Alcohol Consumption Among Young Adults: a Significant Impact on the Health Care System - Research Paper Example

Introduction: Alcohol consumption and its resulting consequences are amongst one of the most common social and public health problems encountered not only in the United Kingdom but throughout the world. The past few decades have witnessed an alarming rise in the consumption of alcohol both amongst adults and adolescents, which not only has an impact on the health care system, but also has significant social and economic repercussions, such as an increase in crime rates, indulgence in risk-incurring sexual behaviors, assaults, accidents and alcohol-related deaths[Sun10]. Adolescence and early adulthood is a precipitous period in an individual’s life during which an individual encounters a myriad of physical, psychological and psychosocial changes and challenges. It has been found that in the United Kingdom, since the 1980’s, the age group most likely to be involved in alcohol consumption and least likely to abstain from its use was 18-24 years[Ins10]. Studies have revealed that alcoholism ranks third amongst the preventable causes of death [Kel09] and alcohol has been found to be the most commonly used substance of abuse amongst adolescents[Sun10]. Moreover, for most individuals, the first use of alcohol, which is defined as the consumption of a whole dink, usually occurs during the second decade of life, oft during early adolescence, i.e. between 13-14 years of age[Ann08]. This paper discusses alcohol use amongst young people (aged between 15-24 years), its prevalence in the society, determinants and factors influencing its use, and the services available to the youth in order to deal with this problem. Epidemiology of Alcohol Consumption amongst Young Adults Alcohol consumption can vary in quantity and frequency and thus, can be defined in several different ways. Hazardous drinking, which has been defined as ‘drinking bringing the risk of physical or psychological harm now or in the future[Ins10]’, is one of the terms used to define alcohol consumption. In the UK, 62% of males and 32% of females aged between 18-24 years were found to be involved in hazardous drinking[Ins10]. Interestingly, amongst males, the peak usage was found in the 20-24 years age group, while amongst females, it was found in the 16-19 years age group[Ins10]. Binge drinking is another pattern of alcohol consumption, which has been defined as the consumption of five or more drinks during a single session[Kel09]. A report issued by the Institute of Alcohol Studies revealed that 26% of the boys and 29% of the girls aged 15-16 years, were involved in binge drinking during the year 2003[Ins10]. This form of drinking is particularly dangerous due to several reasons. First, it has been shown to be associated with several dangerous health-related consequences such as acute alcohol poisoning, disorders such as pancreatitis, meningitis and hypertension, risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, committing suicide and involving in behaviors invoking harm to self and others[Kel09]. Moreover, a report by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism revealed that binge drinking also results in several adverse social consequences such as involvement in interpersonal violence and drunk driving and also leads to a loss in economic productivity of the individuals[Nat001]. Secondly, binge drinking during adolescence has been found to be associated with a higher risk of this behavior persisting during adulthood[Ins10]. In addition, this type of drinking has been found to be associated with long term neuro-cognitive deficits by its impact on the functioning of the frontal lobe, leading to working memory deficits[Kel09]. Thus, the observed rise in binge drinking behavior amongst young adults is an important concern for not only health care personnel but also from a social and economic perspective. The latest survey conducted by the Institute of Alcohol Studies revealed several important trends in alcohol consumption. The prevalence of alcohol consumption was found to increase with increasing age and was found to be roughly equal amongst both sexes, resulting in the disappearance of the previously existent gender gap[Ins10]. Another alarming finding is that the age of onset of regular drinking has been found to decrease to 14-15 years during recent years[Ins10]. These findings have several important implications. It has been elucidated that the younger the age of onset of a substance use disorder, the greater are the chances of developing an alcohol related problem later in life[DCF11] and one study found that individuals who took up drinking before 15 years of age were four times as likely to develop alcohol dependence later in life as compared to those who took up drinking when they were aged 21[Ins10]. . Surprisingly, ethnic minorities were less likely to consume alcohol as compared to their counterparts, although as discussed later, minority status and low socioeconomic class are risk factors for taking up alcoholism[Ins10]. During the last few years, the average weekly consumption of alcohol among young adults has been found to almost double from 5.3 units t o 11.4 units[Ins10]. The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) found that the most popular drinks consumed by individuals less than 18 years were beer and lager with an increasing popularity of alcopops seen in the recent times[ESP07] In addition to posing a social and health care burden, the use of alcohol also has significant economic implications. As reported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the use of alcohol results in approximately 100,000 deaths annually and redounds to almost $100 billion expenditure to the society each year[Dav03]. Keeping all the above mentioned statistics in mind, the following section aims to discern and discuss the various factors underlying the uptake of alcohol consumption amongst individuals aged between 15-24 years. Determinants of Alcohol Consumption amongst Young Adults There are several important factors which influence the consumption of alcohol amongst individuals aged between 15-24 years. These factors can be broadly classified into individual factors, ecological factors, parental influences and peer influences[Cai10]. Individual Factors: As discussed earlier, adolescence is a transitional period in one’s life during which one encounters changes in almost all spheres of life. It is a period of increased independence and responsibilities, formation of new relationships and preparation for the beginning of an adult life. Another important aspect of adolescence is the attainment of sexual maturity and the urge to involve in sexual relationships[San08]. All these factors make adolescence a stressful period for most individuals leading them to indulge in behaviors such as alcohol consumption and substance abuse as a means of coping with stress. Ecological Factors: There are several ecological factors which have been identified. These include factors such as easy availability of alcohol to young adults especially in the form of social drinks or alcopops, promotion of alcohol usage via advertisement using mass media and lack of regulations leading to easy accessibility of underage individuals to alcohol. Anderson et al. (2009) in their systemic review of longitudinal studies relating the advertisement of alcohol and its usage among adolescents found that exposure to mass media advertisement of alcohol leads to an increase in likelihood of starting alcohol consumption among the youth and usage of alcohol amongst pre-existing alcohol users[Pet09]. This shows that media has an important role in shaping behaviors and promoting the acceptance of behaviors such as alcoholism amongst youngsters. Another recent trend which has contributed significantly in increasing alcohol consumption amongst teenagers and young adults is the introduction of ‘designer drinks’ such as ‘K’ Cider, TNT, MD 20/20, Diamond White and Thunderbird and alcopops[Ins10]. These drinks are found to have significant alcohol content and since they are socially acceptable and easily available in social gatherings, parties and pubs, they have lead to a significant increase in alcohol consumption amongst high school and college going individuals. Moreover, these drinks are potentially more hazardous since they lead to heavier drinking as most individuals are unaware of the proportion of alcoholic content in such drinks. Since they are associated with heavier drinking, they can lead to alcoholism and binge drinking later in life. As revealed by a study carried out amongst 8000 individuals, people who were used to drinking alcopops and other similar drinks had a greater tendency to drink alcohol later on in life during social events such as parties and in discos, etc[Ins10]. Social Factors: Adolescence is an era associated with several social goals including and not limited to, making new friends, fitting into a social group and adjusting to new environments, e.g. high school, college, etc. Peer pressure is one of the most important social factors which has been implicated not only in the usage of alcohol but also other illicit drugs amongst teenagers. The effect of peer pressure is most profound amongst individuals belonging to ethnic minority groups and those belonging to a low socioeconomic status, because these individuals have greater pressures and more difficulty in being accepted. When individuals are faced with a transition into a new social environment, they have an overwhelming desire to be accepted in that environment and this pressure promotes recklessness and involvement into socially prevalent practices such as smoking and drinking. All these social challenges pose significant pressures and responsibilities on an individual. The use of alcohol during this time period is perceived by individuals as a means to facilitate social relations and promote social acceptance. Parental Influences: Apart from social factors, parental influences have been found to be amongst the most important factors influencing alcohol consumption amongst adolescents and young adults. Statistics reveal that individuals with parents who have been heavy drinkers have a greater tendency to become alcoholics as compared to those whose parents are not drinkers[Ins10]. Parents who were regular consumers of alcohol were found to be 3 times as likely (10% as compared to 31%) to have children who consumed alcohol frequently[Ins10]. Another important finding which underscores the role of parents in promoting alcohol consumption amongst their offsprings is that almost 34% of the individuals aged 15 years were found to consume alcohol at home[Off07]. Similarly, when questioned about the source of alcohol, 23% of individuals participating in a survey reported that they had been provided alcohol at home by their parents at atleast one instance during the last month and 18% reported frequent alcohol consumption at home[Ins10]. Several other factors which have been implicated in promoting the usage of alcohol amongst young adults inclide having a family history of alcoholism, having comorbidities such as pre-existing mental health problems and belonging to broken families or those having poor support systems[San08]. Moreover, lack of parental attention and inadequate parental control have also been found to be possible risk factors for taking up alcoholism. Services available: As discussed above, alcohol consumption drinking brings with it both physical and psychological harm and therefore various services are available to deal with the problem. There are various networks which provide both counseling and rehabilitation services for alcoholics. The first and the foremost step in the management of alcohol abuse is the identification of the disorder. After the identification of substance misuse, the first step to be taken is brief intervention. It is a very short discussion by an activist or a social worker. Rehabilitation centres in the UK provide therapy by having a structured programme which caters to psychological, social and educational criteria. Besides helping the alcoholic to get rid of the menace by detoxification they also prepare the patient to reenter the society. The duration of these programmes varies between 1 to 9 months [Reh10]. Services range from providing awareness to treating it. Charities like Drink Aware and the British Liver Trust provide useful information about alcohol and drinking and the effects of alcohol on liver. It is done by their websites, reports published by them and the general campaigns they run. The Royal College of psychiatrists also publishes brochures and leaflets frequently to guide the general public about safe levels of alcohol and the harm they can cause in order to discourage both binging and addiction. This is followed by community based help where brief intervention and counseling is done and frequent checks are done to ensure that substance abuse is not taking place. There are various networks for these types of services and on the top of the list is Alcoholics anonymous, which is a group of people who share their strength, hope and experiences with each other in order to deliver strength and hope to others. Support is also provided to family, friends and supporters of the alcoholic. This refers to the training dispatched to them in order to deal with him. Primary service providers include Add Action who provide multiple services. There services are family focused and they achieve the recovery of their users by working with the family and loved ones of the user. They also offer innovative and practical solutions like getting the person a job as it is understood that without a consistent paid job it is difficult to stay clean. Similarly, the Al Anon family group provides support and advice to anyone whose life has been affected by someone else's drinking[AlA]. Rehabilitation services are both provided in-house and at the addicts place. Carenza care[Car10] and others provides professional quality service which is custom made to each individuals within the comfortable environment of their own homes. Others like Bristol Alcoholism Recovery centre provides complete in-house treatment for all addicts. Thus, in conclusion, alcohol consumption amongst young adults aged between 15-24 years is an important area of concern, which has a significant impact on the health casre system, the economy and the society as a whole. It is thus important to provide easy and accessible interventions such as awareness campaign and support groups, to deal with such disorder in order to reduce the prevalence of this problem in our society. References Sun10: , (Bava & Tapert, 2010), Ins10: , ( Institute of Alcohol Studies, 2010), Kel09: , (Courtney & Polich, 2009), Ann08: , (Masten, Faden, Zucker, & Spear, 2008), Kel09: , (Courtney & Polich, 2009), Nat001: , (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), 2000), DCF11: , (Fuhr & Gmel, 2011), ESP07: , (ESPAD, 2007), Dav03: , (Mersy, 2003), Cai10: , (Abar & Maggs, 2010), San08: , (Brown, et al., 2008), Pet09: , (Anderson, Bruijn, Angus, Gordon, & Hastings, 2009), Off07: , (Office for National Statistics, 2007), Reh10: , (Rehabilitaion UK, 2010), AlA: , (AlAnon Family Groups, 2010), Car10: , (Carenza care, 2010), Read More