Why Teans Drink Alcohol

Few people who complain about the abuse of drugs by young people realize that alcohol abuse is rising even more dramatically. Alcoholic treatment centers across the country report that they are seeing a new kind of patient: the twelve- to seventeen-year-old alcoholic, who many have been drinking for two to five years. Alcohol is supposed to be illegal; however, large numbers of teens drink alcohol regularly, with a significant number ending up with problems that change the course of their lives.
Some people seem to think that teenagers drink alcohol because they are hiding from some deep meaningful problem in their life. For instance, divorce of parents, child abuse, and the stress that parents place on success are some of the complex issues that young people may be trying to escape. However, in my personal experience, the reasons that the average teenager drinks alcohol is far more simple than complex. The great portion of teens who consume alcohol do so for...