Why young people drink

Kids outside an off licenceChildren begin to develop an awareness of alcohol at a very early age through:

  • television;
  • advertising;
  • their family; and
  • their community.

Research shows that by the time a child reaches five years of age, they have already formed basic attitudes and opinions about alcohol. Teenagers learn about alcohol through their own experiences, and observing the effects of drinking on family, friends and community.

Our teenagers learn from:

“…parents and peers, posters and propaganda, from pundits, publicans, priests, poets and performers, that in Ireland... a good social time and drinking alcohol are quite simply the same thing - without a good drink, and a few good drinks at that, you cannot have a good time.” Sunday Independent

Adults have a very important role to play in delaying the age at which a young person starts to drink.

Teenagers drink for many different reasons.

  • They are curious.
  • They want to be accepted and belong.
  • Their friends are doing it.
  • It makes them feel older.
  • They want to rebel.
  • They are bored.

Teenagers may also drink to:

  • celebrate special events (exam results, birthdays, Debs);
  • feel more confident;
  • relax;
  • reduce stress (exam stress, relationship pressures);
  • cope with sadness, unhappiness, rejection or low self-esteem; or
  • get drunk!

Teenagers may use alcohol because they want to move away from being a ‘child’ and see drinking as a sign of maturity. As parents, you need to challenge the view that you need to drink to be an adult.

Fact or Myth

Alcohol problems are mostly caused by 'alcoholics'.

fact or myth

Myth: Immediate problems like motor accidents, violent assaults and accidental injury are mostly caused by moderate drinkers who occasionally overdo it.

Drinking coffee sobers you up?

fact or myth

Myth: Your liver is like a car with one gear. It can only work at one speed. So there is only one cure for drunkenness - time. Drinking coffee will make you wide awake and drunk. Taking a cold shower will make you cold, wet and drunk.

A 'blackout' is when you pass out from drink?

fact or myth

Myth: It's a type of memory loss. Your friends can recite what you did, but you can't. It is an early warning sign to cut down.

It is not safe to drink when you're pregnant?

fact or myth

Fact: The alcohol enters your baby's bloodstream, therefore the safest thing for your baby is not to drink at all. Regular heavy drinking can cause foetal alcohol syndrome, which causes serious developmental problems for your baby's development.

Women can't 'hold' their drink as well as men?

fact or myth

Fact: Men have more bodily fluids than women, so alcohol is more diluted in their systems. This goes even for women and men of the same height and build.

Alcohol causes as much damage to society as heroin?

fact or myth

Myth: Alcohol causes much more damage than heroin and all the other illegal drugs put together. It is a factor in 88% of public order offences, 34% of marital breakdowns and 33% of fatal road accidents.

There's nothing to do around here except drink?

fact or myth

Myth: Drinking is a big feature of Irish social life, but is not the only pastime. Take a minute to think of three non-drinking things you could do. It's just a matter of looking at things differently.

Fact Myth
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