Early Risk Factors
for Binge Drinking in College
Beginning in early childhood,
there exist certain factors that pose a risk of early onset drinking in
adolescence. Many of these factors begin
to appear or are already in existence in pre-adolescence years. For example, some of the following behaviors,
usually evident by pre-elementary school years, can be red flags for alcohol
and binge drinking problems later in life:
- ·
Anti-social behavior and shyness
- ·
Tendencies towards depression
- ·
Self-control and anger issues
Many of these very basic social issues can lead to an
increased tendency for alcohol abuse in early adolescent years. These behaviors can be caused by a number of
different factors ranging from genetics, to family interactions, to peer
influences. From a sociological
perspective, we know that correlation does not necessarily imply
causation. This is important to consider
when attempting to define the root causes of alcohol abuse in adolescents and
college students. The reason for this
being that typically many factors are directly or indirectly involved with a
child’s development as it relates to abusive tendencies, and one factor may not
be the direct cause of one behavior.
With this in mind, some factors that have been known to cause alcohol
abuse and binge drinking include:
- ·
Depressive or anti-social behaviors in parents
or relatives
- ·
Alcohol abuse in close family members
- Violent home / family environment
- ·
Increased importance on peer relationships (with
peers who drink)
- ·
Environmental pressures
- ·
Genetic history of alcohol abuse
- ·
Brain development in adolescence that hinders
decision making
Some of these factors lead to very early alcohol
experimentation in adolescents which often times directly leads to more abusive
alcoholic tendencies in college. It is
important to understand some of the possible causes of binge drinking in order best
facilitate its regulation.
Resources
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
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