 show that over 25% of respondents in the 12 – 20 years age group admitted to consuming alcohol (Pasch, 2011). Similar trends have been observed in studies conducted in different parts of the world. Studies from Latin America, Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom show that over 50% of adolescents aged 15-18 years were likely to have consumed alcohol in the last year and some of these adolescents were likely to be abusing alcohol. Boys are more likely to have consumed alcohol at a younger age, but the sex differences reduced as age increased (Lerner & Steinberg, 2004). Medical Concerns Related to Under-age Drinking Alcohol consumption is considered acceptable in adults, and thus there is little stigma associated with it. Adolescents often view the act of drinking as a rite of passage to adulthood and thus are interested in experimenting with alcohol. But there are certain medical concerns associated with under-age drinking that underline the concern shown by parents and government bodies. Early onset of alcohol consumption has been suspected of being associated with increased likelihood for developing health problems later in life (NIAAA, 2006). Adolescents who drink are also likely to suffer long term deficits in thinking and memory as well as critical thinking skills.