Alcohol is an addictive substance has a significant influence of human behavior. The risk of harm for youth population age 18-29 is higher than for other age groups. The definition of the alcohol misuse is different than such terms as alcoholism and heavy drinking. Various researchers indicate different types of the alcohol misuse such as the hazardous drinking, harmful drinking and dependent drinking.
According to Midanik (2003), the alcohol misuse can be determined as the high frequency of drunkenness. In this case, drinking is harmful due to the excessive experiencing and drinking over the limits. People age 18-29 drink 8,7 times in a month. For youth population age 18-29, the level of alcohol misuse is higher than one for the elder group and, at the same time, young people need more drinks to be drunk.
Analyzing the article of Jiang (2009), it is possible to define the alcohol misuse simply as the excessive consumption of alcohol where a number of the young drinkers is higher than any other group of age due to their aspiration to the social integration and the personal identification.
For Hyman, the alcohol misuse is the harmful use of alcohol and an indication of the alcohol-dependent syndrome. Historically, the uses and misuse of alcohol influenced many people. However, all abuse problems can be treated accordingly.
Zufferey et al. (2007) concludes that the alcohol misuse can be defined as a high consumption, including the quantity and frequency, and a high-risk drinking when people use alcohol together with other psycho-active substances and drive after drinking. The level of binge drinking demonstrates that young people consume five or more alcoholic drinks in a row.
Hazardous drinking increases a number the risk factors and harmful drinking leads to the terrible consequences concerning the young people themselves. From the other hand, dependent drinking causes all the hazardous and harmful factors and becomes a basement of the increasing alcohol misuse.
According to Eschmann et al. (2011), although the alcohol misuse among youth population (18-29 years) as the high level consumption is significant today, such tendency can be explained by the age when people start their experience of using alcohol and, thereby, they demonstrate less ability to control the frequency and quantity of the use of alcohol. Besides, males show a higher level of alcohol consumption.
Schuckit (2009) defines the alcohol misuse as the harmful use of the substance that causes the morbidity and mortality, leads to the use of other drugs and substances, depressive mood, insomnia and suicide. Besides, the researcher indicates that misuse as the type of alcohol-use disorder is a medical and psychiatric problem that should be immediately treated in clinics.
Freire (2008) concludes that the alcohol misuse is a complex of behaviors that includes the episodic heavy drinking, intoxication and experience of the social problems related with alcohol. In this case, the alcohol misuse reflects more the involvement with alcohol than its regular use. For addicted young people, drinking of alcohol is a significant part of their social life, helpful tool of social integration and the personal identification.
Therefore, it is possible to conclude that all researchers provide the same opinion about a problem of the alcohol misuse, defining it as the excessive and uncontrolled consumption of the substance that leads to the serious consequences, including the morbidity and mortality.
Reference List
Eschmann, S., Zimprich, D., Metzke, C. W. & Steinhausen, H. C. (2011). A developmental trajectory model of problematic substance use and psychosocial correlates from late adolescence to young adulthood, Journal of Substance Use, 16(4): 295–312.
Freire, K. E. (2008). Influence of parental socialization on adolescent alcohol misuse. US, North Carolina: Chapel Hill.
Jiang, Y. (2009). Alcoholism, Alcohol Abuse and Heavy Drinking: Irish College Males’ Perspectives on Alcohol-related Problems, Socheolas: Limerick Student Journal of Sociology, Vol. 2(1), 36-53.
Hyman, Z. (2004). Historical Interpretations of Alcohol Use & Misuse Implications for Nursing Curricula, Journal of Psycholosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 42, 11, 46-55.
Midanik, L. T. (2003). Definition of Drunkenness. Substance Use & Misuse, Vol. 38, No. 9, 1285-1303.
Schuckit, M. (2009). Alcohol-use disorders, The Lancet, 373, 9662, 492-501.
Zufferey, A., Michaud, P. A., Jeannin, A., Berchtold, A., Chossis, I., van Melle, G. & Suris, J. C. (2007). Cumulative risk factors for adolescent alcohol misuse and its perceived consequences among 16 to 20 year old adolescents in Switzerland, Preventive Medicine, 45, 233–239