Alcohol abuse among youth

Vaidah Mashangwa
AFTER the Vietnam War, many American states re-examined their laws regulating legal drinking ages.
Most states lowered the drinking age to 18. The argument was that if they are old enough to fight then they are old enough to vote, drink and perhaps marry.

It is unfortunate that while 18-year-olds can buy and drink alcoholic beverages, they also make them available to their younger friends in junior and high schools.

What must be borne in mind is that alcohol is a drug not essentially different from marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

It is a recreational drug which includes a physical dependence in the drinker and can be addictive as it can generate severe withdrawal symptoms when the heavy drinker discontinues its use.

One author noted that in a bodily sense, all drinkers are drug users but the difference is that the sale, purchase and drinking of alcohol is not a crime.

Typically, the frequency of regular drinking increases for men and women after graduating from high school.

Drinking patterns among adolescents generally follow the adult models in families and communities. Parents who drink or who sanction drinking are more likely to have adolescents who drink and vice-versa.

It must be noted that more men than women are likely to be drinkers. In one poll conducted, 77 percent men and 56 percent women said they drank alcoholic beverages occasionally.

Even the proportion of regular or daily drinking of alcohol is 33 percent in men and 17 percent in women. When younger women drink, they prefer distilled spirits to beer.

In adolescents, the rate of drinking increases with age. Between the ages of 18 and 24, the rate of drinking is estimated at 24 percent and the drinking peak is 31 percent between the ages of 25 to 29. It declines steeply into old age.

It is estimated that 14 percent of 65-year-olds and older age groups are regular drinkers.

In terms of relations between alcoholic parents and their off-spring, the alcohol expectancy rates for sons may reach 25 to 50 percent and from three to eight percent for daughters.

There has been speculation among researchers whether or not alcoholism has a hereditary component.

Despite the findings, there is a general consensus among researchers that the children of alcoholics are not only at a considerable risk of suffering developmental problems, but of becoming alcoholics themselves as well.

Alcohol is a major cause of crime and gender-based violence among juveniles and older people in most societies especially if it is taken in excess. In homes where the husband is a heavy drinker, there is a likelihood of conflict and consequently domestic violence.

In such homes, there are usually arguments pertaining to finances and setting of priorities. At times, couples fight over minor issues such as the type of relish cooked or being served cold meals after the husband has come home late from drinking.

There are also increased cases of domestic violence including murder over text messages. There have been debates on social circles pertaining to whether or not a husband or wife should have access to his or her partner’s cellphone.

There are ample stories of youths who after drinking end up fighting, stabbing each other and or even fatally assaulting some peers.

By measuring the side effects of alcohol, one can only guess the number of adolescents who were drunk when teenage pregnancy occurred. Alcohol abuse during pregnancy causes pre-mature deaths.

There are also increased rates of mal-developed or malformed infants of alcoholic mothers. One other effect of heavy drinking during pregnancy is the intoxication of the foetus, since alcohol passes to the foetus in approximately the same concentration as the mother has in her blood.

Women about to give birth and were recently intoxicated for some time may suffer withdrawal symptoms and the foetus will also show symptoms of alcohol withdrawal thereby requiring treatment like the mother.

In a way, these babies are born drunk and there may already be an established effect to the new born baby’s nervous system.

Most adolescents who drink do so before they can legally buy alcoholic beverages or patronise licensed premises. Some actually do so at home under parental supervision.

Much of the drinking occurs during school holidays and on special occasions such as birthday parties and weddings. At times, female youths are raped while under the influence of alcohol.

In order to curb potential alcohol abuse among adolescents, there is dire need for school counselling and educational programmes about alcohol abuse during the children’s formative years.

The family should also be the basic unit of a child’s education about controls, relationships, responsibility and identification.

 Vaidah Mashangwa is the provincial development officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Bulawayo Province. She can be contacted on 0772111592 or email [email protected]