According to Garnier and Stein (2002), social learning theory proposes that children learn what to value and how to behave by observing and imitating those around them. These people become the child’s role models in life, and help the child learn social reinforcement and expectations of behave that is to be shown. Another way to describe adolescents who drink is by referring to them as having “problem behavior syndrome”. This is when one externalizes their problems by using drugs to cope with the problems (Garnier and Stein 2002).
According to the control theory, adolescents who receive little to no support from their family, friends, and/or peers, are prone to having more stress within their lives. This can lead …show more content…
Even if the person does not chose to partake in drug usage, they will at least adopt a more tolerant drug attitude to fit in better with their group (Burlew et al. 2000, Wade and Peralin 2005). Adolescents are also more prone to imitating behavior that they have observed from their parents and peers if they have been observing the behavior for many years (Wade and Peralin 2005, Burlew et al. 2000).
What types of crimes do adolescents commit under the influence? According to a study done by Dembo et al. (1997), out of 114 participants fifty-four percent were arrested and serving jail time for property charges which included burglary, grand larceny, or auto theft. Forty-six were arrested for retail theft or shop lifting, and nine percent were arrested for drug related charges. All of the participants were under the influence at the time of their arrest. According to the National Council (2014) over seventy percent of alcohol related incidents of violence occur inside the person’s home. Out of these only twenty percent involved the use of a weapon other than hands, fists, or feet. The most amount of crimes committed under the influence are rapes and sexual assaults at thirty-seven percent, robberies at fifteen percent, aggravated assault at twenty-seven percent, and simple assaults at twenty-five …show more content…
Homicide and suicide offenders often tend to drink heavily prior to committing their crimes to help them build up courage to do so (Dawkins 1997, Komro et al. 2007).
Effects of alcohol Alcohol inhibits the way that a person thinks and makes the user not be able to control his or her emotions as well (Paradise and Cauce 2003). When a person is under the influence they lose their ability to think clearly leading to slurred speech, poor motor skills, and more susceptible to giving into aggression and anger. When a person lets their emotions control them they can turn into a rage and not care who they hurt. The earlier a person starts using alcohol the more likely they are to become dependent or abuse alcohol (White et al. 2002, Wade and Peralin 2005, Barnes et al. 2002). Alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency can also lead to unemployment, marital discord, divorce, and a broad range of chronic health problems (Wade and Peralin 2005). It can also lead to traffic crashes, crime, unintentional injury, increased risk for diseases, risky sexual behavior, homicide, and suicide (Komro et al. 2007). Alcohol consumption at an early age can also have damaging effects on brain development. (Komro et al.