U05A1 pROJECT-lITERATURE REVIEW W/ rEFERENCES LIST

Running head : Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous

Client 's Name

University Affiliation

Alcoholics Anonymous

Literature Review

Alcohol abuse is a prevalent problem in the United States today considering the huge number of adolescents who have a problem with alcohol and substance abuse . Thus , [i]n 2002 , an estimated 10 .7 million American youths , 28 .8 of current drinkers (Society for the Study of Addiction , 2004

Concern over this grave situation led numerous people and organizations to conduct studies and publish articles regarding various approaches and their effectiveness in preventing or

treating alcoholics . This essay provides a review of existing literature on these s and determines how different approaches work in effectively dealing with alcoholism among the youth

There is a rich body of literature that deals with intervention approaches for the large population that have problems with alcohol abuse . Alcohol abuse appears to be a grave situation , considering the huge number of adolescents who have a problem with alcohol and substance abuse . Thus , [i]n 2002 , an estimated 10 .7 million American youths 28 .8 of for the Study of Addiction , 2004

The gravity of the problem is underscored by the huge part of the statistics to belong to binge and heavy drinkers . The US National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2002 ' estimated that 7 .2 million adolescents are binge drinkers , while 2 .3 million adolescents are heavy drinkers . Heavy drinkers are those who consumed more than four drinks in five different days in the past 30 days . The staggering figures lead to the conclusion that there is serious public health problem among the youth with respect to their alcohol consumption . This problem extends to serious behavioral diss resulting from alcohol consumption , such as alcoholism . The problem is even more serious because diss that are related to alcohol abuse are likely to become "chronic and to persist into adulthood (Society for the Study of Addiction , 2004

The problem with adolescent alcohol abuse has led to the development of various treatments , both in the private and public healthcare systems These treatments often range from adolescent to adult care . However treatment cares often result in relapse in 50-70 percent of affected adolescents . Therefore , there is a need for systematic approaches that are tailored to meet the specific needs and limitations of the target population , which is the youth (Society for the Study of Addiction 2004

Treatments require appropriate diagnostic criteria in assessing alcohol use patterns of adolescents . For example , current drinkers may be determined by using the criterion that the person consumed at least one drink in the past 30 days (Society for the Study of Addiction 2004 . Moreover , there is a need to develop a framework within which alcohol-related pathology ' could be accounted for in the adolescent stage of a person 's life (Society for the Study of Addiction , 2004

The literature on the subject also has a huge space for the role of support groups in the prevention and therapy for people who have problems with alcohol abuse . One article focuses...