ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN ADOLESCENCE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of alcohol consumption in adolescence. The main purpose of the article is to find out the peculiarities of alcohol use as a form of deviant behavior of adolescents. It is noted that at the present stage of development of Ukrainian society it is especially difficult for adolescents who are in the process of forming their system of values and patterns of behavior and can – under the influence of lack of necessary measures by parents, school, state and society in general – to form a destructive system of values and patterns. The article provides an overview of the main approaches to the analysis of deviant behavior, namely: biological, psychological and sociological. The main forms of deviant behavior are considered, namely: deviations associated with the violation of legal norms, deviations in the field of public morality; immoral, delinquent, criminal, addictive deviant behavior. It is noted that alcohol use by adolescents is traditionally considered in most societies as a deviant form of behavior for adolescents. It is concluded that it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of «alcohol use» and «alcoholism». To identify the peculiarities of alcohol consumption by adolescents, the pilot study was conducted in one of the schools in Kharkiv. The study found that the main factors under the influence of which adolescents of this school begin to drink alcohol is social environment and, above all, their parents and relatives. In addition, it was noted that about a quarter of adolescents surveyed continue to drink alcohol more or less constantly now. Based on the results of the study, recommendations are proposed for certain measures that can help solve the problem of alcohol consumption in adolescence.