Category: Alcohol

Description of the study and its findings

A significant number of students have been shown to be affected by drinking problems. The negative impacts of alcohol in college results from excessive consumption of alcohol (Bersamin, Paschall, Saltz, and Zamboanga 275). The issue has become an important social topic because the problem is widespread. For example, it is argued that 80% of college students drink alcohol. About 50% of the students have been demonstrated to engage in binge drinking. Apart from the high number of deaths that are associated with the social menace, the problem has also been the main cause of low grades among students (Cleveland, Lanza, Ray, Turrisi, and Mallett 440).

The study focused on understanding the effects of alcohol on college learners with regard to academic performance outcomes. It is worth noting that performance could be affected by other factors than alcohol consumption. However, excessive drinking contributes to low academic grades through high rates of absenteeism, a student falls and decreased concentration in class (Grant, LaBrie, Hummer, and Lac 51).

The study used a population of UCI students. Particularly, the students taking the Sociology 110 Course were used as the sample. The researchers were the students studying the course. The study adopted the hypothesis and variables that are described below:

• Social issue: College drinking
• Hypothesis: Students who spend more hours drinking alcohol perform poorly in class.

Independent variable

• Conceptual definition: Long drinking hours
• Operational definition 1: What is the number of hours you spend drinking on a weekly basis?
• Operational definition 2: Have you ever drunk for 12 hours or more hours a week during a week?

Dependent variable

• Conceptual definition: Academic performance
• Operational definition 1: What is your current UCI GPA in college?
• Operational definition 2: Is your current GPA of 3.0 or more?

Control Variables

• Conceptual definition for control number 1: Gender
• The operational definition for control number 1: What is your gender? (male or female)
• Conceptual definition for control number 2: Family background
• The operational definition for control number 2: What do you consider the class of your family? (Upper class, middle class, working-class, or lower class)

The results indicated that students who spent more hours drinking were performing poorly in college. Thus, the hypothesis that was formulated in the study was supported by the findings. This could be an implication that a significant number of students could forget about attending lectures and/or doing assignments. However, the inclusion of the control variables in the analysis changed the results. In fact, the control variables influenced the outcome variables in different ways.

For example, it could be established that male and female students exhibited different patterns of drinking alcohol. To be specific, male students spent more hours drinking than their female counterparts. However, males who spent the same number of hours with females taking alcohol could perform better in class. This could be an indication that males could be less affected by the excessive consumption of alcohol. In addition, social classes of families of students showed important impacts on the performances of students who took alcohol. For example, it was noted that students from lower classes spent a relatively small number of hours drinking. This could be because they were not used to taking alcohol at the early stages of life, for example, during adolescence. However, students from middle-class families were shown to spend more hours drinking.

The findings from the study have important implications for college administration teams, students, and parents. The results could be utilized to minimize the poor performance outcomes that are correlated with college drinking students.

Reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the study

When conducting a study, it is important to consider the various factors that could contribute to strengths and weaknesses (Creswell 34; Neuman 38). In fact, researchers always aim at ensuring that their study designs have more strengths than shortcomings. With regard to the completed study, it would be important to discuss the study design and implementation, sampling, and measurement.

Measurement

The operational definitions adopted in the study were characterized by a high level of validity. They were formulated on a platform of scientific basis that could be verified through testing of hypothesis. Thus, other researchers could easily notice that they could be relied upon when making inferences about the population (Creswell 98). It could also be stated that the definitions did not introduce any type of errors. It is worth noting that errors could negatively impact the reliability of a study. Overall, there was a high level of measurement of each operational definition used in the study. Both open-headed and closed-headed questions were adopted with a view to getting answers from respondents. The type of answers that were intended to be obtained determined the type of questions used (Neuman 76).

For example, the question about gender was closed-headed because a respondent could be either a female or male. It is believed that the study used the right wording of the questions because the answers obtained were clear. If the wording were not effective, then the respondents could have provided unclear responses.

Sampling

The universe of the sample used in the study could be stated as being the entire number of students in the college where the research was conducted. The sampling frame in the study was complete because it contained all students and their full details with regard to drinking behaviors, gender, and family backgrounds. A simple random sample was utilized. It was this type of sample because the respondents were picked in a random manner from a group of potential study participants. With regard to the sample, repetitions could not be accepted in the study because the population was numbered from 0 to n.

It is important to note that the results could be generalizable to larger populations. Particularly, they could be applied to colleges with larger populations in different social settings. In justifying the aspect of generalizability, it is worth noting that college populations have students who have similar trends in drinking patterns and family backgrounds. Due to this aspect, the results could be applied to different institutions of learning to bring about social changes that could be associated with alcohol drinking among students.

Survey design and administration

The study used a cross-sectional survey design, which implied that data were collected at a particular time without the need to follow drinking patterns among participants over time. The survey was administered using the face-to-face approach. The approach has both merits and demerits. One merit of the survey design is that a researcher could clarify issues to respondents, for example, by rephrasing questions (Neuman 75). In addition, it is practical to study facial expressions of study participants (Neuman 76). However, the design is characterized by the demerit of high expenditure. For example, it requires a significant amount of money for researchers to travel. In addition, the training of persons to collect data is also expensive.

Conclusion

The survey was very effective in understanding the relationships among the three types of variables that were studied. It helped to establish that family backgrounds have important roles with regard to college drinking. For example, it was shown that students from the middle class have more tendencies to engage in alcohol drinking while in college. This could be attributed to the early alcohol exposures that are associated with the families because they could afford to purchase alcoholic drinks. Important lessons were learned from the survey. First, it was shown that the choice of survey design could have vital implications on the overall results.

For example, the decision to adopt an approach that could lead to the collection of a limited amount of data could imply that findings could not be used to make a conclusion about a population. Second, it was learned that, although independent variables are mainly influenced by dependent variables, control variables also have impacts on the outcome variables. The associations among the three types of variables result in a complicated network of outcomes. Third, it was learned that the methods that are used to analyze data could largely determine the validity and reliability of findings.

If the study were to be repeated, it would be important to do some things differently. For example, it would be wise to increase the sample size to increase the level of reliability. In addition, it would be essential to conduct the study in many colleges so that better results would be attained.

Works Cited

Bersamin, Melina , Mallie Paschall, Robert Saltz, and Byron Zamboanga. “Young adults and casual sex: The relevance of college drinking settings.” Journal of sex research 49.2-3 (2012): 274-281. Print.

Cleveland, Michael, Stephanie Lanza, Anne Ray, Rob Turrisi, and Kimberly Mallett. “Transitions in first-year college student drinking behaviors: Does pre-college drinking moderate the effects of parent-and peer-based intervention components?.” Psychology of addictive behaviors 26.3 (2012): 440. Print.

Creswell, John. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2013. Print.

Grant, Sean, Joseph LaBrie, Justin Hummer, and Andrew Lac. “How drunk am I? Misperceiving one’s level of intoxication in the college drinking environment.” Psychology of addictive behaviors 26.1 (2012): 51. Print.

Neuman, William. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2010. Print.

Running ANOVA on SPSS

Replication of Analysis

Statistical test. Factorial ANOVA.

The problem the data set is based on. The independent variables are gender and consumption of alcohol while the dependent variable is the attractiveness of a mate.

Research question

Do gender and alcohol consumption influence the attractiveness of a date?

Hypotheses

There are several hypotheses because the question is investigating the effect of more than one independent variable. Let the effect of the first independent variable be denoted by A, the effect of the second independent variable be denoted by B. The first null hypothesis is based on the main effect (Carlson & Winquist, 2017): there is no significant difference in the attractiveness of a date based on gender (H_o: A=0).

The second null hypothesis is based on the second main effect: there is no significant difference in the attractiveness of a date based on the amount of alcohol consumed (H_o: B=0). The third null hypothesis is based on the effect of interaction between the first and second main effects (Jackson, 2012): there is no significant interaction effect between gender and alcohol consumption in terms of the attractiveness of a date (H_o: A+B=0).

Results

There was a significant main effect of alcohol (p˂0.05), which showed that the amount of alcohol consumed had a significant effect on whom the subject would engage in a conversation. The implication of this finding was that when the gender of the participant was disregarded, the amount of alcohol inspired their choice of mate. Levene’s test was not significant (p=0.202) implying that the variance in attractiveness is equal across the different groupings of gender and alcohol. Output 3 showed that there was a significant effect of alcohol (F=20.065, p˂0.001 on the attractiveness of a date (Field, 2013).

The effect of gender was not significant (F=2.032, p=0.161) implying that overlooking how much alcohol was taken, the gender of the subject did not affect the attractiveness of the partner that was chosen. Other factors held constant, males and females selected attractive mates. The interaction between the effect of gender and the effect of alcohol was significant (F=11.911, p˂0.001). The Bonferroni post hoc (Output 8) tests showed that that the subjects chose equally attractive mates when they took no alcohol or 2 pints of alcohol (p = 1.00) (Field, 2013).

Nevertheless, significantly less attractive mates were chosen after consumption of 4 pints of alcohol than after taking 2 pints (p < 0.001) and no alcohol (p < 0.001). The REGWQ test (Output 9) verifies that the means of the control and 2 pints situations were equal, whereas the mean of the 4-pints group was different.

Application of Factorial ANOVA on the Research Problem

In the research problem, the subjects were either surgeons (coded as 1) or other members of the surgical department such as nurses and anesthetists (coded as 2). All employees underwent either intensive classroom training or hands-on training . Factorial ANOVA compares means when we have 2 or more independent variables. There are two independent variables: healthcare roles (surgeon or other members of the surgical department) and training modality.

Problem 1

What form of training is more effective in the training of staff members on the utilization of the equipment? Why?

Statistical test. Factorial ANOVA.

The problem. The two independent variables are healthcare roles and mode of training, whereas the dependent variables are training of staff members on the utilization of the equipment.

Research question

Do health care roles and training modality affect the training of staff members on the utilization of the equipment?

Hypotheses. H_o: A=0, H_o: B=0, and H_o: A+B=0.

Results

Post hoc tests and contrasts were not conducted for health care roles and training modality because these variables only had two factors. Levene’s test was not significant (p=0.448) implying that the distribution of the variance of the two factors was equal Carlson & Winquist, 2017). The effect of membership was not significant (F=0.854, p=0.371), whereas the effect of training modality on the utilization of equipment was significant (F=22.027, p˂0.001). The effect of the interaction between membership and training modality was not significant (F=1.059, p=0.321).

Problem 2

How does the intervention correlate with the frequency of the use of technology, patients’ satisfaction, as well as the quality of services provided?

Statistical test. Factorial ANOVA.

The problem

Factorial ANOVA is only used to compare differences when there is more than one independent variable. However, when the dependent variables are more than one multiple ANOVAs are appropriate (Elliott & Woodward, 2014; Hahs-Vaughn & Lomax, 2013). In this case, there are three dependent variables (the frequency of the use of technology, patients’ satisfaction, and the quality of services provided). Therefore, three different factorial ANOVAs will be performed.

Research question 1

Do health care roles and training modality affect the training of staff members on the frequency of technology use?

Hypotheses. H_o: A=0, H_o: B=0, and H_o: A+B=0.

Results

Post hoc tests and contrasts were not conducted for health care roles and training modality because these variables only had two factors (Jackson, 2012). Levene’s test was not significant (p=0.662) implying that the variances of the two factors were equal. The effect of membership was not significant (F=0.196, p=0.665), whereas the effect of training modality on the utilization of equipment was significant (F=5.482, p=0.035). The effect of the interaction between membership and training modality on the frequency of technology use was not significant (F=0.667, p=0.424).

Research question 2

Do health care roles and training modality affect the training of staff members on patients’ satisfaction?

Hypotheses. H_o: A=0, H_o: B=0, and H_o: A+B=0.

Results

Post hoc tests and contrasts were not conducted for health care roles and training modality because these variables only had two factors. Levene’s test was not significant (p=0.432) showing that the variances of the two factors were equal. The effect of membership was not significant (F=0.007, p=0.934). Additionally, the effect of training modality on patient satisfaction was not significant (F=0.296, p˂0.595). The effect of the interaction between membership and training modality on patient satisfaction was also not significant (F=0.928, p=0.352).

Research question 3

Do health care roles and training modality affect the training of staff members on the quality of services provided?

Hypotheses. H_o: A=0, H_o: B=0, and H_o: A+B=0.

Results

Post hoc tests and contrasts were not conducted for health care roles and training modality because these variables only had two factors. Levene’s test was not significant (p=0.4062) signifying that the variances of the two factors were equally distributed. The effect of membership was significant (F=9.114, p=0.009), whereas the effect of training modality on the quality of services rendered was not significant (F=0.180, p=0.678). The effect of the interaction between membership and training modality on the quality of services was not significant (F=0.011, p=0.917). The Helmert contrast for membership of the surgical department was significant (p=0.009), which implied that the role of employee in the surgical department influenced the quality of services provided.

Problem 3

How does the intervention affect the participants’ willingness to implement their own research or find new ways of utilizing the equipment?

Statistical test. Factorial ANOVA.

The problem

There are two dependent variables (willingness to implement their own research and willingness to find new ways of utilizing the equipment), which means that there is a need to conduct two separate factorial ANOVAs given the limitations of factorial ANOVA (Terrell, 2012).

Research question 1

Do health care roles and training modality affect the participants’ willingness to implement their own research?

Hypotheses. H_o: A=0, H_o: B=0, and H_o: A+B=0.

Results

Post hoc tests and contrasts were not conducted for health care roles and training modality because these variables only had two factors. Levene’s test was not significant (p=0.707) implying that the variances of the two independent variables were equal. The effect of membership was slightly significant (F=4.783, p=0.046), whereas the effect of training modality on the subjects’ willingness to implement their own research was not significant (F=0.431, p=0.522). The effect of the interaction between membership and training modality on the participants’ willingness to implement their own research was not significant (F=0.161, p=0.694).

Research question 2

Do health care roles and training modality affect the participants’ willingness to find new ways of utilizing the equipment?

Hypotheses. H_o: A=0, H_o: B=0, and H_o: A+B=0.

Results

Post hoc tests and contrasts were not conducted for health care roles and training modality because these variables only had two factors. Levene’s test was not significant (p=0.370) implying that the variances of the two factors were equal. The effect of membership was not significant (F=0.613, p=0.447) while the effect of training modality on new ways of utilizing the equipment was significant (F=7.708, p=0.015). The combined effect (interaction) of membership and training modality on the respondents’ willingness to implement their own research was not significant (F=3.593, p=0.079).

Problem 4

How does the intervention affect the participants’ willingness to affect the hospital’s performance as well as certain purchasing policies?

Statistical test. Factorial ANOVA.

The problem

The dependent variable is the subjects’ willingness to affect the hospital’s performance as well as certain purchasing policies, whereas the independent variables are healthcare roles and training modality.

Research question

Do health care roles and training modality affect the participants’ willingness to affect the hospital’s performance as well as certain purchasing policies?

Hypotheses. H_o: A=0, H_o: B=0, and H_o: A+B=0.

Results

Post hoc tests and contrasts were not conducted for health care roles and training modality because these variables only had two factors. Levene’s test was not significant (p=0.700) implying that the variances of the two factors were equal. The effect of membership was not significant (F=0.048, p=0.831). The effect of training modality on the participants’ willingness to affect the hospital’s performance as well as certain purchasing policies was also not significant (F=1.189, p=0.294). The effect of the interaction between membership and training modality on the outcomes was not significant (F=0.048, p=0.831).

References

Carlson, K. A., & Winquist, J. R. (2017). An introduction to statistics: An active learning approach. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Elliott, A. C., & Woodward, W. A. (2014). IBM SPSS by example: A practical guide to statistical data analysis (2^nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Field, A. P. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. Web.

Hahs-Vaughn, D. L., & Lomax, R. G. (2013). An introduction to statistical concepts (3^rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Jackson, S. J. (2012). Research methods and statistics: A critical thinking approach (4^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Terrell, S. R. (2012). Statistics translated: A step-by-step guide to analyzing and interpreting data. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Drinking and driving appears to be one of the most troublesome issues for our community to resolve. There are associations such as Mothers against Drunk Driving, Driving under Influence, and many other factions that have done a significant impact on people of all ages in educating them about the existing condition. Sadly, in numerous situations their efforts have not been efficient enough. While a little over eighty percent of drivers have already known about the accepted alcohol level from an educational journal or commercial, nearly twenty percent are familiar with what the extent of the state is.

Substantially, this statistic indicates that the information is not quite absorbed by the consciousness of people. It is a common dispute for a media movement not to be influential; however, the issue of drinking and driving is too critical for becoming cliché. An illustration of driving while intoxicated problem emerges naturally when an individual is not aware of his inability and weak position to drive, and there is not a single person to doubt it and confront him. In general, when people are not affected by the alcohol, an individual is aware of the fact that drinking and driving are two incompatible concepts; nonetheless, the issue comes down to the matter that at the time when this critical resolution has to be made, an individual’s common sense is flawed.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “in 2012, 71% of drivers aged 15 to 20 were killed in motor vehicle crashes after drinking and driving were not wearing a seat belt. In 2013, 51% of teen deaths from motor vehicle crashes occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight and 54% occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday” (Teen drivers, 2014, para. 4). Moreover, teenage and adult drunk driving up to this day remains the first originator of premature death.

The driving under the influence of alcohol has evolved into one of the most destructive contemporary issues in our community. Along with the extensive agendas towards alcohol alertness, which are accessible to all citizens, most people are aware of the effects of the drinking and driving; however, people are continuing to take the risk. The drunken driving could be provoked by a large number of determinants; though it always results in substantial, psychological, and nervous suffering for not only a person who was the reason for an accident but the blameless uninvolved bystanders as well (Finkelstein, Corso, & Miller, 2006).

The horrifying consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol could be divided into only two groups: death and existence after the incident. One of the implications of the adolescent and adult driving while intoxicated is enduring the life after the occurrence of breaking the law. The person who drinks and drives will not necessarily get into an accident with a fatal outcome; however, his life will assuredly be altered. To be more precise, an individual will be obliged by law to handle the consequences of driving drunk. According to the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, “if someone under the age of 21 is caught driving with any alcohol in their system, he/she is subject to between 2-5 tears of a suspended license, a $2,500 fine, and possibly up to a year in jail” (White, 2008, para. 2).

Moreover, if a person has already reached the legal age, he or she is obliged to enter his or her arrest and detention on every job application and in every job interview being executed. The article in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that “six teens die every day in the U.S. in alcohol-related car accidents” (Teen drivers, 2014, para. 3). If an individual selects to drink and drive, there is a tremendous probability of ending his or her own existence of putting the lives of bystanders in a grave danger. There are absolutely no beneficial and reasonable explanations and outcomes for drinking and driving, and the moments of sudden excitement and adventure do not justify this.

According to the research, which was conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately thirty percent of all drivers that were taken into custody or even imprisoned because of driving while intoxicated appear to be reiterated perpetrators. It is crucial to keep in mind that driving under the influence of alcohol is against the law; what is more, it is able to destroy many lives. Drivers that choose to sit behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol should not be treated differently from the burglars, arsonists, and robbers, as they are intentionally committing a crime.

The plurality of population supposes that people who are accused and arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on the first occasion should obtain an admonition or a nominal fine in a form of a ticket. Nonetheless, drivers that deliberately chose to drive under the influence of alcohol should be detained for their first offense. As the studies have shown, if the case of driving while intoxicated has occurred once, there is a high probability of it to take place again.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “in 2010, 10,228 people were killed in the United States due to alcohol-related crashes. People who drink and drive put everyone on the road in danger because drivers are not in the right state of mind when they are intoxicated. They cannot see, hear, talk, or think correctly. It is wrong for innocent lives to be taken due to the careless mistakes of drunk drivers” (Traffic safety facts, 2012, para. 6).

As it has already been stated, if a person is arrested while drunken driving, his or her driver license has to be abolished for half a year if this case is the first violation of the law. Nevertheless, it has been stated that nearly seventy percent of drivers still remain on the road without their driver’s license. Taking into consideration the amount of people that have been taken to jail, almost twenty-five percent of them tend to repeat the crime within a year after the incident.

Every driver has an opportunity to drive with responsibility, as the decision to drive under the influence of alcohol is able to have a dreadful influence on the lives of uninvolved entities. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, “in the past ten years, more U.S. citizens have died as a result of drunk driving than in the Afghan War, the Iraq War, and Hurricane Katrina combined” (Drunk driving statistics, 2014, para. 3). However, dissimilar from those interventions of military force and natural catastrophes, driving while intoxicated could be entirely avertable. Putting an end to the dangerous and destructive driving under the influence of alcohol spread is the responsibility of the recent generation.

References

Drunk driving statistics. (2014). Web.

Finkelstein, E., Corso, P., & Miller, T. (2006). Incidence and economic burden of injuries in the United States. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

Teen drivers: Get the facts. (2014). Web.

Traffic safety facts. (2012). Web.

White, J. (2008) Use it and lose it. Web.

Introduction

Underage drinking contributes numerous health related and social problems among the society. This paper presents the relation between alcohol and sexual assault among adolescents and health problems. The reports of the various studies say that 50% of the sexual assault among adolescents is due to the influence of alcohol. It results physical injuries, fights, road accidents, drowning etc. Alcoholism is the major cause of health problems among American teenagers. It increases the vulnerability of poor academic performance, disturbance in the behavior and profession. Overconsumption of alcohol causes for depression, antisocial personality disorder, neurological problem, cancer, heart diseases and liver problems.

Alcohol and sexual assault among youth

Consumption of alcohol is a major cause for the sexual assault among adolescents. It is said that half of the sexual assaults happen due to alcohol use. Sexual assault means the way of doing unwanted sexual contact by means of violent or non-violent patterns. Sexual assault is becoming a common problem among college girls and studies show that one out of five college girls have undergone sexual assault during their college time. Most of the cases are related to alcohol consumption. A study was conducted to find out the relation between alcohol and sexual assault among middle school children. “Findings from the study indicate that alcohol was involved in approximately 12%-20% of the assault cases, depending on age and gender of the respondent. For females, the presence of alcohol during assault differed significantly based on the location at which the assault occurred, ranging from 6% (at the survivor’s home) to 29% (at parties or someone else’s home).” (Amy, Melissa, Antonia, Carol, & Sean, 2008, Resume/abstract.para.1).

Another study was conducted to assess the role of alcohol in sexual assault, taking samples from community and college students. “It is estimated that in half of assault cases, the perpetrator had consumed alcohol (Coid, 1986; Johnson et al., 1978) or that victims had consumed alcohol (Abbey et al., 1998; Harrington and Leitenberg, 1994; Presley et al., 1997).” (Amy, Grey, Antonia, Carol, & Sean, 2008, para.2). More researchers are of the opinion that one to two-third sexual assault among college students and teenagers are due to underage drinking. There are various studies to highlight this fact. A survey was conducted among South Western University and the result shows that 53% of sexual assault perpetrators had used alcohol at the time of brutal activity. A survey conducted in Colorado University shows 100% of alcohol influence in the sexual assault.

Health problems and alcohol among adolescents

Suicide is becoming a major problem among American teenagers and alcohol is one of the contributing factors for it. “The epidemic increase in the suicide rate among youth may be associated with an increase in the prevalence of alcohol abuse.” (Kusserow, 1992, p.4). Accidents like drowning, road accidents are major problems among teenagers and adolescents. Studies indicate that 40% to 50% teenagers had taken alcohol before drowning. “In a national survey, college administrators estimated that student alcohol use leads to 69 percent of damage to residence halls, 34 percent of academic problems, and 25 percent of dropouts.” (Kusserow, 1992, p.5).

There are more health problems among teenagers which are reported in connection with alcohol. More often, alcohol related sexual assault results in physical injuries and physical force. It is estimated that 75,000 youth die each year in US due to excessive consumption of alcohol. Alcohol is responsible for 41% of motor vehicle accident deaths among youth. Behavioral changes in undesired manner, fights between others, problems in the profession, poor academic performance etc can be result of consumption of alcohol. Cancer, problems in the liver, heart related diseases, neurological problem, depression and antisocial personality disorder are some of the diseases that can be contributed by the use of alcohol. It increases the risks of HIV because the teenager will have casual sex without using condom since he is intoxicated. These are the major health problems related to alcohol consumption among youth.

Conclusion

The use of alcohol among youth contributes to major problems in the society. There are numerous unrecognized consequences of underage drinking such as health problems and social problems. Studies show that leading factor to sexual assault among teenagers and college students is excessive consumption of alcohol.

Reference

Amy, Y., Melissa, G., Antonia, A., Carol, J B., & Sean, E M. (2008). “Alcohol- related sexual assault victimization among adolescents: prevalence, characteristics, and correlates: Resume/abstract”. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 69(1), 39-48. Cat Inist. Web.

Amy, Y., Grey, M., Antonia, A., Carol, J B., & Sean, E M. (2008). “Alcohol- related sexual assault victimization among adolescents: prevalence, characteristics, and correlates”. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. BNET. Web.

Kusserow, R P. (1992). Youth and alcohol: Dangerous and deadly consequences: Suicide. Department of Health Human Services: Office of Inspector General. 4. Web.

Kusserow, R P. (1992). Youth and alcohol: Dangerous and deadly consequences: campus related problems. Department of Health Human Services: Office of Inspector General. 5. Web.

Introduction

With so many jurisdictions cracking down on irresponsible drinking, more people wonder what constitutes irresponsible drinking and how many drinks it takes to be legally drunk. The level of intoxication or alcohol in a person’s blood system is measured by Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) (Oszkinat et al., 2022). Because the body can only handle alcohol at a particular rate, the more a person drinks, the more alcohol remains in their blood (Rossheim et al., 2018). According to Bailey et al. (2021), the legal limit In the United States is.08% BAC. Different alcoholic drinks have other alcoholic properties and contents.

Quantity of Alcohol Intake Needed to Reach 0.8 BAC

The quantity of alcohol a person’s body can handle is determined by the type of drink, the person’s weight, and the drink’s serving size. One drink is defined as one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5-ounce shot of liquor (Bailey et al., 2021). According to Rinck et al. (2018), the typical rule of thumb is that it takes roughly three drinks for a woman to get a.08% BAC while it would take men four drinks to reach the same BAC. Based on the weight of the individual drinking, it takes roughly three drinks per hour to get a.08% BAC for a person who weighs 100lbs and four drinks per hour for someone who weighs 140lbs. Five drinks per hour for someone who weighs 180lbs and six drinks per hour for 220lbs (Rinck et al., 2018). The more a person drinks, the harder it is for alcohol to leave their system.

Time Taken for Alcohol Leave the Body

Alcohol takes time to exit your body, depending on your level of intoxication. According to (Rossheim et al., 2018), one regular drink takes the body around an hour to remove on average. Individuals with higher alcohol tolerance, such as those suffering from alcoholism, may be able to eliminate alcohol more quickly (Manning et al., 2021). Experiments and studies have been conducted to prove that the BAC in percentage will rise if one consumes more than one standard drink per hour. The greater your BAC, the faster you drink. When you stop drinking, your BAC will rise as the alcohol in your stomach passes into your bloodstream (Manning et al., 2021). Time is the only way to lessen your BAC.

The more drinks you have, the longer you’ll need to wait. Vomiting, a cold shower, or drinking coffee will not remove alcohol from your blood. A 150-pound adult’s blood alcohol concentration will rise to between 0.02 and 0.03 after one standard drink, equal to 12 ounces of ordinary beer (Rinck et al., 2018). However, depending on a complicated set of personal characteristics, the effect of one drink on the proportion of alcohol in your blood can vary substantially. According to Rinck et al. (2018), the size of your liver, weight, and the amount of alcohol you consume all play a role in how long alcohol lingers in your system. Sweat, urine, and respiration all eliminate a tiny amount of alcohol from the body. As long as the liver breaks down alcohol, alcohol can be detected in sweat, urine, and breath.

Effects of Alcohol

Gender, mental and physical health, medical disorders, and other substances and pharmaceuticals can all impact how alcohol impacts your body. Suppose you drink on an empty stomach, have a lower tolerance to alcohol, have a lower percentage of muscle on your body, are a young person, weigh less, or don’t generally drink alcohol. In that case, alcohol can affect you more quickly (Manning et al., 2021). As a person continues to drink, they may start to exhibit specific symptoms as the level of alcohol intoxication continues to rise.

According to Oszkinat et al. (2022), The following are some of the most common symptoms; levels of impairment and hazards associated with varying blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels: At 0.02% BAC, this is the lowest threshold of intoxication with detectable brain and physical effects. You will feel relaxed, your attitude will shift, you will feel a little warmer, and you may make unwise decisions. At level 0.05% BAC, Your behavior may become exaggerated. You can speak louder and use more gestures. You may also lose control of minor muscles, such as the capacity to focus your eyes, causing your vision to blur. Except in Utah, 0.08 percent is the current legal limit in the United States, and driving at this level is considered illegal and dangerous (Bailey et al., 2021). You’ll lose more coordination, which will affect your balance, speaking, reaction speeds, and possibly hearing. At 0.10%, your response speed and control becomes impaired, your speech becomes slurred, your thinking and reasoning slows, and your ability to coordinate your arms and legs becomes impaired.

The BAC at 0.15% is relatively high; walking and talking will be difficult since you will have significantly less control over your balance and voluntary muscles. You could trip and injure yourself. Confusion and disorientation are prevalent in the 0.20%-0.29% range. Because pain perceptions alter, you may not notice if you fall and hurt yourself significantly, making you less likely to see. Nausea and vomiting are common side effects. At this BAC, blackouts begin, allowing you to participate in events you don’t recall. The percentage level of blood alcohol content worsens with the number of drinks.

Conclusion

Alcohol consumption affects everybody, either directly or indirectly. The degree of how it impacts you is determined by the amount of alcohol you consume, your health, and your age (Rinck et al., 2018). Drinking too much alcohol can have both short and long-term negative consequences. Alcohol intake can impact your physical and emotional health and your employment, income, family, and community. People with a drinking problem should consider seeking help, as the condition only worsens with time.

References

Bailey, K. L., Samuelson, D. R., & Wyatt, T. A. (2021). Alcohol use disorder: A pre-existing condition for COVID-19?. Alcohol, 90, 11-17.

Manning, V., Garfield, J. B., Staiger, P. K., Lubman, D. I., Lum, J. A., Reynolds, J.,… & Verdejo-Garcia, A. (2021). A randomized clinical trial is the effect of cognitive bias modification on early relapse among adults undergoing inpatient alcohol withdrawal treatment. JAMA Psychiatry, 78(2), 133-140. Web.

Oszkinat, C., Luczak, S. E., & Rosen, I. G. (2022). Uncertainty in quantifying and estimating blood alcohol concentration from transdermal alcohol level through physics-informed neural networks. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, 1-8. Web.

Rinck, M., Wiers, R. W., Becker, E. S., & Lindenmeyer, J. (2018). Relapse prevention in abstinent alcoholics by cognitive bias modification: Clinical effects of combining approach bias modification and attention bias modification.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(12), 1005.

Rossheim, M. E., Thombs, D. L., Krall, J. R., & Jernigan, D. H. (2018). College students’ underestimating blood alcohol concentration from hypothetical consumption of supersized alcopops: Results from a cluster‐randomized classroom study.Alcoholism: Clinical and experimental research, 42(7), 1271-1280.

“Drug and alcohol findings” is one of the peer reviewed journal article, which gives evidence of how effectiveness of treatment, prevention or reduction of drug and alcohol problems can be achieved. This article is produced in the United Kingdom by a group of charities which deals with drugs and alcohol. The article targets readers of different categories such as practitioners, commissioners, and any other individual who may be involved in alcohol and drugs (Dufour, 8). In this article several research findings have been presented which can be referred to by the drug addicts to effectively improve their status. The findings are mostly based on the United Kingdom relevant research. Several studies which are done in this article are related to the previous research. The researches conducted are much related to the policies of UK and perspective practice. The different issues of this article show reviews of the evidence gotten on several priority topics concerning alcohol.

“Drugs and alcohol today” is a peer reviewed journal article which provides the readers with the best current perception of drugs and alcohol practice. The main issues which are commonly focused on in this article are the criminal justice system on the drugs, overview of both national and international policies concerning alcohol and drugs, the patterns of the drug and alcohol use as researched are also presented. The article targets anyone with interests in drug and alcohol issues, especially the people who are approached by the addicts for assistance (Weegman, 10). The journal features organizational profiles, studies for the current research in addition to peer reviewed articles. Several cases of the people addicted with drugs and the actions taken by the criminal justice system are presented to act as a lesson for others trying to get involved with alcoholism.

‘Alcohol’ is an international peer reviewed journal which emphasizes on making publications on different aspects of alcoholism such as biomedical, sociological, and psychological. These publications mainly aim at highlighting the effects of alcohol on the nervous system and other organs in the body system (Holmes, 9). The causes and consequences of abusing alcohol are presented. All the alcohol related problems, treatment, and prevention are all outlined and deeply discussed. The degree of damages which can be caused by alcoholism to individual body system is widely discussed and how someone would be treated for some problems while others are incurable once they reach the chronic stage.

The above three peer reviewed journal articles are all addressing the issue of alcohol. They focus on how they can help the addicts to overcome and be saved from alcohol. The people who are tempted to start using alcohol are also provided with the best information on the impacts of alcohol and drug use. All the problems which are related with alcoholism are discussed in every article and the possible treatment which can be given to each problem are all provided to the reader. Each article has tried to enlighten the leaders about the health problems associated with alcoholism and how dangerous some can be. The criminal justice system of dealing with drug and alcohol users which should be applied is also discussed in all the articles. In every article, evidence from several researches which are done is presented where the reader can refer to get the truth about the negative effects of using alcohol.

Several things have been learned from reading these articles such as; there are a lot of social problems related to alcoholism putting aside the health problems which can be chronic. Alcoholism has been studied to cause changes to individual social behavior, in his interactions, and even in the entire environment (Weegman, 210). Alcohol has proofed to be a direct cause of some social occurrences such as traffic accidents (Dufour, 209). Emotional instability is mostly realized with already drunk people who finally lead to violent crimes. The young generation especially women have been encountering a lot of risks while they are in groups of drinking friends (Holmes, 110). Drunkard women have been taken advantage of by violent men as they are seen as sexually available. The college and university students should be provided with free literature of the dangers of alcoholism as I discovered they are the most affected.

Most of the domestic violence are linked with partner’s state of alcoholism, although it’s difficult to determine the degree of suffering which the family of the heavy drinker has suffered with relation to alcohol, most of the causes of violence are alcohol related. Both direct and indirect impacts of an alcoholic parent, children are affected greatly since they can do nothing to protect themselves from such kind of sufferings. Some children start suffering from the effects of alcoholism even before they are born. The studies revealed in the alcohol article sowed that some children are born with fetal alcohol syndrome (Holmes, 102). Most of the families of alcohol abusers actions of negligence, abuse, and sense of insecurity from the parent’s behaviors are observed. In addition, partners of alcoholics are also subjected to the consequences of alcoholism. They face many risks of violence as it is one of the many results of alcoholism.

Works cited

Dufour, M.C. Drug and Alcohol findings, vol (14), Med clinic north 2005.

Holmes, A. et al. Alcohol, vol (43)7, McMillan 2009.

Weegmann, M. Drugs and Alcohol Today, (vol) 8. Pier Professional, 2009.

Alcohol, as a beverage, can be classified as an intoxicant. There are different forms of alcohol sold in the market. Sale of alcohol can be carried out in social eating and drinking places. They range from strong spirits to mild wine depending on the percentage of alcoholic content. It has been known to be a social beverage for centuries among adult community members. People tend to take alcohol in the evenings as a way of relaxing after a day of work and or during celebrations. Physicians may recommend alcohol for digestion purposes. Alcohol is available to patrons in exclusive permitted establishments. Off the shelf sale of alcohol is permitted but not consumption there and then.

Dram shop is a term used to refer establishments where alcohol beverages are sold. Laws were put in place for the accountability to establishments arising out of the self-service retailing of alcohol beverages to clearly drunk patrons or minors. These patrons can cause harm to themselves or others who were not involved in their drinking. These are well intended for guiding behavior in the public. Concerned groups have championed for the enforcement and ratifying of these laws. The laws have drawn criticism as people claim it can cause acts of irresponsibility among the patrons.

Serving alcohol to minors is illegal in all 50 states. Several states impress charge on bars for serving minors who subsequently harm themselves or others as a way of deterring the illegal practice of serving minors alcohol. In some states minors have legal authority to sue a drinking establishment for their own injury sustained while drunk. Some states have dram laws that extend to serving the routinely intoxicated. Dram shop law has been applied differently across the US. States such as Michigan and Alaska have drunk-driving fatality rates that are low on average, yet the law is narrow in the states. Compared to Illinois where the law is much broader, the fatalities are higher on average. In New Jersey, the dram shop act monitors consumption of alcohol in cases involving self service. Usually, this provides patrons with a civil remedy when they are harmed as a result of self-service by establishments to clearly drunk patrons. Some cases arise where attorneys argue that their clients did not see as if the consumer was intoxicated, and allowed the self-service to them. The law is silent on imposing an obligation to supervise alcohol handling and consumption.

It is clear that the dram act was put in place to be a way of protection and service. As much as it helps many recover losses, it has also created a sense of irresponsibility among individuals. Some areas have the dram act but it is narrower, hence people get more responsible as there is no safety net as such in case of damages. This enables sale and consumption of alcohol to be a choice that is equally shouldered by the establishments and the consumers. In areas where the dram act is widely established, irresponsibility is encouraged without knowledge. A business person has enough liabilities to ponder on in business. Additional liabilities create unfavorable conditions for the business to survive. Individuals should be responsible in their conduct when intoxicated. Laws such as if you drink then you don’t drive can reduce accidents more than the dram law of going back to the seller of the alcohol to pay for any liability caused. On the other hand, the law enforces sale to minors as these are perceived as not knowing what they are doing or the result of their actions. Law makers should review acts in accordance with the change in times. Usually it is painful to accept change, but, if we accept it we should look at the benefits we derive from the change as opposed to just resisting change.

Having a law is necessary to guide individuals and establishments in a large society; however, some laws such as the dram law need to be used in conjunction with other laws. Some may be moral laws and others state laws. This will create a responsible society which knows that their action or lack of actions can lead to injuries and in some cases fatality. The dram shop law as exists can cause investors to shy away from venturing into business, especially if they see the clients as being young and irresponsible. Most developed countries have put in place laws that protect the individual who is intoxicated on personal responsibility. Patrons, like minors, will want to break a law knowingly just for show off to their peers. Protecting the individual can be imposed by not allowing self-service after late hours and closing the section. A smaller area is easier to monitor. This will avoid accidents and incidents that occur due to lack of responsibility.

List of references

Lependorf & Silverstein. New Jersey’s DRAM shop ACT- Social club’s Duty. 2009.Web.

The attorney’s forum. The Drum shop ACT, 2008. Web.

Safer, H., (2002). Alcohol Advertising and Youth: Journal of studies on alcohol supplement. pp. 173-81.

Summary of the Article

The article is authored by Safer (2002) and he seeks to explain whether alcohol consumption amongst college students is increased by aggregate advertising. It is based on secondary research done on other studies related to the topic. The study uses a theoretical framework for assessing the effectiveness of advertising. It seeks to verify what most studies have suggested that, although the levels of advertising and alcohol consumption among college students are both high, there is no empirical evidence that has successfully linked the two.

Safer (2002) found out that alcohol consumption is increased by advertising. Limited bans cannot reduce advertising because the advertisers will shift to other media that have not been banned. A potentially effective way of reducing alcohol consumption is by implementing a comprehensive ban on all alcohol advertisements and promotions. This will leave no option for advertisers to shift to other media. He then concludes that rather than introducing new bans on advertising as a public policy, it is better to increase counter-advertising. He also says that there is a high likelihood that the public may not support comprehensive bans on alcohol advertising. He adds that focusing on introducing new alcohol advertising bans that are limited will reduce the efforts of implementing counter-advertising. Lastly, he suggests that future research should focus on finding out themes of counter-advertising that will most effectively reach and change the youth.

Assessment of the article

The article has some strengths which include: first, it has been able to clearly bring out the relationship between alcohol consumption and advertising among youths. This has been achieved by analyzing the relationship graphs of alcohol consumption versus advertising, as well as bans on advertising. Secondly, it has shown why previous bans on alcohol advertising have not worked and suggested other effective ways of controlling alcohol consumption. This has been achieved by analyzing the relationship graphs of alcohol consumptions versus advertising bans and also alcohol consumption versus counter-advertising. However, the study also has some weaknesses. One of them is that it only focuses on advertising as the only influencer of alcohol consumption. It fails to appreciate other factors which include peer pressure, availability of alcohol, and money to spend on alcohol purchasing, as well as psychological factors like depression. This limits the effectiveness of the recommendations made to reduce alcohol consumption among the youth.

The usefulness of the article in Nursing

Nurses at one point or another, deal with patients who have disruptive behaviors, key among such are alcoholism patients. The article provides nurses with information on how a factor that contributes to an increase in alcoholism affects the consumption of alcohol. Through this article, the nurses will be better placed when counseling recovering alcohol patients on various issues. For instance, helping their patients to know how to react to the alcohol advertisements in the media; protecting their patients who consume alcohol, from advertisements that might influence them to consumption, hence reducing the effectiveness of their medication. As a result, they will be able to help their patients to come out of addiction and also benefit from their medication.

Drug Dependence Review

The article: Jacobson IG., Ryan MA., Hooper TI., Smith TC., Amoroso PJ, Boyko EJ, Gackstetter G, Wells TS, Bell NS, 2008, Alcohol use and alcohol-related problems before and after military combat deployment, JAMA, 13;300(6):663-78

The high rates of alcoholism in America and Australia especially from the soldiers who come home from previous conflicts are quite evidence and devastating. Nonetheless, there are very limited literature material and evidences to show that this subject has been conclusively investigated. The current studies have explored the role of having laws that deal with alcohol, the societal norms on parenting, early use of alcohol as in adolescents and parental alcoholism impact on the children. However, it is important to note that the stress and the traumatizing experienced on the war field only vaguely address the reason why the ex-soldiers have widely been diagnosed with alcoholism.

What Are The Conclusions?

The conclusion of the article addressed the risk in the new-onset of heavy drinking, binge drinking and the alcohol-related crises among the soldiers who return from war. The study found that when people were deployed to go and fight in the conflicts that dominated the east, for instance in Iraq or Afghanistan, their return was highly related to heavy drinking and other alcohol related problems (Jacobson et al., 2008, p. 667). This was very common among the young officers returning from the deployment. The outcomes of the study are among the first to provide quantified changes in the consumption of alcohol among the returning troops. The use of intervention should concentrate on the mat risk groups as the authors suggest particularly the younger soldiers, reserve personnel and those previously diagnosed with mental disorders (Jacobson et al., 2008, p. 667). The study also suggested that a further prospective analysis by use of millennium data was important in the timing and longevity and possible co-morbidity of alcohol consumption and other related problems. There is also the need to better define the impact of military deployment on these very significant outcomes in health of human beings (Bray et al., 2010, p. 392).

Evidence

The results of the study indicated that there were two groups of participants in the research; those who were deployed and experienced combat activity and those deployed but did not get combat exposure. The follow up study of these groups of people indicated that those former solders with combat exposure reported higher post traumatic stress disorders rates higher than those without exposure. Other groups of people were excluded because they did not have baseline of follow up data in this study. These groups included the young non-Hispanic and African American, smokers and marines.

By assessing the data among the active duty personnel, the three main variables, that is, the new onset heavy drinking, binge drinking and alcohol related problems, it was found that they were highest in the deployed personnel with exposure to combat compared to the non-deployed. Proportionally, the reports of heavy drinking in women were higher than that of men especially for the new onset and baseline drinking (Bray et al., 2010, p. 392). However, more men report cases of binge drinking and alcohol associated problems (Stahre et al., 2009, p. 211).

The reserve or guard personnel also showed higher new onset dinking for the three variables and the rates were higher for the personnel deployed and were exposed to combat (Wilk et al., 2010, p. 117), those who were younger by time of exposure, those who served in the marine, those who were smokers by time of exposure, and those who suffers depression then (Bray et al., 2010, p. 392).

Do You Agree with Evidence

I totally agree with the evidence provided by the study because it is in line with a number of related studies in the past which indicate that the military personnel who have been exposed to combat have some kind of drinking problem. The commonest problem is the binge drinking among the active duty combat staff and the problem has a strong relationship with the occurrence of the alcohol health and social problems among these individual (Bray et al., 2010, p. 397). Sometimes the effects of alcoholism affect their job performance like driving. These statistics are drawn from the centre for disease control and prevention and supported by the University of Minnesota.

Binge drinking which is basically the consumption of more than four units of alcohol in women on one drinking session units (and five units for a man) is the commonest problem (Bray et al., 2010, p. 396). Studies show that about 43% of the active duty military staff over the previous year had engaged in binge drinking and the ages of these personnel was averagely 17 to 25 years. More than half of the combat and active personnel report binge drinking in comparison to non-binge drinkers. The binge drinkers also record highest rates of alcohol associated problems like driving under the influence and poor performance at work (Gunzerath et al., 2010, p. 18; Stahre et al., 2009, p. 211).

Because of the possible impact of the drinking problem among the military staff, this could be a serious risk to the military men and people around them. Heavy drinking has become common among these military personnel and its strong association with adverse health and social impact is scary. This needs to attract effective intervention like enforcing minimum drinking age and amount in military personnel (Gunzerath et al., 2010, p. 18).

Conclusions Justified

The conclusions are justified because the patterns of drinking have been shown to have strong correlation with the health and social impact on consumers. Besides, the cause of the drinking has been proven by a number of other studies to be a strong influence for drinking (Gunzerath et al., 2010, p. 19). Studies of drinking problem among the military personnel may not be generalizeable to all war veterans but there is strong evidence that military service particularly combat was associated with alcohol abuse consequently leading to higher prevalence of alcohol-related health problems or social problems as well (Coughlin et al., 2011, p. 7).

The causes of increased drinking in the military personnel is quite intriguing since the reports of heavy drinking are reported highest among younger staff (17-25 years) and also among the marines. For instance, the marine and army have a drinking rate of 32 and 31 percent a rate that is way far higher than that of civilian population (Coughlin et al., 2011, p. 8). Many of them claim drinking was a way of adapting to new life and social status and fitting with peers (Wood et al., p. 21). That means alcohol was a social ingredient essential for socialization (McKenzie et al., 2006, p. 1689). There are drinking rituals or routines that promote this type of drinking as many of the drinkers drink with colleagues even during the week days and deployment liberties (Van Der Vorst et al, 2005, p. 1464). Availability of alcohol to the young military officers also encourages drinking habits that are inappropriate (Coughlin et al., 2011, p. 9). Even underage recruits can easily gain access to the alcohol in the barracks bars and businesses near their bases and to make matters worse the alcohol at these stations is cheaper (Stahre et al., 2009, p. 216).

Doctors Fail To Diagnose the Problem

In most cases, doctors fail to correctly diagnose drinking problems among their patients. This is because many are reluctant to conduct screening tests for alcoholism and do not take time to recognize the symptoms of alcohol problem (Buddy 2008, para. 2). Some doctors may lack adequate experience in alcohol problems and consequently often attribute the symptoms to other possible causes like depression, some have negative attitude for alcoholism or they could be generally reluctant to bring up the issue for discussion (Coughlin et al., 2011, p. 7). Additionally many people with alcohol problems are in denial or have another co-morbid disorder like depress, it could be problematic to make the correct diagnosis.

Diagnosis of alcohol problem is assessed depending on the impact alcohol has on the individuals life and the drinking habits and this is why doctors ask questions that mainly focus on the use of alcohol of the individual, the symptoms, the daily performance at work or at home or in social places and finally the psychological and psychiatric abnormalities (Buddy 2008, para. 2).

The doctor may administer a questionnaire and also perform physical test and laboratory test to confirm other related health problems and could then determine whether or not the individual in question has an alcohol problem (Buddy 2008, para. 2). Drinkers’ honesty and willingness to take part in the process of diagnosis also affects the doctor’s ability to correctly diagnosis. Considering that denial is a major symptom, and then this makes accurate diagnosis even more difficult.

Doctors Who Do Diagnose Alcohol Problems in Patients Respond Inadequately

There has been a problem in managing alcoholism even when its correctly diagnosed because the doctors sometimes lack proper training for such cases because of the residency, or the courses taken in medical school, their personal scepticism of abuse treatment and efficacy, uncomfortable feeling to discuss alcohol abuse, the patient noncompliance or uncooperative behaviour and the time constraints.

A very small percentage of doctors regarded themselves adequately prepared to diagnose and manage alcohol problems in patients. This is the same for other cases like illicit substance abuse and prescription drug abuse. Contrastingly a larger percentage of doctors are often ready and consider themselves well prepared to diagnose and treat diabetes, depression, and hypertension. Some physicians consider treatment for alcohol abuse to be very ineffective therefore is very reluctant to take the initiative of administering the intervention in the first place.

Problematic Drinking Is Partly Genetically Mediated

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that an individual’s risk of developing problematic alcohol drinking was 60% determined by his or her genetic makeup and the 40% was due to the environmental factors (McLeod, et al., 2001, p. 261). If these statistics are true, then it means that there is serious trouble of combating the issue because one cannot change the genetics of a person (McLeod, et al., 2001, p. 261).

There are some important studies that are important in the study of the genetics so that there is valid evidence of genetic influence. The family studies have been significant and they are used to investigate the issue of drug abuse among family members. The researcher of this topic have used the family history and structure information collected from proband and varied criteria for the study. A number of studies now show that there is a strong connection in familial influence on alcoholism even thought different criteria have been used for the diagnoses and ascertainment. The recent works of Mirin have shown that male members of extended families were almost twice likely to show symptoms of alcoholism than the female relatives (McLeod, et al., 2001, p. 266).

Adoption studies on the other hand showed that there is significant correlation between drug abuse in the adopted person and alcoholism in the biological parent with a big odds ratio of 4.3. However there was no increased risk if the adopting parent had a drinking problem. This is unique evidence of genetic basis for the alcoholism heritability. If the biological father was an alcoholic, then the risk was higher.

The twin studies also investigated the genetic evidence of alcoholism in families. McLeod, et al., 2001, p. 267 studied twin concordance for alcohol abuse for 50 participants who were monozygotic and 64 dizygotic participants- a proband in alcoholism was identified in the rehabilitation. The results of the studies indicated that alcoholism was 31% attributable to genetic components of the individuals. The corresponding statistic for the problem of alcohol dependence was 60%.

The Social and Psychological Factors of Alcoholism

There has been considerable focus on the relationship between stress and the consumption of alcohol. Studies indicate that people who suffered post traumatic stress disorders were also likely to be alcohol abusers (Kissin et al., 2008, p. 24). The connection is also evident among the combat military personnel who experience traumatic experienced in the war (Wilk et al., 2010, p. 117). Studies haves shown that these personnel engage I heavy drinking compared to those who did not experience the trauma. Studies of alcohol abuse in women on the other hand have shown that victims of sexual assault shown increasingly heavy consumption of alcohol compared to the normal population. The reason is that they use alcohol to help them cope with the post trauma stress (Kissin et al., 2008, p. 24).

On the social context, parent behaviour and peer influence are the top causes on alcohol problems (Wood et al., p. 21). The issues reviewed ranged from parental behave like the use of alcohol and the greater context on the societal and cultural influence. Broader model and specific studies like social developmental models indicate its proper to address the broad and specific context where individuals and families are embedded (Wood et al., p. 21). This would include laws, social values and culture. In places where the culture allows drinking or societies that deem drinking as classy, problems of alcoholism are high since alcohol is highly addictive (Prescott et al., p. 32).

Alcohol is mainly used for socialization and parents can begin early by alcohol specific socialization strategies where they can prevent the problem of drinking among their adolescents (Van Der Vorst et al, 2005, p. 1464). Strategies to apply would include stringent rules on alcohol consumptions, explicit expression of disapproval of drinking and discussions about alcohol at home.

Treatment Effectiveness and Compliance with Treatment for Patients with Alcohol-Related Problems

Compliance with the treatment for alcohol related problems has been observed to be very poor among patients or individuals diagnosed with the problem. Nonetheless, people getting into the treatment program come in reluctantly because denials as already indicated is a major problem. Therefore it is very important for the family members and other loved ones to take part in the intervention process. Family based intervention models have been among the few effective methods of managing alcoholism. Based on the situation, the intervention can be a shirt session and counselling program or inpatient stay. The first step should be to determine whether the patient is alcohol dependent or not.

Reference List

Bray RM., et al., 2010. Substance Use and Mental Health Trends among U.S. Military Active Duty Personnel: Key Findings From the 2008 DoD Health Behaviour. Survey, military Medicine, Vol. 175, No. 6, pp. 390-399

Buddy T, 2008. Undiagnosed – Ignoring the Symptoms. Most Doctors Fail To Diagnose Alcohol Abuse. Web.

Coughlin, S. S., Kang, H.K., & Mahan, C. M., 2011. Alcohol Use And Selected Health Conditions Of 1991 Gulf War Veterans: Survey Results, 2003-2005. Prev Chronic Dis , Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 2-9.

Gunzerath, L., Hewitt, B. G., Li, T., & Warren, K. R., 201., Alcohol Research: Past, Present, and Future. Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences, Vol. 1216, pp. 1-23

Jacobson, I. G., Ryan, M. A., Hooper. T. I., Smith, T.C., Amoroso, P.J., Boyko, E. J., Gackstetter, G., Wells, T.S., & Bell, N. S., 2008. Alcohol Use And Alcohol-Related Problems Before And After Military Combat Deployment. JAMA, Vol. 300, No. 6, pp. 663-78

Kissin, B., Platz, A., & Huey, W., 2008. Social And Psychological Factors In The Treatment Of Chronic Alcoholism. Journal Of Psychiatric Research, Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp. 13-27

McKenzie, D. P, et al., 2006. Hazardous or Harmful Alcohol Use in Royal Australian Navy Veterans of the 1991 Gulf War: Identification Of High Risk Subgroups. Addict Behav, Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1683-94.

McLeod, D. S. et al., 2001. Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Relationship among Combat Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, and Alcohol Use. J Trauma Stress, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 259-75.

Prescott, C., Cross, R., Kuhn J., Horn, J., & Kendler, K., 2004. Is Risk For Alcoholism Mediated By Individual Differences In Drinking Motivations? Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, Vol. 28, Issue 1, pp. 29-39

Stahre, M. A., Brewer, R. D., Fonseca, V.P., & Naimi, T.S., 2009. Binge Drinking Among US Active-Duty Military Personnel. Am J Prev Med, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 208-17

Van Der Vorst, H., Engels, R. C., Meeus, W., Dekovic, M., & Van Leeuwe, J. 2005. The Role Of Alcohol Specific Socialization In Adolescents. Drinking Behaviour,’ Addiction, Vol. 100, pp.1464–1476.

Wilk JE et al., 2010, ‘Relationship Of Combat Experiences To Alcohol Misuse Among US Soldiers Returning From The Iraq War,’ Drug Alcohol Depend, 108(1-2):115-21.

Wood, M.D., Read, J.P., Mitchell, R.E., & Brand, N.H. (2004). Do Parents Still Matter? Parent and Peer Influences on Alcohol Involvement among Recent High School Graduates. Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, Vol. 18, pp.19–30.

Introduction

• Miami (Florida) is a highly-populated area;
• According to statistics, 463,347 people reside in it;
• Approximately 25% of the population suffer from different forms of addiction and alcohol abuse is one of the leading problems on that list;
• Moreover, the statistics suggest that alcohol abuse is one of the leading causes of health problems among residents (FHE Health, 2013);
• Importantly, Miami has quite a few educational institutions and universities that educate thousands of students. There have been severe cases of alcohol abuse observed among students, which lead to various health-related complications for young individuals (FHE Health, 2013). If the issue is not given due attention, it may lead to the development of various conditions, which will affect the lives of people in the long-term perspective and have a negative effect on the well-being of the population of Miami.

SBIRT description

• To detect or understand the severity of alcohol abuse in a patient within primary care settings, the healthcare specialist may utilize Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) methodology (Wamsley et al., 2018);
• It is a framework that assists in providing services to individuals at risk for alcohol-use disorders through early identification and further assistance;
• During the first step, the nurse asks the patient questions such as: “How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?” and “How many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking” (Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, 2012, p.5);
• It is crucial to encourage a patient to open up and feel comfortable sharing their experience through the use of additional questions;
• During the second step, the patient is assessed for the severity of abuse;
• Step three implies brief intervention, and then the individual is referred for treatment if necessary (Barbosa et al., 2015);
• “SBIRT: Brief intervention: At risk alcohol use” is an educational video that shows practitioners techniques and approaches of how they may interact with their patient when evaluating them on alcohol abuse (UMBCtube, 2011);
• The video vividly shows that the nurse should remain unbiased and neutral while conducting SBIRT.

Problem Description

• Alcohol abuse is a chronic disease in which a person cannot control alcohol consumption despite the fact that this dependence affects various aspects of their life and has a negative impact on their physical and mental health;
• Regular alcohol consumption leads to a condition in which dopamine metabolism gradually changes, and a person ceases to experience pleasure without consuming alcohol (Wamsley, Satterfield, Curtis, Lundgren, & Satre, 2018);
• The physical and psychological dependence evolve to such degree that the individual, who decides to combat abuse, experiences withdrawal symptoms (Barbosa, Cowell, Bray, & Aldridge, 2015);
• This may be a severe problem in terms of Miami community because alcohol abuse may induce more than 30 health conditions;
• Such diseases as cancer, diabetes, liver and pancreatic diseases and traumatization are widely observed in the population, and alcohol abuse may be the main trigger of these conditions.

Community Resources

• Concept Health Systems, Inc. is a community resource available to residents of Miami;
• This is a non-profit organization providing its services since 1970;
• The agency provides help and support to individuals suffering not only from alcohol abuse but also from chemical dependency (Concept Health Systems, 2017);
• Alcoholics Anonymous is another service available to Miami residents;
• It is an online resource, which patients may use to receive help in the virtual environment or by contacting a local agency (Alcoholics Anonymous, 2019);
• The second option is suitable for individuals who feel ill at ease, contacting local organizations directly.

Conclusions

• Thus, inadequate alcohol consumption is a problem observed among Miami residents widely;
• SBIRT is a useful framework that may be used when assessing patients at risk of developing alcohol abuse and those who require referral to specialized services;
• However, an implication for the nursing practice should be concluded to an understanding that this tool is more helpful when evaluating patients showing unhealthy alcohol use;
• It is crucial that people abusing alcohol severely, require interdisciplinary intervention.

References

Alcoholics Anonymous. (2019). What is A.A.?

Barbosa, C., Cowell, A., Bray, J., & Aldridge, A. (2015). The cost-effectiveness of alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) in emergency and outpatient medical settings. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 53, 1-8.

Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. (2012). SBIRT: A step-by-step guide.

Concept Health Systems. (2017). Our mission.

FHE Health. (2013). 8 facts about alcohol abuse in Miami.

UMBCtube. (2011). SBIRT: Brief intervention: At risk alcohol use [Video file].

Wamsley, M., Satterfield, J. M., Curtis, A., Lundgren, L., & Satre, D. D. (2018). Alcohol and drug screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) training and implementation. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 12(4), 262-272.