Researchers Find 4 Reasons Why High School Seniors Drink Alcohol
Those Who Drink to Escape Are Most at Risk of Develping Drinking Problems
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania detailed their findings in a recent press release. Studies that have been done in the past clearly show that alcohol use, and abuse, peaks after young adults graduate from high school.
Some high school seniors drink because they want to relax, others drink because it's fun and they get a thrill from the experience, some drink because they want to experiment with alcohol. The fourth group consists of students who drink to escape or handle stress and frustration.
Those high school students who are in the fourth group, those students who drink as a method to escape their problems, stress, or as a way of dealing with frustration or anger are most at risk of developing drinking problems later in life. These high school students and young adults tend to have the most problems drinking, and drink more than any other groups.
Unfortunately, kids who drink as a way to escape or deal with their problems do not benefit from typical drinking prevention programs. Most prevention programs are targeted to kids who are experimenting with alcohol, not those who are using it as a means of escape.
It is important for parents, high school counselors, and other people who work with kids to address the issues that causes them to turn to alcohol as a "way out" and help them learn how to process their emotions, frustrations, fears, and anger in a healthy way instead of relying upon alcohol.
"It is important to know why high school seniors drink so parents, teachers and high school counselors can pay special attention to the needs of the small but high-risk group of seniors who offer multiple reasons for drinking and who also have anger or frustration issues. Research shows that drinking patterns established during adolescence are likely to continue through adulthood," said Donna Coffman, Ph.D., of Penn State.
Referring to the years immediately after high school as a critical period in young adults lives, researchers believe that it is vitally important to understand the reasons that young adults drink excessively. Without that knowledge, it is virtually impossible to help them develop healthier attitudes about alcohol use.
In addition to drinking peaking right after high school, this trend continues through the beginning of adulthood. Most young people who begin to drink excessively continue this behavior until they are approximately 25 years old.
Source:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/sfpr-wdh112807.php
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9 Comments
Post a CommentI didn't drink in h.s. until my senior year and even then it didn't really interest me. I had maybe two or three drinks about once a month not because I felt forced, but just because I felt like having a drink. The good thing is that if you didn't drink in h.s. no one cared and no one made a big deal out of it or made fun of you.
As a high school senior myself I disagree with this article. My grade drinks to have a good time and enjoy ourselves, we don't have to drink to have fun, but we like to get a little crazy. GET WASTED!
alright so i am 20 years old and i fall in the category of the "drink to escape" you know most of us are misunderstood and whoever has the know how or the ability to put knowledge of us out there should do so. Most people my age or younger that drink to escape reality hate reality and it needs to be reckoned with. I cannot speak for all but i know in my situation there is a reason we drink to escape reality. Most have not had a great childhood most have had a childhood they wish nobody else to have. Me for instance and i'm not ashamed to admit it because i can face my demons. I was molested and raped as a youth. I know that there are many women in the world that have had this happen, and i do not underestimate the impact that it has had on their lives. But as a young man being raped by another man you feel differently. Girls feel, as odd as it may sound, wanted. When a young man is sexually abused he is left with a feeling of is something wrong with me am i gay because i've done someth
It's sad... but I'm not surprised.
Edward - or should we raise the age for military service to 21? It is already well known that the brains are still developing at 18, and a lot of growth occurs between 18 and 21...
We need to bring the drinking age down to 18, not only is it unethical to have someone old enough to vote, and die for their country, own a weapon etc, but to have one group of people 21 and older be able to take away the rights of legal adults under the age of 21 is immoral and unconstitutional. Besides that lowering the drinking age makes it less desireable to highschoolers seeing as it is no longer so much of an age issue, they don't necessarily feel older by drinking anymore.
I didn't buy into this and I still don't get those that do today.
Michelle, I disagre, not all high school kids drink, regardless of what some people (usually kids) say...still its better to have a designated driver than none. You're right about alcohol poisining.
With 2 h.s. girls of my own I found this super relevant... also have so many family members with alcohol related issues. Good read!! Lyn Vaccaro