Alcohol like other abusive drugs offers the people a chance to get some peace of mind and have fun occasional especially in young people all around the world. The excessive use of alcohol has raised up in in the age group of 15 to 35 years of people. There are many influencing factors behind the excessive consumption of alcohol by the people such as peer pressure to indulge in drinking, marketing strategies of companies, escape from depression and anxiety for a short period, youth and independence celebration of adulthood and parental influence on young children. (Franco, 2011) The role of cultural values in the form of consumer capitalism also affects the level and choice of alcohol drinking as well. (Ann, 2008) The economic factor such as price, income and affordability impacts the use of alcohol among people around the globe. The prevalence of alcohol uses a direct link to the consumption. (Anderson, 2009) People use different strategies to cope with the adverse effects caused by excessive drinking. The plan is protective behavior or reduction of harm as a result of the alcohol. The initiation of prevention program helped in controlling individual’s response to lower the negative consequence due to excessive drinking (Flona, 2013) there are other initiatives on government level such as national binge drinking strategy to address the cultural adaptation of excessive alcohol and awareness of drinking effects on short and long-term among young people. (Australian Government, n.d.)
Alcohol is the fourth bused product in the world, throughout the colonization of Europeans, the extraction of various intoxicated products from plants lead to the separate market of a valuable commodity that sets the source of wealth for people around European and Roman empires. The wine was the drink of England and Germany in old times, and the availability of alcohol in middle class varied duet to the affordability issue. People used to drink from the cheapest source like mead. The rate of alcohol consumption rose from 2.5 million L to 25 million by the 18th century. (Anderson, 2009) The smuggling of alcohol modified into Brandy and other selling alcohol products.
Alcohol today now is in use by different societies at different rates. Most of the countries use it as a luxury product, and many economic stables or wealthiest countries drink it, and it became a part of their culture and lifestyle. The preference of drinking and consumption of alcohol among young people has taken many forms. The survey-based in the UK tells that people of age 13-16 age group frequently use the alcohol with fruit beverage in the form of alcopops. The choice of beverage differs in Europe region in the form of beer in the southern region of Europe. The young generation prefers beer while the older people drink the cultural and historical drink wine (Anderson, 2009)
The use of the alcohol connected with the price of the product. The preference of the young people for alcohol is critical as young people have to check for the affordable product in the competitive product of alcohol variety. The beginners start to invest o low content alcohol beverages with strong distilled spirit. The spirit raises the alcohol content of the beverage by the process of malting and the price matches to the affordability of the youngsters as well. (Anderson, 2009)
The Australian region of the world after colonisation in mid-18th century consumed 13.5 litres of pure spirited alcohol per year. With the changes in the post-world war period, the dark and depressive ambience geared up and every inhabitant became a beer consumer. In the 20th century, the fermentation of beverages of natural flowers paced the market of alcohol leading to the establishment of binge drinking in Australia. (Commonwelath Australia, 2001)
The influence of peers exerts a strong impact on alcohol drinking habit. It affects the frequency of consumption in young people. They set their mindset that drinking alcohol is necessary to bring their level equal to their friends or groups. They feel pressure, and to accept by their socialising sphere they adopt this habit of alcohol drinking. Researchers found the positive relationship between the alcohol consumption by the young people and their peer frequency as perceived by the young in a social environment. (Franco, 2011)
Initiation of alcohol consumption and changes in drinking patterns among youngsters influenced by the attitude of their family and peer members. The probability of drinking increases with the increased chance of peer involved in drinking. Moreover, the study found out that adolescents with siblings associated with drinking have a higher chance of getting involved in the habit. The alcohol drinking escalates the non-drinkers into drinkers. The researcher Sandra and Christopher reported about respondent’s frequency of alcohol drinking to be raised from 22.6% to 60.6% going from age 12 to 16 years. The individuals with their siblings linked to the drinking habit are 5 percent more prone to drink on a weekly basis than nondrinkers. Moreover, the rate of drinking between Australia and America showed significant results. Australia has 89 percent more adult consumption rate than the U.S. (Dandra C, 2014)
The austral a region adopted a culture of alcohol drinking where teens get the full liberty to free themselves and enjoy social interactions at events. The young people if wanted to leave the habit of drinking under abstinence program, they feel hindrance because of the drinking culture. (Dandra C, 2014)
The indulgence and priority of the alcohol by the youngsters associated with different motives and mediating factors. One of the main reason is an escape from depression and tension from daily lives stress. According to a survey, young adults indulge in alcohol consumption habit because they want to balance the stress level or revert to the normal positive state of mind. They achieve it through the mode of drinking. The chance of getting along with people and having the best time at the events and bars with opposite sex is also one little pleasure motive that pushes the youngsters to drink more at parties. They perceive drinking habit as the signal for imitating causal sex and luring company of other people. (Vncke, 2017)
Another influence in young alcohol habit is the parental influence. The parents serve as a source of the alcohol for their young children. It reported that 35-58 percent of the supplier’s f alcohol to the adolescents in Australia are the parents. A group of researchers investigated analysis of the parental supply of alcohol to adolescent over 15 years’ period. The investigation resulted in friends being the first source and parents being the second source of alcohol supply. Parental influence changed over the period from 1998 with the 14.9 percent rate of supply to 22.4 percent in 2007. (Adrian, 2016)
Parent’s impact the children with a positive influence on their children. Their influence projects in two ways: directly or indirectly. The direct influence is the parent’s guidelines on the specific behaviour regarding drinking. The indirect way is through the projection of consumption behaviour by parents that triggers the desired behaviour in the children. There is a direct relationship between alcohol consumption of parents and positive influence on children. As the frequency of consumption increases, the probability of drinking habit increases in children too because the children look out for example towards their parents. (Adrian, 2016)
According to one report published in BBC, Children who see their parents binging on alcohol regularly develop the likelihood of alcohol consumption in young age. The researcher’s surveyed children of 1ge 13-15 found that 1 in 5 children drank at the age of 14. Furthermore, the parents have a strong influence on the development of behaviour regarding drinking. The amount of the alcohol parents consume, their dankness level projects signals that demonstrate the development of standard behavior in their children. The influence result out in drinking pattern such as excessive drinking and multiple drinking sessions at one time the drinking pattern of children also modified through the observed drinking behavior of the parents. The availability of alcohol in houses is one of the main reason for the parents to develop the habit of drinking at the household level. (Dominic Hughes, 2011)
The search for happiness and good times is the goal of the individual. The development of culture shaped by the young people and the concept of cultural consumerism have shaped the drinking habit of the drinking. The patterns of alcohol consumption changed over time, and the norms and values attached to it also modified. The consumer culture drives the young people to seek out for happiness through consumption of goods. The consumer market also controlling the mind of the young people to reduce the age between boredom and desire by advertising grand bring newness to things such as alcohol. With the industrialisation, the commodification of leisure alcohol consumption peaked up.
Alcohol drinking accepted as a leisure time activity or habit in major countries. Researcher says that drinking alcohol acts as an identifier of social class. The drinking habit is not only confined to restaurants or social level, but it has widened its scope from private to public spheres as well hitting up all classes.
The early adolescent challenge for the risky behaviors being in the independent years of their life phase. Their emotional style and cognitive shifts bring them to try cultural habits of the society. Young people adopt the alcohol drinking norms, and they sought out to make the meaning out of their cultural sphere. The ultimate goal of life at a young age is the attainability of pleasure, leisure, celebration and social drinking norms served them well on these grounds. The western culture of drinking although lack the limitations on drinking alcohol but this shift is alluring enough for the youngsters to enjoy beyond the traditional norms. The young people do not care about the risky behavioral changes they adopt; they like to show off and experience on their terms. They put themselves in the dangerous habit of uncontrolled drinking without considering their age and health hazards. (Ann, 2008)
The role of the economic factor does not lag behind in promoting the alcohol drinking behavior among youngsters. The parameters such as income, employment, and lifestyle connected with the frequency of the alcohol content that an individual indulges. According to one longitudinal investigation, the youngsters who get higher education or good salaries are more involved in regular alcohol drinking. The Individuals who live alone without their parents in separate home settings reported less consumption. as compared to other. Research conducted on the socio-economic factors impact on changing alcohol behavior among youngsters observed people with age of 18-24 over three years’ period on their alcohol drinking behavior in New Zealand.
The investigation showed that individuals living separately without family reported being involved highly in drinking, the individuals without employment found to be with less alcohol consumption activity. The individuals who can afford separate lifestyle with appropriate income directly linked with the hazardous level of alcohol drinking. (Friedereck, 2014)
The element of affordability also matters in inflicting alcohol use. The people who have high wages can afford expensive alcohol while the person with low incomes are less likely to be connected with alcohol consumption. The prevalence of drinking in developing countries is less than compared to the industrialized nation. Furthermore, increase in the price of alcohol also changed the behavior of alcohol drinkers. According to a study, 10 percent increase in alcohol prices posed 7 percent decrease in alcohol consumption for industrialized countries while the rate was 10 percent for developing countries. (Anderson, 2009)
The habit of alcohol consumption posed severe consequences among young adults of various nations. Youngsters of age group 18-24 from Australia are displayed risky alcohol consumption patterns. They are social drinkers who binge on alcohol more than any other areas around the world. The reason is that of the alcohol drinking culture developed in Australia. The youngster’s area ware of the harmful effects but they do it anyway because they find alcohol to be the best possible escape or relaxation medium.
The government of Australia invested $53 billion in reducing the binge drinking habits among the youngsters under the name of national binge drinking campaign. The campaign highlighted the alcopop tax and spirited alcohol advertisement to create awareness about the hazards of abuse. According to the statistical report, the drive did not show any significant results, but the youngsters diverged from alcopops to undiluted spirit use. The other strategy worked moderately well as it calls out for promoting protective behavior regarding alcohol consumption. (Flona, 2013)
The youngsters now aware of their alcohol consumption quantity and they set out limitations on the drinking, they choose protective measures in case if they are drunk enough. For example, the highly deinked person will select a cab for traveling rather than drunk and drive. This strategy worked positively for Australian youngsters somehow. (Flona, 2013)
The initiative of national binge drinking campaign by the Australian government highly aims to deal with the risky alcohol behaviors among the citizens of Australia especially the youngsters. It has counseling services in the form of alcohol telephone counseling, clubs development for building a culture of safe and responsible alcohol drinking and social media campaign for creating awareness in youngsters that they are responsible for putting such content into their body and the long-term health effects they would produce in the result. The results are mixed. The strategy is effective in catering the hazardous results after the alcohol abuse.
The alcohol consumption is not a new thing, but it has become a fancy thing. The primary point that it brings on is the indulgence of the youth where youngsters were drenching themselves without considering the consequences. The drinking culture in the majority of the regions sprung the involvement and base by the 13 years old youngsters more than ever before. The responsibility is on every person not only the government. The choice of drinking lies in the hand of the person. Alcohol cannot be banned, but one can start off putting a limitation on the amount and also regulatory check on not adopting it as a lifestyle. It is the most comfortable approach that young people can apply to have healthy lifestyle along with moments of joy.
References
Adrian, B. e. a., 2016. Parental supply of alcohol to Australian minors: an analysis of six nationally representative surveys spanning 15 years. BMC Public Health, 16(325).
Anderson, P., 2009. Global use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Drug and Alcohol Review, 25(6), pp. 289-502.
Ann, M. P. J. B. B. L. T. L. L. A. T. R. N., 2008. Young people and the role of cultural influences, Australia: Drink wise Australia.
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Available at: http://www.alcohol.gov.au/internet/alcohol/publishing.nsf/Content/cli
Commonwealth Australia, 2001. Alcohols in Australia, s.l.: Commonwealth Australia.
Sandra C, J. C., 2014. The role of family, friends, and peers in Australian adolescent alcohol consumption. Drug and Alcohol Review, pp. 304-315.
Dominic Hughes, 2011. Parents’ behavior ‘can influence teen drinking’. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-13779834
[Accessed 17 June 2011].
Flona, M. R. M. &. D. W., 2013. Alcohol consumption and protective behavioral strategy use among Australian young adults. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 21(1), pp. 119-133.
Franco, M. &. V. D., 2011. Factors influencing youth alcohol consumption intention: An approach from consumer socialization theory. Journal of Social Marketing, 1(3).
Frederick, S. e. a., 2014. Do changes in social and economic factors lead to changes in drinking behavior in young adults? Findings from three waves of a population-based panel study. BMC Public Health, 14(928).
Vncke, E. &. V. P., 2017. Does Alcohol Catch the Eye? Investigating Young Adults’ Attention to Alcohol Consumption. Evolution psychology.
