Binge+Drinking+Phenomena

Binge Drinking ====Binge is defined as 'a short period devoted to indulging in a certain activity'. In this way adolescents have now begun to devote periods of their lives to alcohol consumption. The question here is where did this trend come from and why is it so prevalent in today's society? The answer begins with the fact that their are many different factors in the development of binge drinking being a 'norm' in the lifestyle of modern day adolescence. ==== media type="youtube" key="EuowE1SXNkA" height="315" width="560" align="center"

"The most ubiquitous problem behaviour during adolescence and young adulthood" (Galambos & Tilton-Weaver, 1998).

====The article //Multiple-risk Behaviour in Adolescents and Young Adults// by Nancy Galambos and Lauree Tilton-Weaver discusses behaviours, which are deemed to be 'risk behaviours' such as smoking, drinking alcohol and sexual misconduct. For this presentation I will be focusing on the risk behaviour of binge drinking which is described as having 5 or more standard alcoholic beverages (containing 0.5 ounces of pure alcohol) in one occasion. Heavy drinkers mentioned in the article //Alcohol and Illicit Drug Dependence// by Michael Tjepkema are listed with the same criteria as binge drinking. Lastly, the article //Epidemiology of substance use in adolescence: prevalence, trends and policy implications// by Adrian Bauman and Philayrath Phongsavan reveal the trends within the binge drinking phenomenon amongst adolescents in developed countries. ====
 * ====From ages 15-19, 52% of males and 35% of females reported consuming 5 or more alcoholic drinks in a single occasion within the past year ====
 * ====Ages 20-24 the majority of both sexes reported at least one such episode; 73% of males and 51% of females ====
 * ====The most common single risk behaviour for both sexes (who reported a single risk behaviour) is **binge drinking** where 50% of females and 80% of males reported binge drinking as their risk behaviour (Galambos & Tilton-Weaver, 1998). ====
 * ====Ages 15+ result in 35% of both sexes being heavy drinkers (Tjepkema, 2004) ====

"Binge drinking is considered to be a strong determinant of more severe social and behavioural problems and increases the risk for serious alcohol problems" (Bauman & Phongsavan, 1999).

** Trends ** ====There has been a steady increase of binge drinking in the adolescent population from 1993 onwards (Bauman & Phongsavan, 1999). The rate of regular drinking has decreased as the phenomenon of binge drinking has intensified (Bauman & Phongsavan, 1999). Just about all school students in developed countries report at least some experience with alcohol before the completion of high school; a third reporting hazardous use at **least** once (Bauman & Phongsavan, 1999). It has been noted that the social transitions during adolescence leads to the need of autonomy, independence, identity formation and the acceptance of peers (Bauman & Phonsavan, 1999). Young people (adolescents) may drink less regularly than adults, however they do participate in heavier drinking within a single session (Bauman & Phongsavan, 1999). These heavy drinking sessions are of major concern because they also increase the risk of contracting STD’s, HIV, teen pregnancy, and poor school performance. It was reported that for females, low income meant more participation in such behaviour, and for males, high income meant more participation (Galambos & Tilton-Weaver, 1998). The theory of self-medication was seen as a reason for adolescent binge drinking due to the physiological and psychological changes that are happening during this stage of life. Self-medication is where people with mental disorders use a substance to deal with their symptoms (Tjepkema, 2004). Yet, heavy drinking such as binge drinking episodes also contribute to episodes of depression (Tjepkema, 2004). However, the assumption of adult roles (marriage, parenthood etcetera), and religious involvement was shown to deter adolescent binge drinking (Galambos & Tilton-Weaver,1998). ====