Finding a Solution for Underage Drinking in Miami - Essay Example

? Finding a Solution for Underage Drinking In Miami Underage drinking has continued to represent one of the major concerns facing the US health department. Alcohol use among young people seems a normal thing statistics indicate that initiation into alcohol starts at age 10 and rises up to age 13 where it stagnates. However, by this age more than 50% of the young adolescents have gotten initiated into drinking. To attest to this observation, a survey carried out among eighth grade students (age ranging 13-14 years) indicated that 52% of them had already consumed alcohol during their lifetime. In the same population, 24% of them had confessed to have taken alcohol in the past month while 9% reported to have been drunk in the course of the month. This level of consumption is undoubtedly higher than that of other drugs such as tobacco and any other illegal drug. The other concern on alcohol consumption is its high correlation with myriad social, emotional and behavioral problems such as accidents, stealing, depression, involvement in violent behavior, use of illegal drugs and missing school among others (Richard et al 2012). Besides these immediate problems early initiation of alcohol is also associated with complex alcohol related problems in later years. Early consumption of alcohol that is by age 15 also represented a very high likelihood of developing alcohol dependence (Scott Tippetts, et al 2009). This is a likelihood of 4 times more than those who start drinking at age 21. A more current study reveals a similar picture among the youth. A 2005 survey went further and indicated that 5400 young people below the age of 16 get initiated to alcohol on a daily basis (Lipperman-Kreda, Grube & Paschall, 2010). These statistics as well as other more recent and growing studies on alcohol consumption reveal a worrying trend among young people. This calls for prompt action to arrest the growing numbers of underage drinkers. This study focuses on finding a long lasting solution which would complement the ongoing efforts to curb underage drinking in Miami. In United States the legal drinking age is 21, yet the number of underage drinkers’ remains high begging several questions, one of these questions is where do these underage drinkers get alcohol? This is mainly worrying as the law demands that no single establishment should sell alcohol to an underage (Main, 2009). Irrespective of this directive 92.2%, 82.6%, and 62% of 12th, 10th, and 8th grades respectively attested to the fact that accessing alcohol was fairly or very easy. The focus on alcohol supply and access is fundamental to any study seeking to stop the supply of alcohol to the underage (Lipperman-Kreda, Grube & Paschall, 2010). This is because cutting short the supply is the single most effective means of ensuring that under age drinking is curtailed. Studies reveal that alcohol supply to this group mainly comes from social or economic sources. Economic sources represent commercial establishments dealing with alcohol meaning that some of them blatantly ignore the established laws. In regard to social sources, these are mainly home set ups, where this group accesses alcohol when the adults are absent or during parties (Richard et al 2012). Most effort has been directed to curbing alcohol supply to underage drinkers from the commercial set up. This has been targeted through law and directives which are manifested through compliance checks and cops-in-shops. Similar effort has been made in the social settings through such activity as party dispersal programs (Wachtler, 2011). The success of these measures has been evident overtime and it would be misleading to point out that these have not helped in deterring use and possession of alcohol by this grouping. Evidence overtime has shown that tackling of underage drinking through stringent laws and policies is quite effective (Maimo & Christopher, 2012). The evidence of this is seen in cases where a given policy is properly enforced, for instance the school anti-smoking policy was seen to have helped address smoking among students. This was by establishing consequences for youth caught smoking as well as seeking to educate and build awareness on the ills of smoking among the students and the community at large. Despite the effectiveness of this approach the greatest challenge in policy and law enforcement remains the effort and commitment to enforce the alcohol policy at the community level. Besides the policy approach, three other approaches have been documented to help in addressing underage drinking. The three are family strategies, school strategies and extracurricular strategies. Each of the three is briefly discussed. Family strategies look at the criticalness of the family in preventing underage alcohol consumption. At the centre of this strategy is cordial and focused interaction between the minor and the family members particularly the parents who are required to effectively communicate with the minors, instill discipline, proper monitoring and communication. These strategies are aimed at bridging the gap that has translated to minimal contact between children and parents. This is examined as a major reason as to why more and more underage persons take to alcohol. The idea is to improve parent-child relationship, building consistency in discipline, monitoring children activities and strengthening family bonding. The other strategy is school strategies. The basis of school strategies is to “reduce the onset and prevalence of adolescent alcohol use” this is effected by downplaying personal and social risk factors as well as increasing personal and social protective factors. Focus on school strategies is bolstered by previous strategies aimed at curbing alcohol and marijuana consumption among underage students (Windle & Robert, 2010). An example where these strategies have been employed include in certain projects such as Project Northland, Project SMART, and the Midwestern Prevention Project among others. For these strategies to be successful it is important that the program be developed to include behavioral theory concepts and also involve knowledge of risk and protective factors. The other is provision of appropriate information on the effects of alcohol use both in the short run as well as in the long-term. Cultivating students understanding of their personal internal and external pressures that may prompt them to take to alcohol, the main lesson should be aimed at having them develop a protective mechanism to help in resisting these pressures. Participation of prevention experts in educating teachers and informing them of the most plausible approaches towards curbing underage drinking, these should also participate in developing a support program (Reboussin, Eun-Young & Mark, 2012). Lastly, the school strategy roots for development of an environment where the school community remains in constant communication. Extracurricular strategies aim at establishing activities for adolescents to participate in to occupy them during free time. These strategies are based on the findings that discretionary times spent outside school represent a huge potential for involvement in undesirable activities such as alcohol drinking. Additionally, the involvement of adolescents in alcohol drinking is higher when unsupervised than when under adult supervision. To this end, the extracurricular strategy seeks to introduce activities for this group to participate in as a way of developing them and limiting their participation in undesirable activities. In overall, participation of these individuals in extracurricular activities is largely seen to help develop their life skills, improve communication skills, downplay development of psychosocial problems, limit involvement in risky behavior, and reduce juvenile delinquency and violence (Reboussin, Eun-Young & Mark, 2012). In overall, occupation of adolescents’ free time by progressive activities is seen as a major way of reducing their exposure to alcohol and thus if intentionally designed can help in curbing underage drinking. A look through the four strategies, family strategies, extracurricular strategies, policy strategies and school strategies reveal four alternatives that can successfully be employed to curb underage drinking. However, the effectiveness of each of the strategies differs. This is seen to be largely influenced by those enlisted by the strategy as well as how close the strategy is to those it aims to affect. In regard to those it enlists, the most effective strategy would be considered to be that which enlist all stakeholders and has a mechanism which continually ensures that they are active in discharging their roles. In this regard, the study identifies school strategies as most potent. The choice is further enforced by the success of these strategies as represented by such projects such as Project Northland, Project SMART, and the Midwestern Prevention Project. Implementation of school strategies Feasibility, the school strategies are most feasible as they represent a workable solution. This is because it enlists the use of an existent framework founded on the school’s stakeholders. The main individuals involved in this strategy are the parents, curricular developers, the teachers and the community. The implementation of this strategy is likely to suffer from the slow pace of curricular development as well as difficulties in mobilizing the parents and the community to participate in the program. Economics, implementation of school strategies has definite cost implication as informed by the need to mobilize and educate teachers, parents and the community on their new roles as demanded by the strategy. Additionally, the strategy also requires participation of behavioral scientists in development of a new curriculum. These are also required to continually participate in the school program to orient teachers and ensure their conformance. Lastly, the publication of the new material will require additional resources, these involvement represent a significant economic burden among the implementers. Availability of resources, the resources are likely to be a great concern. This is because the schools will have to rely on their provisions as well as the financial goodwill of the community and the parents. However, with time the school may draw up a proposal seeking financial support from the federal or state government as the issue being talked is of national interest. Implementation, the implementation of school strategies can be implemented through a committee as there lacks a definitive body which can spearhead the implementation process. The committee can be organized from the school level up to the state level. The members would be drawn from all the stakeholders; these are the teachers, school administrators, behavioral scientists, parents and respectable community members. The risk involved in this approach includes the lack of goodwill among the critical parties. For instance, parents who think their children do not consume alcohol and are not under risk may fail to support the strategy. Additionally, some teachers and community members who lack interest or do not understand the gravity of the situation may no play their part leading to the strategy’s failure (James & Christopher, 2010). Lastly, the heavy reliance on funding to include behavioral and counseling studies on the school curricular may fail with the lack of such funding. Contribution of solution, the school strategies represents a potent way of addressing the underage drinking problem. This is because it enlists the help of all parties who continually handle the underage grouping and invests in building the capacity of underage persons to make responsible decisions and choices. By having this group understand the implications, build a protective framework, and provide a follow up mechanism this strategy would undoubtedly provide a workable solution to the problem. References Lipperman-Kreda, S., J.W. Grube & M.J. Paschall.(2010). "Community Norms, Enforcement Of Minimum Legal Drinking Age Laws, Personal Beliefs And Underage Drinking: An Explanatory Model." Journal of Community Health 35.3, 249-257. Richard, A. B. et al. (2012). "A Public Health Enforcement Initiative to Combat Underage Drinking Using Emergency Medical Services Call Data." Prehospital & Disaster Medicine 27.2, 167-171. James, D. C. S. & Christopher K. W. (2010)."Minding My Own Business: Community Attitudes towards Underage Drinking." Health Educator 42.2 : 57-65. ERIC. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. Maimon, D. & Christopher, R. B. (2012). "Underage Drinking, Alcohol Sales And Collective Efficacy: Informal Control And Opportunity In The Study Of Alcohol Use." Social Science Research 41.4: 977-990. PsycINFO. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. Main, C.T. (2009). "Underage Drinking and the Drinking Age." Policy Review 155: ERIC. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. Reboussin, B, Eun-Young, S. & Mark, W. (2012). 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