Family functioning is impaired by addiction. This adjusts how families
communicate and the positions that everyone performs. Addiction becomes the
focus of the family[1]. To be fully grasped, Gruber and Taylor[2] make a cogent
case that addiction must be viewed from a family viewpoint. Most of the study
and psychiatric history has concentrated on people with opioid addiction or
disorders of dependence[3].
It is possible to see perspectives into family
functioning of an alcoholic through intimate accounts that tell the story from
the viewpoint of one family or one teenager[4]. Seven aspects of family
functioning that are impaired by addiction have been defined by Velleman[5]:
responsibilities, rituals, routines, assets, communications, confrontation, and
social life.
Specifically, Usher, Jackson, and O'Brien[6] all aimed at households that have a
teen consuming alcohol or narcotics. These scholars state in their work that the
harmful consequences of substance usage that a parent may encounter are seen in
several young people's lives, including education, wellbeing, and family
relationships, but the causes of the results are not immediately seen.
They note
that:
... interaction with the justice system or family issues are generally the
sources of drug abuse identification...(pág. 210). Jackson and Mannix[7] note
that, before they are noticed, the issues are usually very ingrained. Parents
would mostly be liable for handling the concerns.
Jackson, Usher and O'Brien[8] stated in a qualitative analysis that households
are divided by teen substance usage when teens have "significant and continuing
illegal drug use." (pág. 323). They add that all facets of family life are
influenced by the usage of drugs. This involves parents who fear that the family
is being ripped apart while still seeing young people as "complex, challenging,
frustrating and incredibly stressful" (p. 323). This same study talks about
parents who are feeling betrayal and lack of faith in the infant. Families are
feeling "permanent turmoil" (p.329). Parents report being "torn between having
to offer care for their child impacted by drugs and having to ensure their other
children's safe usage of the family home has been influenced by a secure
atmosphere" (p. 329).
Orford and his colleagues[9] noted that families have entered a stage where they
can explicitly discuss, accept, or refrain from the issue of dependency. Smith
and Estefan[10] identified in an analysis of the report that dependency
influenced communities very widely, but that there were obstacles to reporting
or communicating about the issues. It was viewed as dangerous to reveal family
information, which increased the desire to safeguard secrets. They often thought
the heavier responsibility was borne by the woman, since there is a lot of
external expectation to excel in the position of primary caregiver.
Usher, Jackson and O'Brien[11] described eight main patterns of how households
endured extreme substance addiction in a young person:
- the mechanism of verifying suspicions
- attempting to establish limits;
- confronting the family's effects of drug usages;
- suffering with remorse and shame;
- seeking to maintain the child safe;
- mourning the child's loss;
- living with guilt; and
- surviving with embarrassment; and
- trying to keep the child safe; Related wide-ranging influences were
noticed by Barnard [12].
Butler and Baud[13] indicated that parents disagreed about how the habits
resulting from drug dependency should be referred to and handled. Parental
contact was impaired, which rendered problem-solving more complex as the
behaviors of the youth developed beyond their management[14].
Substance reliance in young people is distinct from the experience of
adults[15]. The teenager, for example, has a more challenging time linking
recent behavior with longer-term consequences, values, and beliefs. Attitudes
reflect their level of growth; their physiological reactions reflect cognitive
growth. In the teenage stage of growth, associated behavioral health problems
sometimes occur, and may exacerbate the perception of the issues by parents.
Studies done of households where a parent is a substance-dependent entity
specifically indicate that communities are greatly impaired. When it is a
teenager who has the alcohol abuse, the study is very minimal. The current paper
attempts to explain how parents have faced and coped with problems of drug
dependency that occur with their young people.
For centuries, alcoholic drinks have become part of social existence, and it has
often been challenging for cultures to recognize or restrain their use. "Drug
use is the third-largest potential risk for sickness and injury in the world; it
is the biggest risk in middle-income nations" (WHO, 2011). In emerging and
underdeveloped nations, alcoholism is a current big concern. This is now
becoming an international health and social problem. (2011 WHO) India is usually
called a conventional society of 'dry' or 'abstaining'[16].
It has one of the
world's biggest alcohol product markets, though. India is the dominant alcohol
manufacturer in South-East Asia (65%) and accounts for approximately 7% of the
overall alcohol product imports to the area.[17] Data and research studies
linked to alcohol remain restricted in India. It clarified that it remains
challenging to access and gather data on the development and sales of alcohol.
Major gaps in the geographical, gender and social groups often face significant
constraints on extrapolating results based on limited samples[18].
Knowledge
about the incidence of psychoactive drug use among students and drug use habits
has been missing since the last general population study in Manipur in 1988[19].
In one of the studies[20], the prevalence of drug use in Imphal (> 50%) was
greater than that recorded in most research studies amongst school children
around 10 and 18 years of age in various Indian cities, including Khushwant's Gorakhpur (18%-25%) [Khushwant, 1992] Kapil, and Delhi by Kapil (40 percent and
13 percent ).[21]
Alcohol is the most commonly consumed product in all nations,
except Mizoram, as per the source used in the WHO, 2004 'Global Survey on the
size pattern and patterns of drug addiction in India.' WHO 2004 estimates that
in India, household spending on alcohol ranges from 3% to 45% of revenue. Its
true effect, though, is on the community and personal complexities underlying
their cultures. In India, domestic violence and the deterioration of welfare
have made substance addiction the single most significant concern for women.
With the one in 3 persons slipping below the poverty line in India, the economic
consequences of spending on alcohol are of particular concern.
A heavy drinker
often faces some detrimental economic consequences, in addition to the money
expended on alcohol. This involves decreased salaries (due to missing work and
decreased work efficiency), improved wages (due to missed work and reduced job
efficiency), Hospital bills for illness and incidents, court costs for
drink-related violations, and diminished credit eligibility. (2004, WHO).
Definition of Alcohol:
Alcohol is the most used psychoactive drug on the market and a specific type of
embodied substance culture[1]. For centuries, it has become a profoundly
significant societal, technological, political, and religious product. Alcohol
refers to a collection of distilled liquids dependent on ethanol that can be
either commercially manufactured or home brewed.
Definition of Youth:
As a definition, youth has traditionally been described as a category of human
beings throughout the world who have come to the end of adolescence and have not
yet attained the full rights and responsibilities of adult life[2]. The youth
era is further described as the period among boyhood and adult age[3]; a person
attends maturity level[4]; a process of transformation where a person
transitions from childhood to adulthood[5].
Various world elite organizations
have provided various youth interpretations; the United Nations
Secretariat/UNESCO/ILO has identified youth as a 15-24 age cohort; the UN
Habitat/Youth Fund (age 15-32); UNICEF/WHO/UNFPA (age 15-24); the African Youth
Charter (age 15-35). Ashramas, such as Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and
Sanyasa, move through some stages of life in the Hindu tradition. The most
prominent of these, namely Brahmacharya, approximately correlates to the youth
of the Hindus. (Translated from Wikipedia)
Number of Indian teenagers consuming alcohol increases:
The number of Indian teens drinking alcohol is growing disturbingly, as per a
survey by the WHO and the NIAA. Several of the causes are shifts in society and
an insatiable desire for booze, but what is the solution? In India, particularly
in metropolitan areas, where it has been embraced as a way of social
interaction, not only among adult as well as among adolescents, but the taboo
about alcohol has also declined substantially.
Around 30 per cent of India's
population drinks alcohol daily, as per the World Health Organization (WHO).
Another research by the Organization for International Cooperation and Growth
shows that the number of under-15 boys who did not include alcohol declined from
44 percent to 30 percent and declined from 50 percent to 31 percent for children
(OECD). This change in consumption habits has led to simple liquor supply,
addiction to alcohol at home, excitement, social pressure, and its connection
with a certain form of lifestyle.
More teens are now drinking alcohol, as per
Dr. Rajesh Kumar, who operates SPYM, a de-addiction center in Delhi, and the
causes are still the same: social pressure and the desire to belong in a
community. For many adolescents, he notes, 'Try at least once' is how it begins.
Psychiatrist Dr Avinashi De Sousa, based in Mumbai, claims that alcohol is
always taken as a sign of prestige. For people, it is in their capacity to
tolerate the quantity of liquor," he continues.
Although adolescent liquor use was traditionally confined to gatherings,
overnight vacations, and sleepovers, it has been a modern norm now to carry
alcohol to college. All has shifted dramatically, more so in India, where drink
supply is in abundance without even any supervision. Bacardi's Breeze has around
4 percent alcohol in it, but you do not need to go to a liquor store to purchase
it since it is readily accessible in daily shops,' challenging modern-day
parenting.
Parents have been liberal in
India. They encourage kids to drink Breeze or sometimes drink wine. It is
possible that these kids will then go on to pursue liquor and other strong
liquor. These days, parents do not know how and when to say no. Everything they
want is to be the boyfriend of their girl. Who is going to be a mom if everyone
is going to be a friend? Parenting is also critical! A great deal is expected in
Indian metro cities.
Although schools have placed the pressure on parenting,
family finds themselves in a tough position where they believe it is easier to
be a peer than to remain as an outsider. Children would either be in touch with
it and inform them what can be achieved and what degree or be ignorant of their
lives, and they will do what they want. Alcohol use is rampant among children.
Alcoholic drinks are a part of it as high school kids' party. It has also hit
school premises these days. Children smuggle alcohol in shampoo bottles on
out-station journeys. They are partying and that is the way it is.
Why drinking has an age limit
It is statistically known that the earlier an infant begins to drink, the
greater the risk of reliance on it. That is why the drinking limit is 21-25
years old. Another theory is that a man's brain grows up to age of 18-20.
Underage drinking may also impact the mechanism of growth and is therefore
prevented, Dr Kumar says. Alcohol is a brain depressant that is easily ingested
from the liver and the small intestine into to the blood. It can cause harm to
vital organs, including that of the liver and/or the brain, if ingested over a
sustained period. It often includes ethanol or ethyl alcohol, an intoxicating
agent that causes mind-altering symptoms, and even a tiny amount of it will
affect the judgement used to make choices, like the running of a vehicle. Thus,
as has been in the past, drinking and driving contribute to traffic injuries.
What's happening around the world
As per the NIAAA, by the ages of 15, around 35 percent of adolescents worldwide
had at least one (1 beer, and by the age of 18, around 65 percent of adolescents
had at least 1 drink. Of the 190 nations, 61 per cent have such an age limit of
18 or 19 years. The United States and 11 other nations are 21 years old, and
India is about 18-25. In all 16 Muslim nations, though, it is banned, according
to Procon.org, though others have exceptions for non-Muslims.
Preventing Underage Drinking Within A Developmental Framework
Complex habits are the product of a complicated interaction among genes and the
climate, such as the choice to quit drinking or to avoid consuming alcohol.
Biological and physiological adjustments that arise throughout puberty, for
instance, can stimulate risk-taking activity, contributing to early alcohol
experimentation.
This behavior then forms the atmosphere of the infant, as he or
she prefers peers and circumstances that encourage more drinking. Continued
consumption may contribute to neurological responses that involve much stronger
alcohol usage or dependency, such as anxiety disorders. In this sense, juvenile
substance consumption habits may represent the initiation of an improvement of
digital that may contribute to addiction and alcoholism. Even so, not all
younger people who drive this road see the same results.
Perhaps the better approach to consider and discourage the usage of alcohol by
minors is to interpret consumption as it relates to progress. From biology and
behavioral traits to social and environmental influences, this "whole scheme"
solution to adolescent consumption takes into consideration the special
vulnerability and protective factors of a single adolescent. In this sense,
growth requires not just the intrinsic risk and durability of the adolescent,
but also the present circumstances that help influence his or her actions[6].
At varying speeds, children develop. Developmental study takes this into
consideration, understanding that there are cycles of accelerated growth and
reorganization during puberty, alternating with periods of sluggish growth and
body system incorporation. Periods of accelerated changes, where social or
cultural influences affect the biology and actions of teenagers more intensely,
could be the ideal time to prioritize intervention delivery[7]. Interventions
that concentrate on these crucial stages of growth could change the child's life
course [8], maybe putting him or her on a road to escape substance issues.
To date, studies have been unable to establish a single track for all or even
most young people that forecasts the path of substance usage. Instead, results
offer clear proof within this community of broad developmental variance in
drinking habits [9].
Conclusion
Alcohol is readily accessible and sold vigorously in culture today. And the
consumption of alcohol tends to be viewed by certain persons as a natural part
of growing up. Yet, as demonstrated by the amount of alcohol-involved motor car
accidents, murders, suicides, as well as other incidents, alcohol consumption is
harmful not just for the alcoholic, but also for community. People who start
alcohol early on in life run the risk of developing major alcohol issues later
in life, including alcoholism.
They are therefore at increased risk of a range
of harmful effects, including unsafe sexual behavior and low school success.
Identifying teenagers at highest risk until they grow will help stop issues. And
creative, holistic preventive methods, such as Project Northland, have proven
effective in minimizing substance experimentation, as well as the challenges
that surround young people's use of alcohol.
Alcohol is not a drug that is ordinary. Although it holds connotations of
enjoyment and sociability in the minds of many, its usage has numerous and
pervasive adverse effects. On a global viewpoint, initiatives need to take into
consideration particular circumstances in diverse cultures to minimize the
damage induced by alcohol. Two aspects of alcohol intake are average amounts
ingested and drinking habits which need to be addressed in attempts to minimize
the incidence of alcohol-related issues. An example of interventions which can
reduce the health risk of alcohol is the prevention of the mixture of drinking
and driving.
Throughout the world, alcohol affects lives and populations
tremendously, especially in developed nations, and its contribution to the total
burden of illness is projected to rise in the future. The rises in the overall
amount of alcohol consumption per person in countries such as China and India
and the more unhealthy and unsafe drinking habits among young people are
especially troubling developments. To maintain track of alcohol use and its
effects and to increase consciousness among the public and politicians, national
surveillance programs must be established. Both policymakers and interested
people are responsible for fostering dialogue and formulating meaningful public
health strategies that mitigate alcohol-induced damage.
In India, underage alcohol use remains a significant public health and safety
problem, creating severe personal, social, and economic repercussions for youth,
their communities, neighborhoods, and the country. An emerging body of studies
on the impact of the consumption of underage alcohol on human growth and
development brings additional impetus to the public and private sectors' decades
of attempts to discourage and eliminate alcohol consumption.
In late teenage years, pervasive consumption by young people and the rise of
substance addiction and dependency are intertwined with developmental cycles. It
is also important to approach the avoidance and elimination of underage drinking
within a developmental context that takes into consideration the complex
mechanisms of human growth and development, the impact of social systems in the
teenage community and the recognition of self attributes in the choice of the
adolescent to drink. Because teenage growth takes place in many contexts in
American society, including families, friends, education, extracurricular and
community events, part-time jobs, the community itself, and the culture, every
American has an obligation to help protect teenagers from the possibly harmful
effects of alcohol usage.
As the Call to Action makes evident, by our individual and collective actions,
each of us has a critical part to play in avoiding and decreasing underage
drinking, ensuring that the future provided by America to its youth is neither
shortened nor hindered by the effects of alcohol consumption. This Call to
Action is precisely that: a call to all Americans to help the Surgeon General in
a nationwide campaign to combat early, continuing, and human developmental
drinking by minors. Underage substance consumption is a concern for all, and the
remedy is the obligation of all.
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- Onions, C.T. 1947. 'The shorter Oxford dictionary on historical
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- Davis, K. 1959. 'The myth of functional analysis as a special method in
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- Bauman, Z. 1967. 'Some problems in contemporary education. The missing
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- Sroufe, L.A., and Rutter, M. The domain of developmental
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development. Child Development 58:539559, 1987.
- Masten, A.S. Regulatory processes, risk, and resilience in adolescent
development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1021:310319, 2004.
- Steinman, K.J., and Schulenberg, J. A pattern-centered approach to
evaluating substance use prevention programs. In: Damon, W.; Peck, S.C.; and
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