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Teenage Alcoholism

In this paper I will discuss the disease of teenage alcoholism and how it affects everyone, not just the teen. I will talk about the signs that a teenager has a problem and what parents can do to help their child. This has been a growing problem all over not just in the United States. There are so many reasons why and we all need to do our part to educate and eliminate this epidemic.
The scariest part about teenage alcoholism is that they have no clue what it really is. They have this “it can’t ever happen to me and I will not become an alcoholic” attitude about them. Main causes of this disease are stress, family problems and the desire to be popular and fit in.
Common ingredient to all alcoholic drinks is ethyl alcohol or ethanol. This clear tasteless liquid is formed through fermentation of sugars by yeast. The amount of alcohol that is made all depends on the type of sugar, amount of sugar, type of yeast and the temperature used during the fermentation process. American beers, are made from malted barley, which contains 3% to 6% alcohol (Enoch & Goldman, 2002). Wines are made from grapes and/or berries, and have about 15% alcohol(Enoch & Goldman, 2002). Cherry or port wines can reach 20% alcohol because additional ethanol alcohol is used (Enoch & Goldman, 2002).
Teenagers encounter a lot of pressure to succeed, so failures at home and/or school can lead to the need to escape from everyday life. They then turn to alcohol. They learn by watching their parents drink due to stress or not knowing how to cope with a situation. It is all over the movies and music videos that it is cool to drink or the popular kids do it. So teens feel it is OK to do it. If they can drink a lot of alcohol they are perceived to be “the big man on campus.” These are wrong signs to be sending to teens. It is very disturbing to know that about half of high school seniors drink alcohol at least once a month, 20% drink once a week. About 30% of ninth graders drink...