Meza 1

Tiffany Meza

Mr. Powers

English 1302

6 March 2023

Alcohol Usage in Adolescents

introduction

In times like today there is a common misconception behind the usage of alcohol and drug

abuse in teens. Most adolescents have the urge to pick up the habit of drinking and partying at a

young age compared to any other time in their life. This is a huge problem in times today where

more media and influencers are portrayed to lead younger audiences. There are multiple

evaluations that imply how social media, friendships, and surroundings can be reachable

resources to adolescents. The research conducted in this essay provides proof and evidence on

how late teens have been greatly affected by the common peer pressure and environmental

endangerment towards substance and alcohol abuse. Research is focused on the importance in

raising awareness on this overly populated problem. It’s important to keep in mind throughout

this research that almost 80% of high school students have tried alcohol (Dowshen). This

information provides us with a sneak peek on what is being introduced into this research and

gives a number to think of as this is being read.

Media involvement and curriculum effects

According to researchers in various articles, the media is linked with multiple accounts to

vulnerable illustrations involving adolescents and alcohol. Social media sites freely forecast and

share various advertisements and commercials encouraging this behavior (which is where most
Meza 2

teens get drawn at first). This is not intentional to businesses and allowed, but adolescents always

find a way to acquire these substances. It is a common misdemeanor and situation where

underage adolescents are caught and charged for carrying or consuming drugs and alcohol. The

numbers go up year by year. Crime rates tend to skyrocket at popular events or holidays where

teens get together and keep a low profile, but when things get out of hand the consequences are

unbearable and cause horrific news articles.

In addition, Teenagers do not necessarily comprehend the potential consequences of their

actions on social media, and this creates considerable implications for curriculum.” (38).

When curriculum enters the conversation, its purpose it to foretell as to why it greatly affects the

construction of social and educational knowledge. School and friends go well together

considering the correlation that friends are made in school, this is known, but when school

friends begin to add peer pressured environments to the vulnerable it then creates an unsafe

opening to new addictions. A way that schools try to incorporate education with real life

problems is by preaching about them. One researcher wrote “schools’ curricula should include

preventive cognitive behavioral interventions that teach drug resistance skills and anti-drug

norms.” (2). This educational addition is more anticipated towards schools that may have a

higher percentage in positive drug tests and behavioral detention. This issue can only be stopped

when actual education is applied to adolescents so awareness could make a difference. A

common problem to these issues all leads back to the kinds of friends these adolescents surround

themselves with. This is not meant to assume that most high school friendships lead to peer

pressure, but rather point out the fact that these two factors can jeopardize schoolwork and focus.

Drug problems tend to begin when one is at a dark stage or curious, therefore most percentages

of high schoolers participate at such a young age, hence the statement curiosity killed the cat. It
Meza 3

is always fun to try new things and live a little, but not fun when the consequences lead to a

wrong turn of events and leave you with an addiction unfightable.

Perspectives and disorders

The perspective of adolescents can be taken in part from different ages. In an article called,

“Problematic social networking site usage and substance use by young adolescents.”, author

Buja, Alessandra et al stated, “Young adolescents, aged from 11- 13 in the northeast, participated

in a survey that measured the performance and time spent on social platforms that may involve

disorderly addictions.”, this gave an example on how methods were taken in different accounts

of researchers. This is only one third of research conducted. In the article “Neurophysiological

maturation in adolescence- vulnerability and counteracting addiction to alcohol” authors Roman

Chwedorowicz, Henryk Skarżyński, Weronika Pucek, and Tadeusz Studziński state their

relevance and experimental study on the vulnerability in late teens against drug and substance

abuse at an early age.

As early as from the first years of adolescence an increased sensitivity and vulnerability

to the effect of the peer social environment is observed, when there arises the need for

acceptance and group affiliation, associated with simultaneous achievement of autonomy

and distancing from parents and adults. (21)

This creates a disorder that separates your social life from your family. This unhealthy idea of

dividing your family into an aspect that makes them invisible is demoralizing. When greatly

involved into this addiction you begin to forget the important things, therefore its highly

addictive, to forget. In order to control these craving of more, it is best to consider a rehab that
Meza 4

deals with the same problems. Help is always provided by professionals that will always try their

best to make a difference, one person at a time.

resources

As mentioned before, advertisements and commercials are known for encouraging this behavior,

even if it’s not intentional. Adolescents always find a way to acquire the things they want and

they do this with the resources around them whether it be:

- Fake ID’s

- parental approval

- peer pressure

not done..

Works cited

Buja, A., Gallimberti, L., Chindamo, S., Lion, C., Terraneo, A., Rivera, M., Marini, E., Gomez-

Perez, L., Scafato, E., & Baldo, V. (2018). “Problematic social networking site usage and

substance use by young adolescents.” BMC

Pediatrics, 18https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-018-1316-3
Meza 5

Chwedorowicz, R., Skarżyński, H., Pucek, W., & Studziński, T. (2017). Neurophysiological

maturation in adolescence – vulnerability and counteracting addiction to alcohol. Annals

of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 24(1), 19-25.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5604/12321966.1234002

Downshen, Steven. “Alcohol For teens.” Teenshealth, September 2016

https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/alcohol.html

Hormenu, Thomas, Hagan Jnr ⨯ John Elvis, and Thomas Schack ⨯. "Predictors of Alcohol

Consumption among in-School Adolescents in the Central Region of Ghana: A Baseline

Information for Developing Cognitive-Behavioural Interventions." PLoS One 13.11

(2018)ProQuest.  Web. 8 Mar. 2023.

Johnson, Nneka A. "Implications of a Social Media Course for Adolescent Social Media Usage."

Order No. 10261934 Mercer University, 2017. United States -- Georgia: ProQuest. Web. 8

Mar. 2023.