Tag: parentingteens

Alcohol Abuse

Do you know?
Adolescent alcohol use and abuse has become a devastating epidemic.

According to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, among adolescents and young adults (aged 10–24 years), alcohol-attributable burden is second highest among all risk factors contributing to disability-adjusted life years in this age group.

Alcohol consumption in adolescents results in a range of adverse outcomes across several domains and includes road traffic accidents and other non-intentional injuries, violence, mental health problems, intentional self-harm and suicide, and other infectious diseases, poor school performance and drop-out, and poor employment opportunities.

Though it all begins, of course, with experimentation. A preteen or teen discovers a bottle of wine in the refrigerator or is induced to sample beer at friend’s house. Many young people, after such experimentation, find their curiosity satisfied and thereafter abstain from alcohol. Others, However, continue to drink, sharing a six-pack of beer in a friend’s car or sneaking a few swigs from the bottle of champagne in the refrigerator. Some of those become problem drinkers, occasionally drinking to get drunk, perhaps even driving while intoxicated. Still others succumb to alcoholism.

Complex problems rarely have simple causes, and alcoholism is a complex problem. Mental health and health care professionals differ as to the primary causes of alcoholism, but the following are generally acknowledged as factors; physiology, background (parental models, parental attitudes and cultural expectations) and outside influences (dysfunctional family environment, peer pressure and stress from social problems)

Many people assume they know the effects of alcoholism: drunkenness and debauchery. Such an assumption, however, is not only incomplete, but also incorrect. A drunken young person is not always an alcoholic, and some alcoholics are seldom visibly drunk. There are, however, some effects of alcoholism that can be generally applied as anguish, confusion and disorientation, loss of control, depression, low self-esteem, arrested maturity, guilt, shame, remorse, alienation and isolation and despair.

A young person who is struggling with alcoholism is in acute and urgent need of help. Even if the youth has not progressed far into alcoholism, even if he or she does not perceive his or her own need of help, a parent, caring adult or the youth leader must wisely and diligently seek to bring help and healing. The following suggestions in this article will assist you.

Runaway Youths

Do You Know?
There is a pattern to running behavior among teens.

At least half of all youth who run away from home, stay within the town or vicinity in which they live, many going to a friend’s or relative’s house. Most runaway episodes seem to be poorly planned, reflecting impulsive behavior, and most runaways return within a week. Generally, the length of time gone from home increases with age. However, the more they run the further they go, and the longer they stay.

It’s not always possible to predict or anticipate running behavior in teens. The wise parent or concerned adult must be alert to the possible causes of running behavior (abuse, alienation, rebellion, a perceived lack of control, and fear) and seek to address conditions that may contribute to such behavior before the situation reaches a crisis point.

In addition, because most teens run to a friend or relative first, it is sometimes possible to prevent further running behavior by addressing the reasons for such behavior as soon as its shown to be true.

Some of the following suggestions given in this article may help a caring parent, leader, teacher, or youth worker to reach out to a teen who has shown or is showing signs of running behavior.

Rebellion

To some parents, teachers and youth workers, the phrase “teen rebellion” may seem redundant. At times it does seem that adolescence is synonymous with rebellion.

Teenage rebellion occurs for many and varied reasons. In some cases, it is simply an awkward expression of an adolescent’s stumbling progress toward adulthood. However, in many cases adolescent rebellion also stems from a number of roots, among which may be a poor relationship with parents, an effort to communicate, a need for control, a lack of boundaries and expectations, an expression of anger and aggression, and the absence of an honest and vulnerable model.

As has been said, all adolescents are likely to rebel in one way or another. Rebellious thoughts and behavior are not only common, but they are also natural. Such rebellious tendencies can even be beneficial in helping teens to grow toward independence and their parents to adjust their expectations and practices. However, prolonged rebellion can be both dangerous and harmful to both parent and child.

Counseling rebellious and delinquent youth is a very difficult, slow and often frustrating task. Success might be marginal at best. Though attempting to help and guide a rebellious youth is indeed a challenge, the sensitive and discerning adult may be able to offer help in the following ways discussed in this article.