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

INTRODUCTIONThis paper go steadys the use of an idea referred to as expectancy as a predictor of teen alcohol use. Expectancies ar concepts that a society reinforces which go on to influence a persons behavior. latest clinical and field studies figure that alcohol expectancies are reasonably high-fidelity tools in estimating future drinking patterns. This paper ranges out to determine the possible applications of this knowledge in the real classroom.HISTORYPrior to the early 1960s, near no clinical studies were available on the topic of teen drinking, as literature more or lessly focused on negative social and moral implications of the activity (Maddox and McCall, 1964). Contrary to somewhat popular nonion, however, adolescent drinking is not unique on to the last few decades. In fact, the best indicators show that "drinking among youth has been a longstanding phenomenon" that has shown no significant metamorphose over the course of the last 120 years (Barnes, 198 2). In the sixties, the push through grew in prominence probably due to the rise of the counterculture and an increase in teen drinking and driving accidents. A number of pi oneering social scientists set out to determine basic information about the commonalty and frequence of alcohol use in this age group. though specific entropy varied from study to study due to methodology and demographics, a contact picture emerged that "alcohol use is very prevalent among teenagers and young adults." In fact, Barnes (1982) conOnce research findings established the basic foundations, kick upstairs questions soon arose on the psychological reasons behind the increase in consumption. Though the answers are still not definitive by any means, a few commonly 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 particular alarm. Regardless of th e reason, most adolescent drinkers consume only occasionally and generally responsibly (Barnes, 1982 Finn, 1979). In fact, a few authors contend that teenage drinking can be a fairly normal step in the process of identity element development (Finn, 1979). "Drinking," claims Maddox and McCall (1964), "is important for validating their self-conceptions as adults or their claims to adult status." A great deal of controversy exists on whether time spent with peers in reckless activities such as drinking is a positive scenery of the socialization process as well. EPROBLEM DRINKINGIn the late 1970s and into the 1980s researchers begun to realize that they had not designed their studies to examine this much more destructive phenomenon of problem drinking.