Introduction
Acceptance is a feeling that emerges from individual’s need for approval and acceptance. This behavioural pattern begins at an early age and continues although life to adulthood but it is at peak during teenage stage. The teenagers are in the process of emulating or declining the parental guidance since they need their freedom and at the same time are trying to win the parental support and acceptance. Their strong struggle to exist as part of a family thus increases the urgency for independent need for finding an identity. The quest for parental approval motivates the teenager behaviours.
Although parental pressure ought to be a positive influence over personality, it can negatively affect decision-making procedures and cause a teenager to settle for immoral activities including alcoholism in fight against an abusive or tough situation. When one accepts to put up with negative parental pressure such as alcoholism, they end up giving up the personal trusts and values, thus the pressure becomes a form of a negative force.
Thesis Statement
“Does alcoholism affect parental guidance?” This paper is an analysis of the effect of parental pressure regarding usage of alcohol and its effects as well as implication to the future life of a teenager. It is an analysis of the parental behavioural patterns and lastly it analyzes the available perspectives into controlling the vice.
Objective/significance of the study
The main objective of the paper focuses on causes of alcohol abuse among parents and evaluates the developmental problems associated with this type of vice. Another significance of the study focuses on the global approach towards curbing the vice and creating public awareness over alcoholism.
The paper also forms an analysis over issue of other probable cause in the subject matter. Are parents considering the appropriate measures to avoid the vice? The analysis of what determines alcoholisms. Lastly, it addresses the issue of utilizing the new professional suggested measures to getting rid of this common phenomenon.
Insinuations for understanding behaviour
In most cases, it would be invariable to have a linkage between development of the brain and the behaviours emulated by teenagers. Scientifically the argument over the link indicates that under high emotional or intense parental pressure, there are some conditions during maturity, that necessitate devastating inexplicable performance leading to poor decision making such as use of alcohol. (Marina and Fergal, 2006)
The teenagers have the ability and rationale to differentiate between the right and wrong. This is an indication that the brain has the capacity to demonstrate some mental ability to decision making, but the teenager acts in opposition to this expectations. According to Nestler and Malenka, (2004) the brains of a teenager is under some less optimal control mechanisms and thus under higher probability to act from guts or instincts when confronted with stressful or emotional strains.
Compared to adults, on average, the teenagers are more impetuous, insistent, volatile emotionally, high risk takers, proactive and reactive to strain or stress and are susceptible to parental pressure or guidance (Kane, 2009). Most parents focus on the short time thus underrating any long-term consequences that may be involved in alcoholism. They overlook the alternative course of actions.
The developing brain of a teenager
Young people are often curious about alcohol and thus the common definition of the teenage years being a time of experimenting and seeking novelty. Conducted survey indicates that abuse of alcohol and tobacco is a common phenomenon among most parents today (Marina and Fergal, 2006). As a result, at least half or more of the teenagers try out the alcohol during the teenager stage and nearly all have tried before reaching the legal age. These days the youth show higher rates of or percentage of alcohol problems as opposed to the older age groups. (Kane, 2009)
Vulnerability of teenagers to alcoholism
The teenager brain may be more vulnerable to social pressure or discomforts due to sensitivity. These social effects can bring about pleasurable social experiences such as alcohol engagement as they seek expectations. The effects of alcohol are enormous on teenagers compared to adults. In the studies of teenagers indicated by Partrick (2008), characteristically, teenagers are able to get through two or three times more alcohol than the adults because their intoxication effects are much higher. They have a diminished sensitivity to intoxication due to the high metabolic rates. The hormones also play a vital role in the alcohol abuse. The teenagers have novelty to seek and promote competitiveness socially. The production of hormones promotes abuse because of the original occurrence of parental pressure for the individual to seek social approval from the parent. (Partrick, 2008)
Teenagers’ growth and development
Expectations for growth and social, emotional, behavioural, physical and cognitive change is very important. Through analysis of some developmental life-span stages, there is a possibility of determining disorders or crisis brought about by alcoholic parents. There are unique kind of behavioural pattern to expect from teenagers thus the need to suggest developmental concerns and appropriate actions.
Human beings have to make decisions based on challenges at hand. The teenagers face many challenges such as inevitable physical changes and parental pressure especially over making decisions on impulsive activities. (Marina and Fergal, 2006) These transitional issues are of critical concerns regarding identity choices, self-esteem and emotional development. Their appearance to others is an important issue because they believe to own unique problems and all the public attention focuses particularly upon them.
They face the challenges of discovering their identity in terms of vocation, relationship, sexuality, gender, life interests, personality, culture and most importantly parental background (Marina and Fergal, 2006). Abusive parents cause conflicts, because of the need to find self-belonging and the desire for freedom especially during the emotionally stressing times. This is the main effect of alcohol abusive parents/guardians.
Parental pressure should serve the role of determining the right character in a person. This is arguably the reason why teenagers mimic parental lifestyles. Parental pressure is more often hard to resist because it is equally very hard to notice. Teenagers ought to know that personal choices are very important even when the parental pressure is irresistible.
The strongest predictor of alcohol usage during teenage years is the parental influence. The parent initiate the use, provides the alcohol and models the use and abuse behaviors and attitudes during growth. Studies have indicated that teens are more likely to give in to alcoholism usage if they were from alcoholic parents. (Marina and Fergal 2006) The parental pressure relates to modeling personality.
Conclusion
Social settings can give the impression that drug usage is under control but a closer look at the phenomenon indicates that everyday a teenager is starting to use and becomes addicted to the vice. Possibly the parental pressure involved in the family setup is greater for most of them to resist (Partrick, 2004). Today most of the parents are full-time employees probably looking for the overtime and better remuneration in support of the family. They may be trying to workout one area while the other collapses.
The answer to the problems associated with teenagers lies within the family setting. They are emulating their parents who are their first role models; they embrace the social settings of alcoholism and the solitary usage. Stressing parental abuse may also impact negatively on them.
Whichever the case, parents are the most effective cure to the vice. It is a parental responsibility to solve alcoholic problem and talk out with the teenage children on the dangers involved before things are out of hand. Their temporary rebellion against the parents can easily lead to the repercussions thus leading to the catastrophic impacts. The early interventions by the parents are thus the best procedures to cubing the vice. The strength of character that assists the child to resists the negative influences directly connects to the parental roles of guidance.
References
Partrick, B. J. (2008). Adolescents and Risk: Making Sense of Adolescents Psychology. Praeger Publishers
Marina, B. & Fergal, K. (2006). Drug Addiction and Families: Monitoring the Future National Survey results on drug use. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Nestler, E. J., and Malenka, R. C. (2004). The addicted brain. Scientific American Journal, 290 (3), 78-85.
Kane, R. (2009). Pleasure consuming medicine: The queer politics of drugs. Journal of Alcohol Health and Research World, Duke University Press. Vol 26(4), Pp. 287-291.