Alcohol addiction in young people is facilitated by the permissive evolution of society, which is ceasing to transmit classic norms of conduct, which serve as values of coexistence and as personal defense in the progression of maturation.
What is an addiction and when do they appear?
Addictions are mechanisms of evasion in the face of adverse circumstances, with the appearance of an easy solution, to avoid direct effort to confront the problems of reality. Alcoholism is one of the most widespread, by proximity.
They usually have their origin, in the formative stages, when one may feel not having enough security support, and it follows classic steps that can be shortened: it starts with the lure or call of attention that awakens the acceptance; from there the liking, which accentuated can develop a habit as a base, from which the addiction would be created. But its development can arise at any time, if the ability to flee from the feeling of helplessness is given up. Once the addiction is established, the social norms it transgresses cease to have the same meaning and value.
When does adolescent drinking begin?
According to experts in psychiatry, alcohol consumption among young people usually begins at the end of pre-adolescence, between the ages of twelve and thirteen, when the needs of the adolescent begin to develop, to create and find his or her own personality. This first contact of curiosity does not entail any risk. In the years that precede, the widespread abuse of technological addiction can translate, on the challenge of capabilities, the insufficient affective communication within the family nucleus.
A perspective to consider, which can lead young people to excessive consumption of alcohol, is the search for personal experiences that make them resemble mythical figures, in the aspiration to accelerate evolutionary stages, with idealized mimicry that make them “feel older”, with momentary independence from family impositions that they do not recognize as defensive, due to ignorance.
When is an adolescent considered to be addicted to alcohol?
The occasional consumption of alcohol in young people is not alarming, nor does it imply risk or addiction. It can be considered that consumption begins to be an addiction when it is habitually preferred and is put before other expenses.
What to do in the face of alcohol addiction in adolescents
Alcohol consumption cannot be demonized, but it is necessary to explain the differences in the effects that arise when the doses that the body can support are exceeded, from the joyful ease to the dull heaviness. Providing real explanations is the basis of an approach so that everything is in its right place, although there is always the appropriate use of elementary restrictive measures in accordance with the age and specific circumstances.
Affectionate protection with reasoned dialogue and away from impositions that reinforce rebellion would be the appropriate family posture as collaboration in the face of therapeutic demands.