Teen drug and alcohol use and abuse is a worldwide issue but some cultures are affected more than others.
One crucial comparison to make is that between wet cultures and dry cultures.
(according to McNeece and DiNitto in Chemical Dependency: A Systems Approach)
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Wet Cultures
– Drinking is more casual.
– More drinking with few intentions of becoming intoxicated.
– Generally lower drinking ages, fewer drinking regulations.
– Alcohol is prevalent in day-to-day life.
– Less binge drinking. Fewer addictions. Less alcohol abuse.
– Higher levels of adolescent alcohol use but adolescents are taught from a young age the responsibility that comes with alcohol. They are less inclined to abuse it due to the lack of association of drinking with “risky behavior.”
– Ex. Southern Europe
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Dry Cultures
– Drinking is less frequent, but is heavy when it does occur.
– More drunk driving accidents.
– Fairly restrictive drinking regulations.
– More binge drinking, alcoholism, addiction, etc.
– More alcohol-related violence.
– Drink to get drunk.
– Higher levels of adolescent alcohol abuse.
– Ex. Northern Europe, US, Scandinavia
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Most asian countries do not seem to fall into either group because of lower levels of alcohol use throughout the asian population in general. This may be caused by a gene prevalent in Asians that influences the body’s ability to metabolize alcohol and highly work-oriented living. Adolescents have high expectations to live up to and less time for recreational activities like drinking.
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Drug abuse issues are more difficult to differentiate due to inconsistent definitions of drug abuse and drug problems across cultures.
(according to Rosmarin and Eastwood in “A Quiet Revolution: Drug Decriminalization Policies in Practice Across the Globe”)
– Some countries have decriminalized drugs
– use drug courts for drug offenses instead of criminal courts
– thresholds as to amount of certain drugs you can have
– Some countries have completely legalized drugs
– What we consider abuse in America may simply be recreational in another country
– We do know alcohol and nicotine use around the world is comparable to that in the US
– Westernized cultures (US and Australia specifically) generally have higher levels of use of illicit drugs (but different countries have different drug laws, the term “illicit” is subjective)
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(according to Steinberg)
– White and Hispanic adolescents have comparable amounts of drug and alcohol use
– Black and Asian adolescents have lower amounts of drug and alcohol use
– The less “Americanized” an adolescent is, the less likely they will use drugs or alcohol
– Lower rates of use among foreign born immigrant adolescents
– half as likely to use than American-born adolescents with same ethnicity