High school student survey and findings

¶ … Alcohol

L. Jones

High School Survey: Underage Drinking at Graduation

Underage drinking is a serious issue. Although much lip service is given to the dangers of drinking in general, within the teenage community (and sometimes younger), little credence is given to the possible repercussions of drinking in a "party situation." While most teenage students (high school seniors in this survey) readily see the dangers inherent in driving while intoxicated, few understand the possible health risks that can arise in a social or party atmosphere. Given the recent cases of "alcohol poisoning" in which individuals have died from ingesting in effect an "overdose" of alcohol, a survey concerning the levels of knowledge about the effects of alcohol on the human body was conducted.

Alcohol poisoning is not only serious, but it can result in death. Within the United States, acute alcohol poisoning generally impacts underage or college age drinkers due to their lack of experience with the effects of alcohol, as well as their propensity to "binge" drink large quantities of alcohol during a short time period (i.e. A party) (MedNet, 2005). Although alcohol can be relatively safe if consumed in a responsible and moderate manner, young binge drinkers can literally poison themselves by drinking too much too quickly, thereby allowing the level of alcohol concentration in their bloodstream to reach toxic levels (MayoClinic, 2005).

To examine the level of awareness regarding alcohol poisoning among teenagers, we sampled a group of twenty graduating seniors at Mark Twain High. We chose this group because it seems to be particularly affected due to the amount of "partying" that is conducted surrounding graduation time. We asked them six questions, including, "Are you concerned about the health affects of consuming alcohol?," "Are you aware of the possibility of fatal alcohol poisoning?," "If yes, do you know the signs and symptoms of the condition?," "Do you consider alcohol consumption to be of great importance in party or social activities?," "Do you consider your school's policy on alcohol education to be sufficient on this issue?," and, "What actions do you think could be done to help educate students about alcohol poisoning?"

Interestingly, according to the survey's results, only 20% of respondents knew about the issue, while 60% considered alcohol to be "of great importance" in party/social events surrounding graduation. Further, given the low percentage of knowledge of the issue, only 10% of the students felt the school's health education program was helpful. Finally, most respondents indicated that the felt that the action most needed in improving education about the issue is for the school to introduce the topic (i.e. It is currently not discussed in the school setting).