A hot topic currently in New Zealand is underage teenagers drinking alcohol, so I decided to do my research report on this, because it is a current issue. My hypothesis is that New Zealand’s teenage drinking is a big problem. My research contains three key questions: What is the extent of teenagers drinking alcohol in NZ? What are the consequences of teenagers drinking alcohol? What are the solutions to the teenage drinking problem?
What is the extent of teenagers drinking alcohol in NZ? Many young New Zealanders are experiencing the consequences of excessive drinking at a young age. Therefore, underage drinking is a major public health problem for our country. When teenagers drink alcohol, they often drink up to four or five drinks at a time. Research has also shown that many teenagers tend to start drinking at a very young age. In fact, new research suggests that the excessive drinking problems associated with middle age actually begin as early as young adulthood or even puberty. Other studies have shown that young children and adolescents are more likely to engage in behavior that harms themselves and others as they begin to drink.
New research shows that one-third of New Zealanders are drinking dangerous levels of alcohol. In addition, those who started drinking at a young age are more likely to come from wealthy families or have parents smoking. This made me think about the reason that teenagers like to drink alcohol. I thought those teenagers who grow up in poorer families could start drinking at a young age, but the evidence I found proved I was wrong.
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I think if the parents of the teenagers are heavy drinkers, they are more likely to start drinking when they are young, because their parents actions have influenced them into copying them, therefore becoming alcohol drinkers too. I also think that boys may be more likely to start drinking than girls, because boys want to be ‘cool’ and often feel large amounts of peer pressure in wanting to fit in. I think the culture of binge drinking in NZ has caused teenage drinking to have even more negative effects than usual.
What are the consequences of teenagers drinking alcohol? Alcohol affects many body systems. Alcohol is an inhibitory drug that affects your coordination, self-control, judgment and reaction time. Drinking can affect brain development in people under the age of 25. Adolescents under the age of 15 are especially at risk, as their brains are still developing. Alcohol can damage coordination and judgment, and drunk driving is the main cause of road traffic injuries in New Zealand.
By the age of 19 and 20, 70% of drinkers are drinking heavily, this shows that most young people are likely to suffer long-term consequences of making the wrong decision.
Drinking drivers under the age of 21 are twice as likely to participate in fatal crashes as adult drivers. In addition, adolescent drinking is closely related to violence, risky sexual behavior, poor academic performance, suicide and other harmful behaviors. Recent research has also shown that drinking alcohol in adolescents can cause permanent damage to the developing brain.
People who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence during their lifetime than are people who begin drinking at age 21. This makes sense to me as it reminds me away from drinking alcohol. I think teens drinking can have many negative consequences. This can increase the risk of long-term injuries such as health risks and death. They may be more likely to do drugs, because alcohol is a gateway drug itself, and once intoxicated they are easier to influence. I think that they are more likely to have a car crash after they drink. They also have a lack of concentration in class, which means alcohol use may lead to poor school performance.
What are the solutions to the teenage drinking problem? There are many methods that have been developed to prevent underage drinking, some methods are school-based and involve courses designed to prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco or marijuana. In addition to problems that occur during puberty, early alcohol intake is associated with alcohol-related problems later in life. One study found that teen drinking is associated with alcohol abuse, including alcohol-related violence, injury, drunk driving, poor attendance at school or work, and increased risk of using other drugs.
Teenagers should stay away from alcohol in high-risk situations. For example, teenagers shouldn’t operate vehicles after drinking alcohol. Parents shouldn’t give their child a drink and tell them that any alcohol in their home is restricted to them and their friends. Also parents can support their children and let them grow up. Parents should participate in their child’s life and know where their children are, what they are doing, who they are with, and who they are friends with. Parents can develop clear rules, including regulations on drinking. Parents shouldn’t let their child attend a party that offers alcohol and drink at a party in their own home.
Parents can make a commitment between themselves and their child to ensure that they don’t drink. I think parents should realize that children may want to be like their brothers and sisters, because their brothers and sisters might stay up late, or be allowed to go out alone. The influence of brother and sister is strong.
So I think the parents can let an older brothers and sisters set a good example, we can stop drinking and let children listen to us. By repressing the children too much, and setting too many strict rules , it may cause them to rebel against their parents, and turn to drinking just to aggravate them. So i think that there should not be too many rules, and the children should be allowed some freedoms, so that they know that their parents trust them.
To conclude, my findings show that New Zealand’s alcohol drinking is a big problem. I think teenagers are at greater risk of alcohol-related harm than adults, because they feel a lot of peer pressure during puberty, and because their brains are still developing. I think people need to know that teenagers may use alcohol as a solution to the stress of exams, then we can help them find other ways to deal with their stress. I also think that explaining the dangers of drinking alcohol to teenagers, so that they understand the risks would be enough for them to avoid alcohol. In order to stop them from drinking, we need to find the root of the problem and provide a different solution.
References
- Alcohol Drug Help – Youth
- Health Ed – Underage Drinking: Alcohol and Children
- PubMed Central – Adolescent development and pathways to problem behavior
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism – Underage Drinking
- ScienceDirect – Identifying the social pathways underlying early adolescent alcohol use initiation
- Massey University – Underage Drinking a Major Health Issue for NZers
- InfoNews – Alcohol harm costing New Zealand $7.8 billion a year
