Name
Course
Tutor
Date
Alcohol
Addiction and Adolescents
Introduction
    The use of alcohol is prevalent among Australian
adolescents, and high-risk consumption is a severe and increasing issue. An
extensive range of individual, peer, family, school, and community factors have
been identified as being possible causes that enable the development of teenage
alcohol use and abuse. This paper, consequently, will be exploring the misuse
of alcohol among adolescents by, primarily, describing the patterns of teenage alcohol
consumption, following which a critical review of current literature will be
discussed. Several theories relating to the aetiology of alcohol use will then
be analysed, through which an attempt will be made to identify the major
reasons why so many adolescents choose to drink.
Looking at Statistics
    While there is widespread recognition of
the problem of alcohol abuse among adolescents, the causes for such behaviour
remain contentious. In 2001, the National Drug Strategy Household Survey reported
that approximately two-thirds of 14-17 year-olds used alcohol, with almost
one-fifth admitting that they consumed alcohol on a regular basis, while the
Australian Temperament Project (ATP) revealed that some 25 percent of 13-14
year-olds had used alcohol within the previous month. The project also reported
a serious increase in the amount of adolescents using alcohol, with 60 percent
of 15-16 year-olds, and 85 percent of 17-18 year-olds, having consumed alcohol
within the past month (Smart, Vassallo, Sanson, Richardson, Dussuyer et
al.2003).
    The misuse of alcohol among adolescents is
an increasingly serious problem. Although it has ....
