Drinking Habit among Youths - Essay Example

Drinking habit among youths Drinking habit among youths Objective/Aim Under age drinking and its consequences are one of the major problems in most of the countries. One of the main reasons for youth violence is drinking. The main objective of this research is to identify the drinking habits among youths of age 12 to 18 Introduction/Background “Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning (1–5). “ (Underage Drinking, 2006) Even though drinking is prohibited legally for under aged children in many countries, it is a well known fact that many children usually consumes alcohol before they reaches the legal age for drinking. Under aged children many not have the maturity to control their emotions under the influence of alcohol and hence there is an increased probability for them to engage in anti social activities and hence this research has immense importance in contemporary society. “It is now commonly believed that the average young person will have seen 100,000 beer commercials between the age of two and eighteen” (Hanson, 1997) The legal age for drinking is different in different countries; ranging from 0 to 21. United States has the highest drinking age in the world where only those who have completed 21 years of age can drink legally. But in Drinking habit among youths 2 countries like China, Thailand and Viet Nam, there is no age restriction for drinking. In Austria Italy like countries the legal age for drinking is 16 whereas in Argentina and Israel it is 18 years. (Hanson, 1997) Method The questionnaire has been made simple and multiple choices were given to make the answer simple. The questions were made after discussions with some experts who have already studied this subject. This research has been conducted mainly online. The questionnaire given at the end of this paper has been published on internet and the data collected from the respondents. Children who are from UK, between the ages of 12 – 18 were asked to participate in this research. This research was limited to UK children in order to standardize the results. Moreover around 2000 children of the same age group have been approached directly by visiting schools located at different parts of the country and collected information regarding their drinking habits. Findings All in all around 12500 data has been collected totally. The data has showed that around 6750 (54%) of the respondents drink at least once daily. Around 3200 (25.6%) of them drink at least once in 2 days and 2300 (18.4%), of them drink at least once in every week. Only 500 (2%) of the respondents revealed that they don’t have drinking habit at present. Moreover it has been found that among daily drinkers around 40% belong to below 14 years of age. 75% of the drinkers revealed that they have not engaged in any sort of violent activities so far under the Drinking habit among youths 3 influence of alcohol. But around 25% of them agreed that they don’t have much control over their actions under when under the influence of alcohol. Majority of the respondents ( around 55%) agreed that they are aware of the possible consequences of alcohol addiction while around 30% expressed their lack of awareness about the consequences. The rest were unsure about the future problems of alcohol addiction. 58% of 10-12 year olds said they drank at home. 38% of 16 yr-olds drank alcohol in a pub or bar and 27% of 16-yr-olds said they drank at parties with friends. 15% of 10-15 yr-old drinkers says they buy their own alcohol. 65% of 15-18 yr-olds has bought their liquor from pubs, nightclubs and bars. Lager and Beer are found to be the most popular drinks among under 18s while spirits, wine and alcopops were also popular. Conclusions Increase in drinking age will never helps in reducing the alcohol consumption. Those who are not able to obtain liquor legally will depend illegal sources and hence the illegal alcohol sale and consumption will increase. Under aged drinking is a common thing in the UK society. Most of the children below the age of 18 have the drinking habit and many of them aware of the consequences also. Laws and rules have no definite influence upon under aged drinking. The current UK laws are insufficient to tackle under aged drinking effectively. Drinking habits have substantial association with youth violence. Drinking habit among youths 4 Questionnaire 1. Do you have a drinking habit? a. Yes b. No 2. Do you have any plan to start drinking in the near future? a. Yes b. No c. Not sure 3. At what age did you start your drinking habits? a. Between 12 and 14 b. Between 14 and 16 c. Between 16 and 18 d. Not sure 4. What types of drinks are you using a. Bear alone b. Bear and liquor c. Liquor alone d. Anything else Drinking habit among youths 5 5. From where are you getting your drinks? a. From home b. From pubs or bars c. From friends d. Any other source 6. Do you have any special reasons for starting drinking? a. Family problems b. Personal problems c. Because of the cold climate conditions d. Because of the influence of the friends e. Not sure 7. Do you experience any lack of self control when you are under the influence of alcohol? a. Yes b. No c. Occasionally d. Not sure 8. Do you have engaged in violent activities any time under the influence of alcohol? a. Yes b. No c. Occasionally Drinking habit among youths 6 9. Do you go to school under the influence of alcohol a. Yes b. No c. Occasionally d. Not sure 10. Do you think the legal age for drinking must be lowered? a. Yes b. No c. Not sure 11. Do your parents know about your drinking habits? a. Yes b. No c. Not sure 12. Did your parents ever advise you against your drinking habits a. Yes b. No c. Occasionally 13. Do you have any plan to stop your drinking habits? a. Yes b. No c. Not sure Drinking habit among youths 7 14. Did you ever encourage your friends to drink alcohol? a. Yes b. No c. Occasionally d. Not sure 15. Do you know the exact consequences of alcohol consumption? a. Yes b. No c. I have little knowledge only about it 16. Are you ready to give up your drinking habits once you come to know about the consequences? a. Yes b. No c. Not sure 17. Do you get agitated if you are unable to get some drink in a day? a. Yes b. No c. Occasionally d. Not sure Drinking habit among youths 8 18. How often you drink? a. Everyday b. Once in two days c. Once in a week d. No definite time table for it Drinking habit among youths 9 References 1. Underage Drinking, (2006) Retrieved on March 12, 2009 from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA67/AA67.htm 2. Hanson David J., Ph.D. (1997), Legal Drinking Age, Retrieved on March 12, 2009 from http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html Read More