NCJ Number
117185
Date Published
1986
Length
16 pages
Annotation
As an initial step in determining appropriate responses by caregivers, educators, and parents, this paper identifies and examines a number of attitudes toward teenage drunkenness.
Abstract
Some complementary and conflicting views of teenage drunkenness are that it is a symptom of problem drinking or alcoholism; it is a warning signal of future problem drinking or alcoholism; the motivation for getting drunk is the critical factor; it is a reflection of social norms; it reflects wider social changes; and it is an expression of youthful boisterousness. In considering these various views, research data are helpful. Data show no immediate or long-term harmful consequences for many juveniles who get drunk, and for some youth, intoxication may have beneficial effects in terms of relief from stress and the enhancement of peer group solidarity. For many other juveniles, however, drunkenness creates or will lead to problems of varying severity and duration. Any simplistic view of the causes of juvenile intoxication may distort the complexity of today's society and adolescent psyche. Based on the aforementioned findings, interpretations of juvenile drunkenness must be individualized, and the context in which a youth gets drunk must be considered in interpreting each adolescent's drunkenness. 8 footnotes, 47 references.