Research Proposal on Effective Ways of Motivating Treatment for Alcoholic Adolescents

Counseling and Alcoholism Effective Ways of Motivating Treatment for Alcoholic Adolescents   Introduction             Alcoholism is one of the problems that the society faces today. It does not only affect certain individuals and families, but the whole community as well. It has been reported that approximately 14 million Americans or about 7.4% of the adult population meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism ('Impact on Society' 2006). In addition, many diseases are being attributed to alcoholism, such as cancer, psychological disorders, ulcers, brain damage, glandular problems, birth defects and other bodily malfunctions. These diseases cause the lives of many Americans annually. Moreover, adults are not the only ones suffering from alcoholism, but teenagers as well. The community and the society become affected with the issue of alcoholism, as many teenagers commit crimes as an effect of drinking alcohol. It has been reported that the total cost attributable to underage drinking, including costs of traffic crashes, violent crime, injuries, and treatment, is over $52 billion per year ('Impact on Society' 2006). With these problems, it is necessary to propose treatment of alcoholism at an early age, preferably to teenagers or adolescents. With an early treatment, the incidence of alcoholism can be lessened in adult years. In this paper, the effective ways of motivating treatment for alcoholic teenagers or alcoholics will be presented. These ways will be evaluated and assessed to examine its effectiveness in convincing adolescents for early treatment of alcoholism. The hypothesis of this study is to prove whether adolescents with a family history of alcoholism are more likely to become alcoholics in the future. This will be proven and supported by the discussion of related studies already done.   Definition of Terms Alcoholism – consumption of alcoholic beverages to the extent that it interferes with the drinker's normal personality, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm ('Alcoholism' 2006).   Binge drinking – the irresponsible, heavy drinking that often comes under the disguise of fun and games ('Binge Drinking' 2001).   Extraversion – easily expresses emotions, not drained by social interaction, smiles a lot, believes most people like or will like them, bold, likes to lead, gregarious ('Extraversion' 2006).   Hallucinations – sensory perceptions that are unrelated to outside events or seeing or hearing things that are not there ('Hallucinations' 2006).   Homicide – the act of killing a human being ('Homicide' 2006).   Suicide – the act of willfully ending one's own life ('Suicide' 2006).