Psychology

Introduction
As teenagers grow, they come face to face with issues that are hotly debated, both legally and socially. Aside from gun control and tobacco smoking, alcohol is another controversial subject that tends to gain abundant attention from both society and the media. As students grow out of their shell, they are exposed to the realities of alcohol consumption. Some classify it as an emergence of their adulthood, as they seek to take control of their lives, cope with peer pressure and strive to find a place in their respective community (Sapri, Marczinski, Grant,  Grant, 2009).

Though alcohol is legal for consumption, the study of why students drink or does not drink have intrigued many researchers. The consequences of drinking are often a source of concern for administrators and society itself. To curb the consequences of over consumption, many states in America have actually raised the legal age limit to drinking from 18 to 21. Physical injury, emotional sabotage and fatigue from hang over are the common side effect associated with over consumption of alcohol. However, this still does not consequentially prove and signify why some students drink while others do not.

This paper is a reflection on the factors that lead students to drinking and others to abstain. The paper will divide both subjects and examine them side by side, examining all factors critically and then offering a conclusion to the issue.

Common motivators to drinking behavior
One of the questions that this paper seeks to examine is the factors that push students towards the consumption of alcohol. Some of the most commonly identified motivators are due to social issues such as
Peer pressure and socialization
Community, religion and family
Media and availability
Rebellion and freedom

The above mentioned factors influence a student into developing his or her opinion on alcohol consumption. Based on the person in question, their interaction with the above factors determines their predisposition to consume alcohol.

Peer pressure and socialization
One of the most basic aspects of social influences includes those of peer pressure. Peer pressure exists because almost every individual has a sense of personal deprivation and self esteem issues. Because of this very fact, they seek comfort and acceptance based upon conformity to what everyone else is doing. This can include sex, smoking, drinking and the handling of fire arms. Teens can be lured into good and bad behavior through peer pressure. In reality, there are two types of peer pressure active and passive (Sapri, Marczinski, Grant,  Grant, 2009).

When students are offered alcohol directly, some find it hard to say no. their acceptance of the drink constitutes their acceptance to active peer pressure. Afraid of the repercussions, most students end up accepting social circumstances. On the other hand, passive peer pressure exists based on what is happening around the individuals daily life. If more and more people are drinking around the said individual, the individual might accept the behavior as normal and correct (Sapri, Marczinski, Grant,  Grant, 2009). Similarly, to fit into the fold of normal life, the individual might start drinking to be part of the Group.

Research shows that an outstanding majority of college students feel that drinking is a central part of socialization. According to them, to have an established place in a society, sorority or fraternity, drinking is an essential socialization tool. According to these very students, 79 believed that to have a place in a fraternity and to socialize and interact with them, drinking was an important tool. Similarly, 72 believed that sororities require the same indulgence in alcohol (Dowdall, 2008).

The above statistics clearly reflect the amount of peer pressure present in a college environment. Making new friends, being accepted in the cool crowd and to have a unique identity, students use drinking as a fast pace tool to increase their socialization level (Sapri, Marczinski, Grant,  Grant, 2009). The behavior is reinforced when the parties, clubs and societies they are present in favor such behavior and they are easily accepted as one of their own.

Similarly, another study revealed that students were more likely to take part in heavy drinking if they were at a large social gathering. The results proved that students participated in heavy episodic drinking 2.4 times more, given the large social event.

Community, religion and family
Community
The area in which a student lives can have a lasting effect on his or her inhibition to start up drinking during student years. Studies have established that factors like homelessness, urban environments and community orientation of an area can drastically determine the inhibitions of non drinkers. Studies have shown that students living in a homeless youth atmosphere where 71 more likely to consume alcohol as compared to others (Hall, 2008). Similarly, the easy availability of alcohol in urban centers can directly affect the rate of consumption in students. Thus, a student living in an urban center or city is more likely to be involved in excessive alcohol consumption.

The way the society is bound by community determines the outlook of its potential students. Because the community influences the socialization process of every child till the age of adulthood and beyond, the influences and experiences an individual faces during his or her interaction with the community, directly determine future inhibitions, especially one such as alcohol consumption (Hall, 2008). A society more tolerant of heavy drinking, partying in bars and pups and the lack of emphasis on constructive living will promote similar characteristics in the youth that grow up in that area.

Religion
Religion, as any other social construct determines a lot of the characteristics a person takes as he or she grows up. Marx claimed that religion was a sense of control, which to an extent is true. Because the strong faith believers exhibit in the rules set out by their religion, they end up setting strict limits for themselves. This in turn, creates a barrier for them when trying new opportunities or experiences.
Studies have established that students without the influence of core institutions like religion and families, they are more likely to indulge in alcohol consumption as compared to others. Because the control exhibited by such institutions is enormous, students coming from this background have a stronger will power to say no Holt et al. (2006).

Religious views often determine whether a student involves him or herself into drinking alcohol. For instance, in Islam, Alcohol is simply forbidden and off limits to Muslims Holt et al. (2006). However, in religions where such views are less critical, alcohol consumption is higher because there are no personal barriers. A research concluded that universities with higher Protestant students had a lower drinking rate, and those universities with higher Catholic students had a higher drinking rate. Similarly, Thorlindson  Bernburg (2006) concluded that Muslim students were very less likely to indulge in alcohol consumptions, in part due to their religion, as compared to their counterparts.

Family
The structure of a family can widely affect a teen upbringing in many ways. Watching domestic violence, engaging in immoral and unethical activity and other deviant behavior can result in emotional scarring, reinforcement of behavior and other such social influences on a teen (Hall, 2008).

Students raised in a family atmosphere where his or her parents were compulsive alcoholics are more prone to continue the habit themselves. Similarly, a lack of monitoring and control on the child by the respective parents can result in the student indulging in such behavior before adulthood. The main reason for this is that children, teenagers and students lack the coping skills which are developed in a mentoring and coaching based family atmosphere (Hall, 2008). Without an element to rest back on, students are easily rejected from society and in thus suffer from poor socialization processes, a fundamental aspect that the family governs.

Furthermore, the lack of involvement of parents in the upbringing of children can lead to the children referring to other sources for guidance. These sources could be friends or adults who do not hold a reliable value chain system. Families are models for children and are the basis on which behavior is structured. Factors such as family structure, family dynamics and family history all combine to shape the behavior of the young adult passing through a transition to becoming an adult (Dowdall, 2008).
There has been enormous research on family structure. One study showed that children, particularly male, born in a family where the parents were 21 years old or younger had a chance to start alcohol consumption 6 times an average person (Hall, 2008).

Media and availability

Media
The role of the media and its influences on society are very important in determining how non drinkers turn into alcoholics. For one, the media creates a sense of availability and creates a vision in the minds of non drinkers. The fact of the matter is that movies, television and dramas promote a sense of attitudes which are further strengthened with the use of role models and super stars. The use of sport stars and movie stars in beer commercials influence young adults inspired by these very personalities. These personalities have their own sex appeals, popularity and influence on society itself. Using them only strengthens the behavior they promote.

Furthermore, the message that the media generally sends is that of acceptance of alcohol indulgence. Without promoting the negative effects associated with drinking, the media technically promotes that alcohol consumption is ok and without consequence. The acceptance philosophy plays an even bigger role when movies promote drunk driving and drunken behavior without the proper consequence that it deserves leading young adults to believe it is an accepted behavior.

Availability and marketing
Advertising has created a sense of availability amongst the masses. The 3.7 billion per year budgets that are spent on beer advertising only generate a sense of normal activities. This in turn leads to an increase in alcohol consumption and often triggers non drinkers towards a bath of alcoholism (Staffer, 2003). They generate knowledge, information and guidance for behavior through television commercials which give a sense of ideal behavior to an average person.

Furthermore, research has shown that the more licensed liquor establishments present in an area of reference, the greater the individuals of that area are going to drink (Staffer, 2003). Similarly, lower price of alcohol does the same thing. The lesser the price the more the drinking consumption. This fact is portrayed by discounts on liquor, price bargains and the use of kegs to promote such activities. In the end, these references create a sense of availability and thus increase the level of drinkers.

Rebellion and freedom
In one of the most commonly stated motivators for drinking alcohol, the sense of rebellion and freedom amongst students is very important.

Most students channel alcohol as a way to suppress their depression (Steinberg, 2007). Since students are still in the process of creating their personalities and identities, they suffer from various hormonal transitions. During this phase, what is right and what are wrong lies on a very thin line. Also, the fact that the issue is so delicate, most young adults and students end up getting depressed very easily. Alcohol is often used as a sense of escape from the harsh realities of life (Seaman, 2006). because of their vibrant ages and high motivation levels, doing something controversial or seemingly wrong, though acceptable in the adult frame of mind, students end up drinking to prove their age and adulthood (Steinberg, 2007). This rebellion comes in the form of either over consumption of alcohol, or regular drinking.

A study was conducted between male and female drinkers to find co relations relating to gender. It was found that a lot of women, seeking freedom from the hegemony of the male dominated society claimed that being able to drink as much as a man made them stronger and powerful. It was a sense of proof for their comparison as equals.

Another study concluded that the lack of supervision also directly affected alcohol consumption (Seaman, 2006). Thus, those students who had few supervisors or guardians were more likely to indulge in alcoholism.

The other side to non drinkers
Even with all these fundamental researches creating a different era in examining why students choose to drink and others do not, a lot of factors actually keep students away from drinking.
Some of the more prominent reasons why students choose not to smoke are
awareness and counseling
Community, family and religion
Personal experiences
Awareness and counseling

Most teenagers and students do not know the negative side associated with drinking and consuming alcohol. Based on my earlier arguments, society, alongside with media, tends to indirectly accept that drinking is acceptable behavior and no harm comes out of it.

However, studies have clearly shown the effects of drinking on student academics. Fatigue, slow brain processing and lack of concentration are just some of the signs of over drinking.

However, some students are aware of the harmful effects of alcohol consumption and therefore choose to stay away from it, or at max participate in occasional, casual drinking. These students know of the consequences and the effects of consumption of alcohol on their lives. These students are also part of counseling programs that are based upon educating young adults on the dangers of reality and the hardships that come by. Thus, they are more secure in their own selves and have a higher self esteem than other students. Because of this factor, they are stronger in resisting to peer pressure and do not need to find an escape in the form of alcohol (Steinberg, 2007).

Community, religion and family
Stronger family units provide a source of comfort and support. For the longest part of a Childs life, parents are the fundamental source of guidance and thus, the natural role models. When such behavior is explicitly renounced by adults, studies have shown that there is a lesser chance of a student becoming a drinker later in their lives. Thus, the role of the family becomes utmost important. It is a source of constant counseling, guidance and support for young adults, students and teenagers (Steinberg, 2007). The strong family structure gives a direction and defines the right and wrongs for a student without him or her having to go through the negative experiences. Similarly, community and religion plays a similar role in condoning and directing a students behavior.

Personal experiences
Often some students have tried alcohol consumption and have had terrible experiences with them. Because they experienced the negative effects first hand, they are more resilient to future events and thus consume far less alcohol if any at all. Many students have had experiences ranging from severe hangovers, to being caught drunk on campus. These experiences reinforce the idea that drinking not only has to be kept in tight limits, but if exceeded can yield disastrous results (Dowdall, 2008).

As such, these students, perhaps even those who have had just one severe encounter with the negative effects of alcohol are less prone to continuing alcohol consumption as compared to those students who have not had the same experiences.

Empirical Data
The paper above details reasons why students drink or do not drink. Based on the above arguments, various organizations have collected data to highlight the issues in a more prominent manner.

INCLUDEPICTURE httpwww.centurycouncil.orgsitesallthemestccimgchartsUAD-14-Why-Kids-Choose-Not-to-DrinkPREP.gif  MERGEFORMAT
(The City Council)  SEQ (The_City_Council)  ARABIC 1
Figure 1 shows a graph depicting why kids choose not to drink. The various reasons that are attributed to be the number one cause of holding back from underage drinking are mentioned in the diagram. They further support the arguments made in this paper that the community, legalities and personal experiences do shape the minds of young adults who do not drink. Awareness through its unsafeunhealthy category shows that those students who are more aware of the consequences, choose not to drink. Those students, who felt the negative effects associated with alcohol, could also resist peer pressure better (Slicker, 2001).

INCLUDEPICTURE httpwww.centurycouncil.orgfilesimagesLeading20Influences.gif  MERGEFORMAT
(The City Council)  SEQ (The_City_Council)  ARABIC 2
Figure 2 shows the effects of media and the overall community on their influences in pushing teenagers and students towards drinking activities. This graph substantiates the arguments made in the paper that communities, parents and the media do influence society towards drinking, both positively and negatively. Based on the influences received from either side, the pattern of student drinking can be predicted.

INCLUDEPICTURE httpwww.centurycouncil.orgsitesallthemestccimgchartsUAD-10-Parents-and-Kids-Agree-Family-PREP.gif  MERGEFORMATINET
(The City Council)  SEQ (The_City_Council)  ARABIC 3

The availability of alcohol, another factor mentioned in the paper, can influence youth into getting alcohol. The above diagram depicts the most likely sources. Either way, the lead is always easy availability of the alcohol. The above paper analyzed reasons why easy availability can lead to more drinking amongst the youth.

A study published by the Harvards Universities Department of Public health showed that students under the age of 21, and were involved in some form of sorority. The study concluded that binge drinking is a consequence of not only peer pressure, but also academic stress and social status.  Through the survey, they realized that 47 of the sample, who indulged in drinking, did so because they had found new freedoms.

Conclusion
It is clear that a fine line exists between a student who drinks and who does not. Various studies have been conducted however, exceptions have made making one concrete theory impossible. The basic structure that defines the reason why some students drink while others do not is perhaps entirely personal to their nature and the support their receive from their environment. Not every student succumbs to teen pressure or peer pressure. Not every student falls prey to depression and insecurities. However, those do, who do not have a clear mentor or guidance structure present in their atmosphere (Steinberg, 2007). Thus, the role of society and the locus of control and individual exhibits personally both majorly determine whether a student will be a drinker or not.