Causes, Incidence, and Risk Factors

There is no known cause of alcohol abuse or alcoholism. Research suggests that certain genes may increase the risk of alcoholism, but which genes and how they work are not known.

How much you drink can influence your chances of becoming dependent. Those at risk for developing alcoholism include:

• Men who have 15 or more drinks a week
• Women who have 12 or more drinks a week
• Anyone who has five or more drinks per occasion at least once a week

One drink is defined as a 12-ounce bottle of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a 1 1/2-ounce shot of liquor.

You have an increased risk for alcohol abuse and dependence if you have a parent with alcoholism.

You may also be more likely to abuse alcohol or become dependent if you:

• Are a young adult under peer pressure
• Have depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, or schizophrenia
• Have easy access to alcohol
• Have low self-esteem
• Have problems with relationships
• Live a stressful lifestyle
• Live in a culture alcohol use is more common and accepted

Alcohol abuse is rising. Around 1 out of 6 people in the United States have a drinking problem.

Symptoms

People who have alcoholism or alcohol abuse often:

• Continue to drink, even when health, work, or family are being harmed
• Drink alone
• Become violent when drinking
• Become hostile when asked about drinking
• Are not able to control drinking -- being unable to stop or reduce alcohol intake
• Make excuses to drink
• Miss work or school, or have a decrease in performance because of drinking
• Stop taking part in activities because of alcohol
• Need to use alcohol on most days to get through the day
• Neglect to eat or eat poorly
• Do not care about or ignore how they dress or whether they are clean
• Try to hide alcohol use
• Shake in the morning or after periods when they have not a drink

Symptoms of alcohol dependence include:

• Memory lapses after heavy drinking
• Needing more and more alcohol to feel "drunk"
• Alcohol withdrawal symptoms when you haven't had a drink for a whle
  
• Alcohol-related illnesses such as,alcoholic liver disease

How can parents prevent alcohol use?

Clear communication byparents about the negative effects of alcohol, as well as about their expectations regarding drug use, have been found to significantly decrease alcohol use in teens. Adequate parental supervision has also been found to be a deterrent to alcohol use in youth. Alcohol, and other drug use, has been found to occur most often between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., immediately after school and prior to parents' arrival at home from work. Teen participation in extracurricular activities has therefore been revealed to be an important measure in preventing use of alcohol in this age group. Parents can also help educate teens about appropriate coping andstress-management strategies.

What are the causes and risk factors of teen alcoholism?

Family risk factors for teenagers developing drinking problems include low levels of parent supervision or communication, family conflicts, inconsistent or severe parental discipline, and a family history of alcohol or drug abuse. Individual risk factors include problems managing impulses, emotional instability, thrill-seeking behaviors, and perceiving the risk of using alcohol to be low. Girls who drink, as well as teens who begin drinking prior to 14 years of age and those whose mothers have drinking problems, are more likely to develop alcoholism. Teen risk factors for alcoholism differ a bit between the 14- to 16-year-old and 16- to 18-year-old age groups, in that 16- to 18-year-olds tend to be less likely to drink in excess when they have a close relationship with their mothers.

What are the symptoms of alcohol abuse in teens?

Some of the most common symptoms of alcohol abuse in teenagers include lying, making excuses, breaking curfew, staying in their room, becoming verbally or physically abusive toward others, having items in their possession that are connected to alcohol use (paraphernalia), the smell of alcohol on their breath or body, mood swings, stealing, and changes in friends

Alcohol and Hazing

Liquid Bonding

While hazing does not necessarily involve alcohol use by either current or new members, often alcohol consumption is either a central or contributing element  

Consumption as a condition for admission to a group

Any consumption of alcohol, other drugs, or other substances that is "an explicit or implicit condition for initiation to, admission into, affiliation with, or continued membership in a group or organization" is hazing. This definition is applied regardless of the level of pressure to drink.

On the continuum of coercion to drink, an implicit condition may be as subtle as inviting new members to sit and drink with members while watching television. Or it can be more explicit, such as lining up fifteen shots and asking which of the new members can consume them in fifteen minutes.

Pressure to participate in drinking rituals

Some fatal cases of hazing have been labeled as episodes of "binge drinking," a term that suggests that the students who died of alcohol poisoning just used poor judgment and did not know when to stop drinking. It is more accurate to refer to such episodes as "ritualized drinking" in which there is systematic pressure applied to vulnerable new members that leads them to consume dangerous amounts of alcohol.

A common argument in defense of groups that pressure new members to drink is that they do not "force anyone to drink." Comments such as "No one poured it down their throats," and "They could have walked out at any time" ignore the reality of coercive power in groups and the fact that psychological force can be as strong as physical force.

Alcohol plays two main roles in hazing:

1. Consumption by current members. Intoxication of current members is in essence "strategic disinhibition" designed to achieve the following:

• Enhance the fun of making new members go through experiences that current members had to endure.
• Reduce anxiety or guilt about subjecting new members to mental and physical distress. Alcohol enables members who feel conflicted about hazing to temporarily suspend their moral standards.
• Provide a sense of "insurance" against culpability by allowing hazers to point to their inebriated state as the explanation for hazing incidents. The "we were drunk and things just got out of hand" defense seeks to obscure that fact that hazing is generally premeditated and systematic. Intoxication, however, is not a valid legal defense.

2. Consumption by new members. Providing alcohol to new members can serve a variety of functions, including the following:

• As a "social lubricant," alcohol is used to increase new members' comfort with each other and facilitate self-disclosure that can enhance group bonding.
• Alcohol impairs the judgment of new members thus decreasing their resistance to engaging in risky behavior.
• When combined with their lack of knowledge about what they are being subjected to, being intoxicated further lowers new members' power relative to those who are hazing them.
• The withholding of alcohol at times from new members while current members drink serves to underscore the "privilege" of full membership, thus increasing the desirability of both alcohol and membership.

Risks of Alcohol in Hazing

In addition to potential legal and judicial consequences, there are three health main risks that alcohol poses in hazing:

1. Acute risk to new members

Rapid consumption of large quantities of alcohol can kill by suppressing brain functions:

• A person can pass out and then drown in his or her own vomit because of an impaired gag reflex.
• A person can pass out and then suffocate with his or her face in a pillow.
• A person's breathing or heart beat can stop.

Heavy drinking can also lead to a wide range of negative consequences such as injuries and memory loss. It can also contribute to being sexually victimized. Whenever a person is severely intoxicated, it is imperative that someone call for medical assistance. Every student should be familiar with the signs of alcohol poisoning.

It is never worth risking someone's life for the sake of the group. When someone does the right thing and calls for help,  administrators should consider the act of calling a mitigating circumstance when determining any sanctions that might apply to an organization or individual.

2. Chronic risks to new members

One in ten students reports worrying that they might have a problem with alcohol or other drugs. Many of these individuals have either developed or are at risk of developing alcohol dependency (the clinical term for alcoholism).

New member processes that involve alcohol pose extra risk for students with alcohol problems. The consequences for the individual can be serious and can have a major negative impact on the group as well. By creating conditions where it is difficult for a person with an alcohol problem to decline to drink, the group contributes to the person's problem.

In some cases, members are either unaware of such risks or recklessly disregard them. In one case, a new member explained to current members that another new member was recovering from a drinking problem. Rather than exempt the recovering member from drinking rituals, the members targeted this person for drinking activities.

3. Risk to hazers and the group

In addition to increasing their own risk of the acute and long-term individual consequences described above, members who haze risk harming others and bringing sanctions upon themselves or their organization. When the members of a group that is hazing become intoxicated, they may make disastrous decisions. Impaired judgment can turn a premeditated act of hazing into a tragedy.