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Alcoholism among children and adolescents has many causes. We learn to accept alcohol from an early age. Children's champagne appears at birthdays of even 2- or 3-year-olds. No wonder that our children get to know the taste of percentage drinks earlier and more and more often they become addicted. Alcoholism among children and adolescents - how to recognize that a child is addicted to alcohol?

Where does alcoholism come fromamong children and teenagers ? Why are adolescents addicted to alcohol? In Poland, the average age of alcohol initiation is around 12 years of age. Children usually drink the first glass at home, often in the presence of their parents. In general, this experiment will satisfy their curiosity for many years. Once again, a child reaches for alcohol under pressure from peers.

Children become addicted to alcohol

There are no studies that show unequivocally how long children become addicted to alcohol. It is known, however, that the sooner they start drinking, the significantly shorter the time to addiction. The moment when occasional drinking turns into an addiction depends not only on when the alcohol initiation took place, but also on the frequency of drinking alcohol percentages.

The doctors' assessment shows that 1.5 years, 2 years of regular drinking by a child or teenager leads to addiction, but of course it can happen sooner. American researchers have found that children who started drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become addicted to alcohol than those in their 20s.

Alcoholism among children and adolescents - drinking fashion

Alcohol accompanies Poles in various life situations: we drink because of stress, for warming up, on the occasion of name day, promotion. There is practically no socializing without a few glasses. What's more: there are no limits to drinking that would be disapproved of by the environment. Such habits prevail among adults and are transferred to adolescents.

As children grow up, they get used to the presence of alcohol in their lives. He accompanies family celebrations, so the child sees nothing wrong with his drinking. It seems that nothing is wrong when parents buy non-alcoholic champagne for their toddler's birthday. However, such behavior models certainbehavior. For a child, the message is simple - it's a birthday, there must be alcohol.

He remembers drinking champagne. When she gets the chance to taste real bubble wine, she will! For teenagers, alcohol is the most readily available and popular psychoactive substance.

This is the conclusion of the analysis of the survey conducted in May and June 2011 by Dr. Janusz Sierosławski from the Department of Alcoholism and Toxicomania Research at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology. Among children up to the age of 18, there are twice as many drinkers as there are smokers. 87.3% admitted drinking alcohol. 15-16-year-olds and 95.2 percent 17-18 year olds.

PARPA: Over 40 percent fifteen-year-olds have been drinking alcohol in the past month. One in five got drunk with it

The limit of alcohol initiation is constantly decreasing, and significantly: alcohol has been tried by twelve or even eleven-year-olds. The CBOS study "Attitudes of young people towards alcohol" shows that 68 percent In cases, an adult is behind the initiation of a young person into alcohol - someone from household members or friends who decides to buy or give a teenager something stronger, e.g. during a home celebration. This is especially visible during the holiday season, when adults react to stress related to work, and youth - to school.

The salespeople also do not help in the fight against too early alcohol initiation of young people. Research shows that only 11-16 percent. minors are met in a shop refusing to sell beer, wine or vodka. In addition, the so-called alcohol fashion.

Source: biznes.newseria.pl

Important

Red flags

Some of the problems listed below may not be related to the drinking of alcohol by the child. They may result from the difficult maturation process for a teenager. However, when several of them occur at the same time, it is worth taking special care of the child. Drinking alcohol can be proved by:

  • a clear decrease in interest in activities that were previously attractive to the child;
  • increasing the level of frustration, tantrums, showing hostility;
  • problems with learning and behavior at school;
  • isolating yourself from contacts with family and hiding details of life outside the home;
  • frequent mood changes from over-excitement to apathy;
  • changes in eating and falling asleep habits, e.g. getting up later, loss of appetite;
  • smell of alcohol from the mouth, glassy red eyes;
  • neglecting appearance, lack of care for personal hygiene;
  • increasing financial needs and concealing expenses from pocket moneyand the disappearance of small sums from the house or not giving the rest of the purchases ordered by the parents;
  • reacting with irritation to attempts to obtain information about newly made acquaintances.

Why do children drink alcohol?

Young people drink for various reasons. Pursuant to Polish law, beverages containing alcohol are reserved for adults, i.e. persons over 18 years of age. Earlier tasting of various drinks is sometimes related to the need to feel like adults, the desire to raise your position among colleagues.

Young people drink in order not to stand out from their peer group, not to expose themselves to the assessment of a coward, mama's boy. But also because alcohol makes you euphoric, allows you to feel good, slow down the mechanism of self-control, and give yourself courage.

There is a large group of teenagers who try alcohol out of curiosity to know what the forbidden fruit tastes like. Others, especially in adolescence, express their rebellion against the prohibitions that apply to them in this way. Another feature of youth is the willingness to cross boundaries, take risks, and thus also drink alcohol.

Anyone can buy alcohol - kids too

The most popular type of alcohol among adolescents is beer, and the least popular is wine. Most of the young respondents in the research of Dr. Janusz Sierosławski admits to crossing the threshold of intoxication.

In a month before collecting the cited data, 21.4 percent were drunk. younger and 32.3 percent. older teenagers. 51.4 percent have never been drunk. younger and 29.7 percent. older teenagers.

The vast majority of teenagers from the third year of junior high school and over 80 percent from the 2nd grade of upper secondary schools believe that buying alcohol is not a problem for them, which - in their opinion - is contributed by the extensive network of points selling alcohol.

This easy access to alcohol for young people also results from the behavior of people behind the counter and adult customers. Both do not obey the law: sellers, because what matters to them is the profit, not the age of the buyer. And other adults who observe such a situation react too rarely, because they are afraid or - even worse - they see nothing wrong with it.

Poisoned organism of a child who drinks alcohol

The damage that alcohol does to the body of a young person concerns both his body and psyche. By affecting the nervous system, alcohol impairs the processes of logical thinking and remembering, and limits the ability to learn. Even a small amount of it weakens the eyesight, hearing and reduces the precision of movements.

Under the influence of alcohol, the heart may be disturbed, because ethanol causes the vessels to dilate rapidlyblood vessels. It also flushes out vitamin B from the body, which is associated with a loss of appetite and the difficulty in absorbing this group of vitamins in the digestive tract.

The absorption of other vitamins and nutrients - protein, fat and carbohydrates - is also impaired.

Alcohol reduces the body's resistance to bacteria and viruses, hence frequent respiratory infections. It can also cause high blood pressure and permanent brain damage.

Excess alcohol causes inflammation of the oral mucosa, stomach and duodenum, and disturbances in intestinal peristalsis. In young people, even after a small amount of alcohol, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain may occur.

The liver of the drinker suffers the greatest losses, because it is the liver that has to metabolize the drunk alcohol.

Important

How does alcohol work?

Ethanol is already absorbed in the mouth. The speed of this process depends, among others on the rate at which food passes from the stomach to the duodenum and intestines, and also on the fat content of the food.

The greatest amount of alcohol passes into the blood from the intestines, and the highest levels of alcohol are found in saliva, urine, blood, bile and the cerebrospinal fluid. The highest blood alcohol concentration is reached 30-45 minutes after drinking.

The process of metabolism is slower than that of absorption. A man's body needs over an hour to completely burn, or metabolize, 10 g of ethanol.

Alcohol depletes brakes

Drinking by children and adolescents carries with it many other threats that harm their he alth and make it difficult to start in life. Drinking is often accompanied by smoking, sometimes taking drugs and premature sexual initiation with a higher probability of unplanned pregnancy than in older adolescents.

Alcohol abuse is also associated with a high risk of contracting infectious diseases, including HIV and HBV. The latter causes an incurable - so far - hepatitis. Drunkenness by children and teens is a frequent cause of accidents and injuries.

It is also conducive to coming into conflict with the law and increasing the probability of becoming a victim or a perpetrator of a crime. And most importantly, alcohol is the most common cause of death among young Europeans under the age of 26.

Get off the wrong path

There are still no good and proven therapeutic programs for children and adolescents who abuse alcohol. Treatment for adolescents is different from treatment for adults. In the case of the latter, the therapy is based on the balance of damages and losses. The therapist shows the alcoholic whatlost.

It doesn't appeal to young people, because they haven't lost anything yet: no job, no money, no family. The difficulty of therapeutic management in this case also lies in the fact that a teenager drinking in his environment is treated exceptionally. This is a guest! - say peers. He drank and climbed a power pole or did something else just as crazy that was great fun for everyone.

Often it is alcohol that places the individual in a higher position in the peer group. I was nobody, and now everyone counts with me, they invite me to meetings - therapists hear from their adolescent patients.

The teen then thinks that drinking alcohol brings only benefits. The basis for getting out of addiction is building their own identity in these people. After recovering from addiction and finding the right path for them, young people are reluctant to huddle around AA clubs, although they could find help there too. They are more often chosen by peer groups who are passionate about, for example, sailing or football.

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What can parents do?

Children's drinking of alcohol depends largely on the pattern of behavior towards alcohol they learned at home and their parents' attitude towards drinking.

If the father and mother control their drinking, the child does not see them intoxicated with alcohol, knows that they do not drive a car, do not neglect their professional and household duties - they take over such behavior.

A correct attitude towards alcohol consumption is built in his awareness. When a child feels loved and hears a clear message from his parents that the prohibition of drinking is due to care for them, he will try not to disappoint trust.

Children who, thanks to their parents, are convinced of their worth, have learned a safe model of drinking at home, even under pressure from their peers, they do not change their behavior.

"Zdrowie" monthly

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Category:

Psychology