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Alcohol Use Among High School Students   Term Paper ID:27811 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discussion of how alcohol use lowers student performance, and thus graduation rates. Outlines some of the physical hazards, signs of use and abuse, and also describes some programs for combating drug abuse among minors.ts.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discussion of how alcohol use lowers student performance, and thus graduation rates. Outlines some of the physical hazards, signs of use and abuse, and also describes some programs for combating drug abuse among minors.ts. Paper Introduction: INTRODUCTION Alcohol use among high school students is a major problem that affects student performance, endangers lives, and leads to health problems later in life. Alcohol consumption can diminish the ability of the student to pay attention and so to learn, and this should have an effect on graduation rates showing a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and failure to graduate. In fact, a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (1994) has estimated that students who drink beer, and other alcoholic beverages, or use marijuana are statistically less likely to graduate from high school than abstainers. Drug abuse has received more attention that alcohol abuse in recent years, ignoring the fact that alcohol is itself a drug and that its use exceeds that of more exotic substances. One of the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Morrisonsays that one of the most important ways to solve the problem is to changeperceptions and attitudes about chemical abuse and dependence througheducation, providing the accurate information that allows an understandingthat precludes moral and ethical stigmas often associated with alcoholismand drug addiction. One of the few programs developed to address the issue of how alcoholaffects high school students and their ability to graduate is found at theaptly-named Sobriety High in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Morrison (199 ) states that adolescence is a confusing and complexperiod in life, a time of questioning, exploring, and risk taking, and druguse has become an increasingly prevalent part of an adolescent's rite ofpassage. Indeed, this is complicated by the fact that the samesorts of forces which may lead young people to drop out of school may alsolead them to drink so that causes and effects become intertwined. The best teaching is by example and can occur most effectively in thehome environment. Third, interventions are necessary to keepadolescents in therapy. Thecampus is not a traditional campus at all but a modest storefront. Five percentreported that they drank daily, and 39 percent reported that they hadbinged on alcohol (or had five or more drinks in succession) within theprevious two weeks (Lewis, 1992, 264). (Jones, 1991, 8)The survey confirmed the concerns of children's advocacy groups and anti-alcohol-abuse organizations, both of which had said for years that anti-drug efforts had failed to change teenagers' attitudes about drinking.This is particularly true of alcohol use--while the use of illicit drugssuch as marijuana and cocaine has steadily declined among high schoolstudents over the past decade, alcohol consumption remains widespread.Students in this survey also reported that they had little difficultygetting alcohol, either by buying it themselves or by asking older friendsto buy it for them. These things allrepresent primary adolescent issues and desires and are enhanced throughtelevision and other media (p. CONCLUSION Alcohol abuse is a major problem among the adolescent population,leading to a variety of possible health risks and to changes in behaviorand a lessening of academic performance that may lead to the child droppingout of school or otherwise failing to complete the course of study. 543). Second, theyshould be encouraged to develop relationships. Alcoholconsumption decreases gonadal steroid production but enhances adrenalhormone production and secretion. It is widely accepted that people with substance-abuse problems have to stay away from people who use if they want to stayclean, and unfortunately today this means they must stay away from highschool. Gonadal steroids are essential for boneand muscle development. 64-65."From the Editors," Alcohol Health & Research World (Winter 1991), p. Finally, he says to use paradoxicalintervention, a technique that is invaluable if used delicately. "Sobriety High.: Seventeen (February 1995), 11 -117.Novello, Antonia C., "From the Surgeon General, US Public Health Service," JAMA (August 26, 1992), p. Martin Buxton, has identified five ways in which professionals shouldrecognize the differences in treating teen alcohol abusers over adultabusers. These types of ads existedin part because government regulation of alcohol advertising is fragmentedand involves three agencies--the Food and Drug Administration, the FederalTrade Commission, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms--none ofwhich have clear-cut authority to regulate advertising aimed specificallyat young people. Many parents serve as bad examplesby drinking themselves so that their children think of alcohol as a lessthreatening drug. They estimate that raising prices by ten percentreduces consumption by 33%-41%. However, during the firstyear of treatment they need to be cautioned not to develop unhealthycommitments at a young age. As theNational Bureau of Economic Research has argued, students who drink beerand other alcoholic beverages are statistically less likely to graduatefrom high school than abstainers. Television networks also give these ads the widestpossible air play because they have come to rely on beer and wine marketersto supply some $7 million of revenue yearly. Both acute and chronic alcohol consumption suppress the levels ofgrowth hormones important for postnatal bone and muscle development.Ultimate adult height is dependent on this growth spurt. Tarter, David H. Increased production of adrenal hormones may causepremature closure of the endparts of the long bones, which eventually fuseto the bones, and thus could reduce a person's potential height (Arria,Tarter, and Van Thiel, 1991, 53-54). This helpsshow the co-dependent adolescent that his or her tendency to try to takecare of people and control things is a way of avoiding their own issues("Alcohol and other drug abuses: when it comes to treatment, teens aredifferent than adults," 199 , 34-35). Treatment for the problem in all schools includes efforts to stopteenage alcohol abuse, including the sorts of programs noted above tochange the age at which young people begin to drink. 94."The impact of alcohol consumption and marijuana use on high school graduation," (1994) National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Neiditch is a former drug- and alcohol-abuse counselor, andhe started the school when he became frustrated with the high relapse rateof kids who had gone through treatment only to start using again once theywent back to school. 2 . ALCOHOL USE AND GRADUATION The idea that high use of alcohol could reduce the chances that astudent will graduate from high school would seem to be self-evident. He saysthis is particularly helpful when the young person is entrenched in a co-dependent position and cannot see it objectively. 52-57.Babor, Thomas F., Frances K. 64.Marks, Andrea, "Drug and Alcohol Abuse," The Columbia University Collecge of Physicians and Surgeons complete Home Medical Guide Edition (1989), p. In terms of drug abuses, the statistics show that alcoholremains the "drug of choice" for the majority of adolescents, and surveyshave shown that two-thirds of all American high school seniors questionedhad used alcohol at least once in the preceding month. On theother side, the use of drugs such as cocaine and heroin is unusual in youngpeople who have not previously used alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana.Diagnosis of the problem is difficult, and the more deeply entrencheddenial/delusional system in adolescents is another factor that affects theidentification and recognition of symptoms. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and DrugDependence, most kids have had their first drink by age 13; in fact, 49percent of sixth graders say that peers pressure them to drink. TheNational Bureau of Economic Research (1994) has indicated that a studentwho drinks beer two or more times per week (a frequent drinker), reduceshis/her graduation probability by 4.3 percentage points. 3.Gibbs, Nancy R., "When Parents Just Say No," Time Magazine (February 15, 1988), p. 264.Morrison, Martha A., "Addiction in Adolescents," The Western Journal of Medicine (May 199 ), pp. With alcohol,there is" (Elson, 1991, 65). The Surgeon General has noted that the images in liquor ads--bikini-clad women, professional sports stars, and surfers and mountain climbers--are images that make drinking look like fun and a wonderful carefreelifestyle. Alcohol also has effects on development during puberty, an importantphysical and psychosocial process occurring during adolescence. Del Boca, Margaret Anne McLaney, Barbara Jacobi, John Higgins-Biddle, William Hass, "Just Say Y.E.S.," Alcohol Health & Research World (Winter 1991), p. The director of an adolescent chemical dependency program in Virginia,Dr. TEENAGERS AND ALCOHOL In an era of concern over drug abuse, an era in which this concern isdirected most often at so-called "hard" drugs such as cocaine and crack,alcohol remains the most consumed drug among adolescents and a major healthproblem for this population (Lewis, 1992, 64). Toattend classes in this facility, a student must be deemed chemicallydependent by a professional counselor, must have completed a treatmentprogram for drug and alcohol addiction, and must sign a sobriety contract,attesting to his or her commitment to staying drug-free. Dr. Novello said thisdata should be a source of concern: These teen-agers are telling us something important: They drink to handle stress. Another reason cited by many for the increase in teenage drinking inrecent years relates to the influence of the media and specifically toadvertising which seems to target young people with images that appeal tothem. Such young people usually enter treatment not oftheir own volition but because they attempted suicide, showed other self-destructive tendencies, or have encountered trouble with the law. Nearly half of all deaths from motor-vehicle crashes in thisage group involve alcohol use. percent. For students in grades 9 through 12, theinitial use of alcohol, marijuana, or cocaine increase substantially withage. Alcohol usecan lead to the use of other drugs. Habilitation is one treatment approach and involvesproviding conditions that allow the adolescent to mature emotionally whileacquiring nonchemical coping skills. One of thesymptoms of use is a change in the ability of the individual to maintainattention and to learn. 961."Study finds more drinking at small colelges than at large ones," New York Times (September 2 , 1992), p. MALewis, Anne C., "Concern over alcohol," Education Digest (February 1992), p. Because of denial and a false sense of invulnerability,adolescents tend to show an angry, rebellious, and resistant attitudetowards changing their lifestyle and getting help, and they ask for helpless frequently and are less likely to accept help openly than adults.Treatment for adolescents is commonly precipitated by legal, parental,school, or peer intervention in which the young person is facingalternatives such as jail, expulsion from school, or leaving home versusreceiving help. Bob Martinez, White House drug czar, says: "Adults oftensend a message to their kids that this is acceptable behavior. INTRODUCTION Alcohol use among high school students is a major problem that affectsstudent performance, endangers lives, and leads to health problems later inlife. Yet it is widely accepted that people withsubstance-abuse problems have a host of other problems, too, such as brokenfamilies, abusive relationships, criminal records, and depression. Morrison also believes that the youth of today are responding tothe promise of the contemporary chemical culture which seems to offer quickrelief and instant gratification, popularity, and an attractive peer groupalong with sexual prowess and financial success. First, he says not to allow the adolescent to convince you thathe or she is like an adult, because they are not. Research has shown that young people, unlike adults, are drawnto ads that associate alcohol with sex appeal, athletic prowess, aglamorous lifestyle, and risk-taking behavior. Mostschools are ill-equipped to handle the drinking or drug problem and theother problems as well (Myers, 1995, 11 -111). Nearly all adolescentsare co-dependent, with at least one parent who is either chemicallydependent or co-dependent themselves. In addition, there is some uncertainty whetherstudents who do not graduate do so because of alcohol, given that many dropout entirely. References"Alcohol and other drug abuse: when it comes to treatment, teens are different than adults," The Brown University Child Behavior and Development Letter Annual (199 ), pp. SurgeonGeneral shows an even higher incidence reported--among high school seniorsin 199 , 9 percent had used alcohol at last once; 51 percent of junior andsenior high school students had used alcohol at least once within theprevious year; and among the 2 .7 million 7th through 12th graders in 199 ,more than half had consumed alcohol at least once. 6). Alcohol consumption can diminish the ability of the student to payattention and so to learn, and this should have an effect on graduationrates showing a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and failureto graduate. Drug abuse has received more attention that alcohol abuse in recentyears, ignoring the fact that alcohol is itself a drug and that its useexceeds that of more exotic substances. According to the CDC, young adults may be less likely to developserious alcohol and other drug problems if the age at first use is delayedbeyond childhood and adolescence. This is an attempt to reduce the proportion of youth aged 12-17who consumed alcohol or who used marijuana or cocaine to no more than 12.6percent, 3.2 percent, and .6 percent respectively. 76."A drug problem often overlooked," Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter (January 1992), p. The Centers for Disease Control report that the use of alcohol andother drugs is associated with the leading causes of death and injury amongteenagers and young adults, including motor-vehicle accidents, homicides,and suicides. Practitioners need to recognize theyoung person's need to be friendly in an adult-to-adult fashion and dealwith them in a way that does not reject them, but they must also understandthat there is an age difference and that they are not adults. 6.Elson, John, "Drink Until You Finally Drop," Time Magazine (December 16, 1991), pp. It isnecessary to reduce current levels of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine useand recent occasions of heavy drinking among adolescents by a substantialamount to reach these objectives ("Alcohol and Drug Use Among High SchoolStudents--United States, 199 ," 1991, 3266). Theeffects of alcohol on this process have not been studied adequately, butstudies that have been conducted suggest that alcohol can disrupt some ofthe biological mechanisms involved in physical growth that occurs duringpuberty. This may be because of their drinking, but it is not alwaysclear whether this is the reason or that some other element in their livesmay be at fault. Both hard drugs and alcohol have an effect onlearning, altering the outlook of the individual and causing him or her toperform at a lower level than would otherwise be the case. They also hope thatit will serve to reduce the number of high school seniors involved inrecent episodes of heavy drinking to no more than 28. The National Bureau ofEconomic Research (1994) argues that teenagers will tend to drink less whenalcohol prices rise. 3266-3267.Arria, Amelia M., Ralph E. About two-thirds of the students who drink reportedbuying their own alcohol, some using fake identification, others buyingfrom stores known to sell to young people, and others by simply going intothe store and buying it unchallenged (Jones, 1991, 8). As a result, the CDC has offerednational health objectives for the year 2 which include efforts to delayby at least one year the age at which adolescents first use alcohol andmarijuana. The study alsomaintains that frequent marijuana users have a 5.6 percent lowerprobability of graduating. Adolescents are usually protected by a largersystem of enablers, including teachers, peers, and parents, all of whommake it difficult to admit that a problem exists (Morrison, 199 , 544-545). The young person is thenasked to be responsible for some difficult (if not impossible) task likeseeing that another youngster is on time for group therapy. Van Thiel, "The effect of alcohol abuse on the health of adolescents," Alcohol Health & Research World (Winter 1991), pp. 543-546Myers, Roberta Anne. Some of these influencesmay exacerbate and telescope the progression of the disease. In truth, however there is a minimum supportingempirical evidence from other studies for these findings, because the issueis treated more as a health matter than for the specific effect drinkingmay have on learning. Some programs offerextensive assessment and management for identifying the problem drinker, aswith the Youth Evaluation Services approach (Babor et al., 1991, 76).Other approaches are less comprehensive and even less formal. Attempts at intervention have to come early in thestudent's career in order to improve graduation rates. A report by the U.S. They drink deliberately to change the way they feel. And we know that the use of alcohol to, in effect, self-medicate, is the trapdoor to full-blown alcoholism. Eight million of thesestudents drank weekly, and almost one-half million binged each week. Most adolescents do notexperience the more dramatic withdrawal symptoms seen in adults or thedramatic long-term consequences of adult drug use, such as loss of job,home, spouse, and family. The program wasfounded by Ralph Neiditch, who believes that the worst place for kids withdrug or alcohol problems is high school, where drinking and getting highcan be common. Both peers and healthy adults arenecessary for this process, and improving interpersonal interactions, anincreased sense of responsibility, honest and open communication abilities,self-respect, self-confidence, and an increased sense of security can beattained and developed using this process (Morrison, 199 , 544-545). One of the reasons for this isthat alcohol is legal--not for young people, but legal just the same--whileharder drugs are not. In fact, a recent study by the National Bureau of EconomicResearch (1994) has estimated that students who drink beer, and otheralcoholic beverages, or use marijuana are statistically less likely tograduate from high school than abstainers. SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES Some of the symptoms appearing in young drinkers are the same as thoseseen in adults, but in addition there are some symptoms specific to thispopulation because of their age, lack of personality development, dependentfamily role, immaturity, and acting out of age. They estimate that a student who islabeled a frequent beer drinker reduces his or her probability ofgraduation by 4.3 percentage points. TheSurgeon General says that 87 percent of high school seniors have consumedalcohol, and about a third admit to "heavy drinking"--imbibing five or moredrinks in one sitting in a given two-week period. All fifty states bar the sale of alcohol to anyone under 21 years ofage, which is clearly no deterrent to the spread of teenage alcohol use.According to a 1991 survey by the Surgeon General: 41 percent of teenagerswho reported drinking said they did so when they were upset because it madethem feel better; 31 percent reported drinking alone; 25 percent drink toget high; and 25 percent drink when they are bored. Withmarijuana, cocaine and heroin, there is no mixed message. Morrison (199 ) notes that adolescentswho use one drug are likely to use another: "They usually begin with legaldrugs--alcohol or tobacco--progress to marijuana, and may eventually go onto other drugs or combinations of drugs" (Morrison, 199 , 544). 34-35."Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among High School Students--United States 199 ," JAMA (December 18, 1991), pp. One element in the problem of teenage drinking is that many parentssee alcohol as less of a problem and less of a concern than marijuana andcocaine, and these parents are often just happy that their children are notusing harder drugs (Gibbs, 1988, 94). The problem is severe:Marks (1989) cites evidence showing that the use of alcohol can be seen aspart of an adolescent tendency toward risk-taking behavior, including suchbehavior as cigarette smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, and reckless drivingor other dare-devil exploits, all of which constitute the most commoncauses of death during adolescence, whether by accident, suicide, orhomicide. Ithas about 4 ninth through twelfth graders who are being given a finalchance at a high school education and at a better life as a result. Morethan five million had binged at some point in their lives, and threemillion had done so within the last month (Novello, 1992, 961). Fourth,Dr, Buxton says to hold marathon sessions, which he sees as helpingovercome the denial process. For their part, advertisersdeny that they are making an appeal to young people with these ads, thoughthe message seems to be getting through whether it is intended or not ("Adrug problem often overlooked," 1992: p. 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