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Similar cases have indícated that,
if one or both parents abuse alcohol,
there is a very good chance that the
children will follow the same route.
It happened in Jan's case and in
that of her younger brotber.
When Jan was depressed, she
would go on a binge and drink a
gallon of wine at a time. "I was
searching for !ove and happiness,"
sbe declared. "I tbought alcohol was
it. But ít wasn't."
Parental example ís not the only
factor
in
youthful alcoholism. Por
instance, Joyce had her first beer at
age 13. She graduated from high
school with honors, married at 17
and intended to go to college while
ber husband was overseas in the
navy. But eight months later, her
marriage broke up.
Although she had drunk off and
on for five years, ít bad never be–
come a problem. But now she was
so lonely, confused and mixed up
that sbe got drunk for the first time
in her life. Intoxícatíon made ber
feel ten feet tall and removed all her
fears and tensions. The effect
seemed wonderful, so sbe began
drinking as often as she could, al–
ways seeking an alcoholic "high."
By the tender age of 18, her drink–
ing had Jed to several hangovers,
lapses of memory, and on sorne oc–
casions, uncontrollable shaking. Sbe
tried to hide her fears
in
a faster
pace of drinking.
EventuaUy, Joyce went to live
with her fatber in Missouri and
signed up for college. But the drink–
ing took up too much time, so she
gave up school for a semester. Dur–
ing this time, her drunk binges
turned into "suicida! depressions."
After trying severa! psycbiatrists,
she decided she was going crazy.
She didn't bave the courage to com–
mit suicide, but sbe kept drínking,
hoping death would intervene.
Although Joyce was obviously an
alcoholic, she couldn' t bring herself
to believe it. Finally, drunk and
sprawled out in a cheap motel room
with pills, wine, vodka, and gin all
30
around her, she threw up in a shoe
box in the middle of the floor. Sbe
then decided seriously to try Alco–
holics Anonymous.
Joyce's example shows that severe
marital problems or emotional up–
beavals can also lead to alcobolism.
The death of a loved one has trig–
gered many a lapse into uncon–
trolled drinking. The times in which
we live, the pressures of society, the
constant aching loneliness in many
lives, the feelings of inferiority, the
strain to make good grades, or to ex–
ce! at sports - all these items are
contributing factors in juvenile alco–
holism. The problem has not been
fully realized, thougb.
Authorities have long recognized
definite risks to teen-agers in drink–
ing.
Herman E. K.rimmel, director of
the Cleveland Center on Alcohol–
ism, pointed out in 1965 that
adolescents may be physiologically
affected more quickly and more se–
verely tban adults. AJso, teen-agers
are more susceptible to psychologi–
cal intoxication. Young people, he
warned, should not learn to meet
personal problems by escape de–
vices such as alcohol.
At Ever Earlier Ages
A signi ficant factor in the in–
cidence of teen-age alcoholism is the
increasingly early age at which teen–
agers begin to drink. Just a few
years ago, the average beginning
age was 15 . Today, states the Na–
tional Council of Alcoholism, tbe
average beginning age is 12. And
the earlier the beginning age of
drinking, the heavier a drinker the
teen-ager tends to become.
A study of illicit drug use among
adolescents from 1968 to 1970 for
grades 7 to 12 indicated that "alco–
hol, by far the most widely used
drug, was consumed· by approxi–
mately one third more students in
1970 than in 1968," and that
"heavy
users
of alcohol
increased
by
41%."
The pattern emerging from many
studies is becoming clear. At the be-
ginning of the adolescent period,
most of the population is abstinent.
But as one passes through the early
teen-age years, chances are that he
or she will begin to drink. By late
adolescence, the proportion of
drinkers equals or exceeds the over–
all adult rate of 70 percent.
What Can Be Done?
A few years ago, teen-age alco–
holism was generally supposed to be
practically nonexistent. But the pic–
ture has changed. Today, teen-age
alcoholics are part and paree! of the
youthful drug culture. As one study
put it, "Kids who smoke dope to–
gether, drink together." And essen–
tially for the same purpose - to get
"high."
What can be done about the
problem of abuse of alcohol by
youths? First, we must recognize
that the worst thing authorities or
adults can do is to try to "scare
them" with Jurid and often false sto–
ríes about "demon rum" or "booze."
Modern youths are sophisticated
and more knowledgeable than
many adults give them credit for.
They know that alcoholic beverages
have been around for thousands of
years and that many people can
drink them with no ill effects. They
probably know severa! people who
drink but have never been drunk.
Then, too, they themselves have
had drinks and know that one drink
does not necessarily lead to another.
They have drunk a beer or two with
no adverse effects. So if parents or
adults Iie to them about the awful
consequences of taking just one
drink, etc., young people won't lis–
ten to them.
The thing which parents and
adults ought to do is simply tell
young people the truth. Explain to
them that there is a right and proper
use of alcoholic beverages as well as
a wrong use. Even the Bible shows
that the apostle Paul told Timothy
to take "a little wine for thy stom–
ach's sake and thine often in–
firrnities" (1 Timothy 5:23). The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1973