Alcohol expectancy responses from teenagers: the early forewarning signals

The Indian population is overwhelmed by the rapid developmental activities in the new millennium. This has brought in urbanization and several banes of the faster life. Alcoholism is one among the menaces which have to be tackled at an early stage.

To assess the subjective expectancies from alcohol intake in young college students.

We carried out a survey on the expectancy from youth of the alcohol effects, which in fact is known as the principal motivator of alcohol intake. We chose the pre-university students (n= 200; 100 males and 100 females) of one of the oldest and prestigious colleges of Mangalore (south India). The survey used the Comprehensive Effect of Alcohol (CEOA) where the students had to respond to two sets of 38 questions, in which they would mention whether they agreed or disagreed to the statement regarding the effects of alcohol intake.

From the results, we found that these young students were in agreement of the view that alcohol could cause a positive reinforcement. They also strongly agreed that alcohol consumption could cause negative effects. This was significantly more pronounced among the girls. Strikingly, only 25% of the boys and 14.5% of girls had consumed alcohol before, who indicated a stronger positive reinforce response as compared to those who had not tasted alcohol.

The results reveal that the first exposure to alcohol consumption is the key factor which leads to alcoholism. If the experience of alcohol intake and the effects of alcohol are liked with the subjects, that becomes a motivating factor for future attempts. This needs a closer look by the clinicians, counselors and the parents, who need to actively interfere in educating the youth and in guiding them in the right direction during their formative ages.