¶ … teenage binge drinking. Teenage binge drinking remains a prevalent problem in the United States. As teenagers learn to socialize and transition into adulthood, many may engage in drinking as a type of leisure pursuit. While social drinking contributes to teenage drinking, a large part of it falls under the category of binge drinking. Binge drinking, especially heavy binge drinking can lead to development of alcohol use disorders. While anti-alcohol campaigns have been implemented in the past, some have failed to appeal to youth. This came because of not utilizing social media or including popular youth leaders in such campaigns. Beliefs surrounding binge drinking may be altered due to depression in teens. By examining the outcomes of focus groups and deciding on the messages that would be most effective to help discourage binge drinking, this paper hopes to create a framework from which an anti-binge drinking campaign could form.
Teenage Binge Drinking
Teenagers may experience problems with drugs and alcohol as they grow and mature into adulthood. Such pursuits are known as negative leisure pursuits and may include sexuality and gambling, among others. While some of these pursuits have leveled off (marijuana), and others have reached an all-time low (cigarette smoking), alcohol remains a major problem for teenagers (Mclean & Hurd, 2015). This is because of binge drinking. Social drinking makes up a smaller part of alcohol consumption than binge drinking, making it the main problem facing teenagers today concerning alcohol. "Binge drinking is consuming a large amount of alcohol over a short period of time. This means that at least twice within the past 2 weeks' males have consumed five drinks in a row and females four" (Mclean & Hurd, 2015, p. 114).
Statistics reveal binge drinking among adolescents has declines from 41.2% to 23.7% in 2012 (Mclean & Hurd, 2015). However, because binge drinking can result in aggressiveness, increased sexual activity, blackouts, fighting, and memory loss, the goal is to decrease the percentage to 0. Teenagers as early as 13 have been reported to engage in heavy drinking. "7% of eighth-grade male students and 8% of eighth-grade female students reported heavy drinking. By 12th grade, 28% males and 18% of females reported heavy drinking" (Milevsky, 2015, p. 164).
Teenage binge drinking can become a major health concern because of the increased likelihood of developing alcoholism early on and then carrying it into adulthood (Milevsky, 2015). While statistics reveal binge drinking among boys has declines in the last decade, it has remained unchanged for girls in the last fifteen years (Milevsky, 2015). To understand why binge drinking remains a problem in today's society, it is important to understand why teenagers engage in such potentially life-changing behavior. Such information may lead to a successful anti-binge drinking campaign that could help save lives and lead affected teenagers to get the help they need to transition successfully into adulthood.
An anti-binge drinking campaign is necessary because of the devastating consequences binge drinking can create for the young teen. Whether it is a potential for alcoholism or a transition to other, more potent substances, teenagers are at-risk for development of unhealthy habits from early binge drinking. Why are teenagers engaging in such an unhealthy behavior? Research shows teenagers may binge drink due to the desire that arises for independence (Milevsky, 2015). By engaging in risk-taking behaviors, teenagers feel it may help them navigate through their perceived rite of passage into adulthood.
Along with such notions, teenagers believe there is nothing wrong with drinking. By believing drinking to be an acceptable activity that is done with friends/peers, they may think there is no harm in it, especially if the drinking is not performed every night. However, binge drinking can be extremely harmful. Binge drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, may make someone more likely to experience rape or contract STDs (Milevsky, 2015). Furthermore, binge drinking can create a false-sense of invulnerability that can lead to instances of criminal activity, that may lead to negative long-term consequences (Mclean & Hurd, 2015).
Teenagers must be educated on the dangers of alcohol and binge drinking. They must be told what can come from binge drinking and what such behavior may lead to, to help them avoid problems as they mature into adults. An anti-binge drinking campaign focused on education and awareness can help parents cope with the potential dangers of binge drinking by helping them realize the prevalence of teen binge drinking. The campaign can help teens by providing the information they need to understand the negative consequences of binge drinking. Therefore, a study is crucial...
These areas are health belief model, the most affected populations for binge drinking, past studies on teenage binge drinking, and anti-alcohol campaigns directed at youth. This is meant to serve as a basis from which an
analysis can be made on which efforts will bring the best outcome towards development of an anti-binge drinking campaign.
Health Belief Model
The need to understand and reduce teenage binge drinking has led to development of new
theories that center around the health belief model. One such
theory is the multitheory model of
health behavior change. This theory involves the use of mental stimulation as well as imagery-based
intervention methods in health behavior to help teenagers via changing motivation, attitudes, and intentions (Sharma, Knowlden, & Nahar, 2017. This a recently created theory that has yet to have enough information on it to base a study. However, it is a potential avenue to explore to help treat teenagers suffering from binge drinking and prevent teenagers from engaging in such an activity.
The Health Belief Model has been used in the past as a
theoretical framework to help youth deal with binge drinking. One such study examined the effects of internet-based interventions and saw marked efficacy compared to print-based interventions. Some of the articles examined in the study referenced the use of the Health Belief Model. "Out of 14 articles, only 3 articles utilized a theory-based intervention into the
study design and implementation of the intervention. Theories that were identified included Social Cognitive Theory and Health Belief Model, Social Norms Feedback Theory, and Social Norming Theory" (Bhochhibhoya, Hayes, Branscum, & Taylor, 2015, p. 530). The Health Belief Models enables one to describe and envisage health behaviors through focusing on an individual's beliefs and attitudes. (Bhochhibhoya, Hayes, Branscum).
The Health Belief Model when applied to teenage binge drinking, may help offer a new perspective into why teenagers engage in binge drinking. This can be done by exploring the perceptions teenagers may have on alcohol. As well as the beliefs, they may have concerning alcohol consumption and the act of being intoxicated.
Where Binge-Drinking is the Worst?
While binge drinking among teens is a problem affecting anyone regardless of class,
race, gender, or geographical region, certain demographics may point to a higher consumption of alcohol. For instance, here are five criteria that point towards a higher potential for binge drinking:
1. males tend to drink more than females
2. whites drink more than blacks
3. people from New Hampshire drink more than people from New York
4. people from a wealthier background drink more than those from a poorer background
5. gay people drink more than straight people (Fahey & Miller, 2013).
Taking into consideration these statistics, white, gay males from wealthy backgrounds may be most likely to participate in binge drinking than any other demographic. Such information can help create a more effective anti-binge drinking campaign because it will allow efforts to be focused on the most affected populations.
Past Studies on Teenage Binge Drinking
Past studies covering
adolescent binge drinking demonstrated markedly negative effects on the brain. One study revealed
brain damage that resulted in long-term memory issues.
Adolescent onset of binge drinking predicted poorer performance on broader range of memory tests, including a more systematic test of spatial recognition memory, and an associative
learning task. Our results are broadly consistent with findings in rodents that acute alcohol and
stress exposure suppress neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus, which in turn impairs performance in high interference memory tasks, while adolescent onset binge drinking causes more extensive brain damage and cognitive deficits (Goldstein, Dery, Pilgrim, Ioan, & Becker, 2016, p. 251).
Information such as this can help teenagers understand the long-term consequences of binge drinking. If they see binge drinking can impair their memory, they may be willing to stop their alcohol consumption to prevent any potential damage to the brain.
The study also provided information on activities that can be affected from having poor memory. Tasks like memorization, a major part of learning can be affected (Goldstein, Dery, Pilgrim, Ioan, & Becker, 2016). This means teenagers that engage in binge drinking may develop learning problems later on that may lead to poor grades in
high school or college. Because the academic career of a student relies on memory, this could be a great way to teach teenagers the dangers of binge drinking.
Another study focused on which drinking styles led to the development of alcohol use disorders…
