The habit of alcohol consumption is the most widespread in all countries of the world, and not only among adults, men and women, but also very often among young people, and now also among adolescents, where it has now taken root significantly.
While we may be surprised to learn that 12- to 15-year-old kids can have access to alcoholic beverages such as cocktails, wine, beer, and even hard liquor, we cannot be surprised that teenagers can remain immune to a certain rampant culture of transgression and getting high, more or less consciously spread by fashions, movies, and today especially the world of the Internet.
The image of a group of friends drinking together in merriment can appear to be laden with social symbols and cultural traditions in all countries of the world, and the concept of “drinking together” seems to reach many, and among many, including adolescents, today’s alcohol consumers in various age groups.
Families, schools, and other institutions, no matter how hard they work at the educational level in drawing behavioral lines and spreading a culture of prevention, fail to curb adolescent alcohol consumption, as evidenced by the constant news stories of tragic events involving them.
Studies and research are conducted every year on alcohol consumption by adolescents and young people, from which we learn that very high percentages of boys and girls ( about 85 percent) can get to consume around 3-4 liters of alcohol per week (with higher peaks on weekends), resulting in some ending up hospitalized for alcohol intoxication, alcoholic hepatopathy, or even alcoholic coma.
The phenomenon is worrying because it is precisely during adolescence that alcohol makes its first appearance among the very young, when a systematic drinking habit can be acquired, which then goes on to consolidate during summer vacations, at parties with friends and in all other circumstances offered by leisure time and social relationships.
The consequences are known for adolescents’ health, their future as adults, the families from which they come, and their role in society.
An inadequate relationship with alcohol, in addition to exposing known health risks to teens, is also one that puts them at risk of dangerous events such as motorcycle rides, injuries, collective fights, drugs, and not least unwanted or unprotected sexual acts.
One wonders: how to intervene as a parent with an alcohol-addicted teenager?
Avoiding putting the rule to follow or the health risks or consequences of alcohol consumption first, but rather encouraging the boy to communicate, to share thoughts and problems, and to express his views on family facts about family members, listening and considering his opinions as a son.
Where this type of engagement fails to change the adolescent’s attitude, one should not hesitate to seek the advice of a psychotherapist for more specific and articulated treatment.
