Teenage Drinking: Parents or the Media?
"The environment plays a substansial role in a young adolescents drinking habits. Interesting enough, these findings showed that there was an important shift in drinking patterns between Year 9 and Year 11. The younger group reported that one in five of those who had ever had alcohol had been drunk multiple times in their life before. The other group reported that about half in the older group admitted to having been drunk numerous times and approximately 79 percent had been drunk at least once before in their lifetime." (http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/current-health-articles/teen-drinking/46097.aspx, The Best Shot for Responsible Drinking Patterns, Vision Insights and New Horizons)
The timing of this increased drinking may suggest that their is a large biological factor influencing these habits. Family habits noticed during the teenage years correlates to a teens desire to spend more time with friends rather than family, thus party more/socialize.
Suprsing as well, the influence of celebrities and the media, play a much smaller role than family and friends. People seem to be very assuming that this is the dominant issue, when really statistics show that it isn't. Another study examined the correlation between excessive drinking and what films the teens were allowed to watch in their household. Those who were allowed to watch R rated films had a greater chance of drinking excessively. Lack of parental involvement in the childs life which was truly reflected the drinking patterns of most teens. Family members, friends and close relatives need to set a good example as well to avoide this issue.
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