Expectancies As A Predictor Of Adolescent Alcohol Use :: essays research papers

INTRODUCTIONThis paper examines the intention of an idea referred to as expectancy as a predictor of teen alcoholic beverage use. Expectancies are concepts that a ordination reinforces which go on to influence a persons behavior. Current clinical and cranial orbit studies show that alcohol expectancies are reasonably accurate tools in estimating afterlife drunkenness patterns. This paper sets out to localize the practical applications of this knowledge in the real classroom.HISTORYPrior to the early 1960s, virtually no clinical studies were available on the topic of teen drinking, as literature generally focused on negative social and moral implications of the activity (Maddox and McCall, 1964). reversion to somewhat popular notion, however, adolescent drinking is not unique on to the last a couple of(prenominal) decades. In fact, the best indicators show that "drinking among juvenility has been a longstanding phenomenon" that has shown no significant change over the run for of the last 120 years (Barnes, 1982). In the sixties, the issue grew in blow probably due to the rise of the counterculture and an increase in teen drinking and driving accidents. A number of pioneering social scientists set out to determine basic information about the commonalty and frequency of alcohol use in this age group. Though specific data varied from ask to study due to methodology and demographics, a striking picture emerged that "alcohol use is very prevalent among teenagers and young adults." In fact, Barnes (1982) conOnce research findings established the basic foundations, further questions soon arose on the psychological reasons behind the increase in consumption. Though the answers are heretofore not definitive by any means, a few ordinarily accepted theories arose. Teens almost consistently report one of three reasons for drinking partying, self-expression, and anxiety (Maddox and McCall, 1964). None of this information, however, is of parti cular alarm. Regardless of the reason, most adolescent drinkers run through only occasionally and generally responsibly (Barnes, 1982 Finn, 1979). In fact, a few authors contend that teenage drinking can be a reasonably normal step in the appendage of identity development (Finn, 1979). "Drinking," claims Maddox and McCall (1964), "is authorized for validating their self-conceptions as adults or their claims to adult status." A great mass of controversy exists on whether time spent with peers in reckless activities much(prenominal) as drinking is a positive aspect of the socialization process as well. EPROBLEM DRINKINGIn the late mid-seventies and into the 1980s researchers begun to realize that they had not designed their studies to examine this much more than destructive phenomenon of problem drinking.