RISK FACTORS OF ALCOHOLISM IN YOUNG ADULT

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There is inadequate recognition that alcohol misuse is a major public health problem in India particularly for women. Moreover, the greater hazardous effects of alcoholism on female rather than male physique cannot be ignored. Young adulthood is a period of life marked by change and exploration. When young girls move out of their homes or they shift from schools to colleges/ universities, they tend to get a new friend circle, and many-a-times, due to faulty peer group or peer pressure, they tend to get into consumption of alcohol. Many girls tend to get into alcohol use due to the fact of doing something thrilling or exciting. Many times, academic anxiety/ academic failure leads them to alcohol use, as they can't bear that much stress, and as youth generally think that usage of alcohol will reduce their stress when it actually doesn't. While religious/spiritual involvement could serve as a protective factor, diminished self-esteem along with enhanced impulsivity could make them vulnerable to peer pressure and make them resort to alcoholism. The present study therefore, attempted to examine the role of personal (viz., sensation seeking, impulsivity, self-esteem, spiritual well-being, and academic achievement) and environmental variables (viz., family environment and peer pressure) towards alcoholism in young adult women. 2 The participants for the present investigation initially comprised 550 college/university-going girls in the age range of 20-25 years from various colleges/universities of Punjab. A total of 180 young adult women were screened out to be alcohol users. From these, 90 women were categorized as alcoholics and 90 were categorized as social drinkers on the basis of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (Babor, Biddle, Saunders, & Monteiro, 2001). The other tools used were Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (Edwards & Gross, 1976), Socio-Economic Status Scale (Aggarwal, Bhasin, Sharma, Chhabra, Aggarwal, & Rajoura, 2005), Sensation Seeking ScaleForm V (Zuckerman, 1996), Barratt Impulsivity Scale(Patton, Stanford, & Barratt, 1995), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(Rosenberg, 1965), Spiritual Well-Being Scale (Paloutzian & Ellison, 1982), Family Environmental Scale (Moos & Moos, 1986), Emerging Adult Peer Pressure Inventory (Bradley & Wildman, 2002).For academic achievement, average scores of last two semesters were procured.