school project

1. Alcohol consumption and driving among teens Breanne Klarenbeek 01.17.10 HHS4M – Individuals and Families in a Diverse society Mrs. Hammond

2. Secondary Research . . . Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized as an alcohol dependence and repeated consumption of alcohol in the excess. Alcoholics suffer from withdrawal symptoms when reducing or ceasing alcohol consumption and can suffer from alcoholic related or exacerbated illnesses such as liver cirrhosis. Alcoholics also suffer from reduced social acceptance and functionality. According to a CBC news Health Watch there are five types of alcoholics: young adult subtype, young anti-social subtype, functional subtype, intermediate familial subtype and chronic sever subtype. The young adult subtype and the young anti-social subtype do not overlap and consist of a combined 53% of American alcoholics. 32% of American alcoholics are in the young adult subtype which is classified as young adults who are about 24 years old and became alcoholics at an early age, approximately 20 years old. The young adult alcoholic group is prone to binge drinking and are not likely to get help for alcohol dependence. The young anti-social subtype that makes up the

3. Secondary Research Continued . . . remainder of the 53% of American alcoholics, 21%, is classified as alcoholics who are roughly 26 years old; who usually started drinking when they were around 15 years old and became alcoholics roughly 3 years later, making the 15 year old an alcoholic at 18 before they can legally drink in most of Canada or American states that comply with the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.The young Anti-social type alcoholics are also more likely to smoke cigarettes and joints and roughly half of the people in this category have an antisocial personality disorder. The third type of alcoholic is the functional subtype, consisting of 19% of American alcoholics this subtype consists of middle-aged people who are working and often have a stable relationship. These alcoholics usually have a higher level of education and income then other alcoholics and drink every second day, they tend to drink 5 or more drinks on drinking days. There is also the intermediate familial subtype, which also consists of 19% of American alcoholics, these alcoholics tend to start drinking at 17 but do not become alcoholics until they are in their 30's.

4. Secondary Research Continued . . . Roughly half of the intermediate familial subtypes have or had family members who are also alcoholics. The fifth and final subtype is the chronic severe subtype which consists of only 9% of the American alcoholic population. Chronic severe alcoholics are usually men, this subtype has high divorce rates and alcohol consumption is typically in combination with drug use. Alcoholism, according to alcohol md, is 50-60% genetic. This statistic is based on twin and adoption studies which were used to prove that there is a genetic component to alcoholism. Mono-zygotic twins have a higher percentage agreement rate and alcohol use then di-zygotic twins. Also children of biological parents who are alcoholics and who are adopted by non-alcoholic people are still more susceptible to becoming alcoholics. Alcohol md broke alcoholism into two parts, type one and type two. Type two is characterized by a higher rate of heredity, heavy alcohol consumption before the age of 25, absence of a correlation between alcohol consumption and life events, majority are male, a high severity and dependence. Type two alcoholics are aggressive, impulsive, curious, optimistic, excitable and quick to anger and don't tend to feel guilty, out of control, or fearful in regards to their drinking habits.

5. Secondary Research Continued . . . Type 1 alcoholics are characterized by a lower rate of heredity, heavy drinking in direct correlation to bad or unfortunate life events, are equally male and female, dependence develops quickly in response to the positive reinforcement and anxiety relief experience after consuming alcohol. Type one alcoholics are typically shy, pessimistic, emotionally dependent, anxious and non-aggressive or slow to enrage. In 2005 the highest rate of binge drinking once or 12 or more times in the past 12 months was for males in all age groups, the most prominent age group being 20-24. Binge drinking is a type of drinking habit in which the drinker consumes 5 or more drinks on one occasion. The above mentioned functional subtype can be classified as binge drinking alcoholics; drinking 3-4 times a week (every other day) and 5 drinks a night will consume 75 drinks in a 30 day period and roughly 912 drinks a year. Nearly 65% of the 15-19 years old age group binge-drink at least once in a 12 month period and nearly 50% of the same 15-19 age group binge drink at least 12 times in a 12 month period. 1 out of 4 drinkers binge drink at least once a month and 6.2% binge drink at least once a week. Roughly 16% of

6. Secondary Research Continued . . . past drinkers reported a pattern of consuming five or more drinks in a sitting 23.2% of these drinkers were male versus the 8.8% that were female, the age group with the highest response was the 18-19 group with 42.5%. The heavy drinking report by age groups 15-17 and 18-19 were, respectively, 7.6% on a weekly basis and 35.7% on a monthly basis for the younger group and 16.1% on a weekly basis and 51.8% on a monthly basis for the older. In 15-17 years old group, on a typical drinking day 38.3% drink 1-2 drinks, 32.9% drink 3-4 drinks and 28.8% drink 5 or more drinks; while in the 18-19 years old group, 34% drink 1-2 drinks, 23.5% drink 3-4 drinks and 42.5% drink 5 or more drinks, according to 2004 numbers. According to MADD the leading causes of alcohol related deaths are car accidents, liver cirrhosis, suicide, cancer of the esophagus and arrhythmia. In 2002 6.15% of Canadian mortality under the age of 70 was related to alcohol consumption for a total of 8,103 people. In 2006 50% of the 16-19 years old victims of

7. Secondary Research Continued . . . fatally injured pedestrians were under the influence of alcohol. 52.2% of all people who were fatally injured while driving a snowmobile had consumed alcohol prior to driving and 83.3% of them had Blood Alcohol Contents (BAC’s) over 0.08%. 38.2% of the 16-19 years old drivers killed in 2006 were under the influence of alcohol and 33% of them had BAC’s over 0.08%. Between 1991 and 2001 44% of water related deaths that were preventable with victims between the ages of 18-49 and 54% were drowning related to snowmobiles, 47% were drowning related to canoes, 42% were related to recreational power boats and finally 37% were caused by boating accidents were related to alcohol. In 1992 6% of falls and 22% of car crashes caused by alcohol resulted in death. Alcohol also contributes to 17% of all male suicides and 14% of female suicides. 22% of Canadians report having consumed alcohol at work. Roughly 21% of Canadians in the 15-24 age group admitted to having driven while drunk.

8. Secondary Research Continued . . . In Canada alcohol is the most used psychoactive substance. A psychoactive substance is a substance that affects or alters the brain on a temporary basis by affecting the consciousness, thoughts and moods of people who consume or otherwise use them. Along with alcohol psychoactive drugs include marijuana, tobacco, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. The use of psychoactive drugs provide short term affects to the mind but also can have long term health problems such as liver or lung diseases, cancers, overdose and suicides. Alcohol in particular is a poison that in large doses damages the liver in an accumulative fashion and can, if too much is consumed all at once cause alcohol poisoning. Psychoactive drugs affect the neurotransmitters in the brain by either blocking or mimicking the transmitters that send certain messages. Alcohol is a depressant which is a type of psychoactive drug that depress or slow the activity of the central nervous system. Psychoactive drugs are extremely addictive.

9. Primary Research . . . Of those surveyed the majority of those who drink was grade 12 students, though this percentage was less than the combined percentages of grade 11 and victory lap students. Of those who did not drink grade 12 and grade 11 students were in equal proportion and victory lap students were a very small percentage.

10. Those who Drink

11. Primary Research Continued . . . The majority of the students polled drank once a week on average. Despite the portion of Grade 11 students who said that they drank none reported drinking on a weekly basis. On an average drinking night for those polled 7 or more drinks was the most common answer.

12. Drinking Habits Number of Drinks Consumed Number of Students

13. Primary Research Continued . . . The majority of those who were polled have never driven drunk, only one person from each group reported that they have driven after drinking. Of the students who reported driving after drinking the majority of the drinks consumed before driving was 1, for grade 12 and victory lap students. The Grade 11 student who reported having driven after consuming alcohol reported having 2 drinks before driving. This is illegal even though they would most likely have a BAC below 0.08 because of the zero tolerance rule for young and inexperienced drivers.

14. Primary Research Continued . . . Of the students who drink the majority of students who experienced symptoms of Alcohol poisoning were in grade 12 followed by Victory lap students. Grade 11 student’s had a 0% report of alcohol poisoning symptoms. The most common symptoms were slurred speech, confusion and unconsciousness.

15. Primary Research Continued . . . The was a much larger percentage of students who reported having witnessed other people with alcohol poisoning, the majority was still Grade 12 followed by Victory Lap students but Grade 11 students also reported having seen people with the symptoms of alcohol poisoning. The symptoms that were most commonly seen were slurred speech, confusion, inability to make eye contact or sustain a conversation, unconsciousness, difficulty awakening the person, no withdrawal from painful stimuli and finally absent reflexes.

16. Comparison

17. Primary Research Continued . . . The majority of students, across all grades polled, responded by asking if the victim were ok. In addition Victory Lap students called a parent and Grade 11 students called EMS (Emergency Medical Services).

18. Primary Research continued . . . The class level that was taken by the polled students placed the majority of both Grade 12 and Victory Lap students in University level and the majority of Grade 11 students in the college level.

19. Primary Research Conclusion . . . Based on the information gathered it seems likely that some of the students surveyed will become alcoholics in the future. If these students keep with the American statistics then 21% of those surveyed, approximately 3 of the 31 people, could become a member of the young antisocial alcoholic subtype due to the approximate age associated with grade levels and the statistical average age at which this type of alcoholic starts drinking. 12 people or 80% of those surveyed who drink, 15 people or 48% of those surveyed reported drinking, are binge drinkers and if those people keep with American statistics then 19%, 2 people, could become a member of the functional alcoholic subtype based on their history of binge drinking. Another 19%, 2 people, could become an intermediate familial subtype alcoholic based on the approximate age they started drinking, which means that at some point in their thirties they will develop a dependence. Based on those hypothetical numbers 7 of 31 people surveyed, which is roughly 23%, will become alcoholics in the future