Causes of Underage Drinking

Teenagers are at a critical stage where they struggle to attain independence, autonomy and identity. They become closer to their peers and move farther away from their parents. They quickly move to a period of experimentation, that without adequate guidance, may end-up with the young person becoming addicted to alcohol. The causes of underage drinking may all be rooted from the teenagers’ increased sense of INVINCIBILITY and IMPULSIVENESS.[1]

Being in a phase where risk-taking behaviour is heightened, adolescents are prime targets for alcoholism. Scientists believe that a teenager’s brain continues to develop until he or she reaches twenty. This stage of establishing connections in the brain might be the reason why teenagers apparently have the highest tendency to seek-out danger compared with other phases of development. Most of the time, a teen’s impulsiveness leads him to dangerous situations without considering the consequences.[2]

Curiosity has also been blamed. Children drink because they are naturally curious. Young as they are, they want to try new things. Even when older people tell them repeatedly that alcohol is bad, it’s not good for them, it’s dangerous, STILL they want to find that out for themselves. [3] Indeed, much of the time the children are only mimicking the behaviours and actions of the parents.

And in the struggle to establish identity, most teenagers are drawn towards their peers. And in order to gain peer recognition, they will always want to do what their friends are doing, in order to make them feel accepted and “cool.” Children’s choices on how they deal with peer pressure have a significant impact on their future. Parents have to be able to guide them at such a crucial stage.[4]

Another underage drinking cause, as mentioned above, is the parents’ influence on their child. Much of what the child knows is taught by their parents. How parents are able to inculcate values and discipline plays the biggest role in giving teenagers the proper tools for defending themselves against all the issues and problems they are going to come across in the course of growing up. And when children see their parents drinking, they learn to view alcohol positively. They will naturally feel that if their parents can drink, why can’t they?[5]

A child seeing their parents drinking is not a bad thing if the parents are drinking responsibly, in moderation.  There are plenty of examples, from around the globe and from our own history, that show regular alcohol consumption without any problems whatsoever.  This is because of a healthy respect for alcohol and its dangers.  It is also because these are societies where alcohol is not viewed as a means to an end, not viewed as a way of getting out of it, but as a part of life, a way of relaxing, celebration, or tradition.

These causes of underage drinking have been a part of our society for a long time. Our ancestors might have had the same issues during their teenage years, leading them also into underage drinking as well. I doubt it though.  I think there was much more respect back then for alcohol.  Then again, in combating these age-old issues, the challenge to parents and every responsible adult is to reinforce a child’s integrity, giving them the courage to say NO even when all of their peers are saying yes.