Alcohol Use and Self-Esteem of Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of self-esteem among a group of adolescents and its relationship to their drinking behavior. A total of 411 students, ranging from age twelve to eighteen completed questionnaires on drinking behavior, a problem drinking scale and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. The results revealed that regular users possessed significantly higher mean scores in overall self-esteem as compared to all other drinking categories. Potential problem drinkers obtained significantly lower scores in academic self-esteem when compared to all other drinking categories. Mean scores in peer self-esteem were significantly higher in regular and potential problem drinkers as compared to abstainers and occasional drinkers. These observations suggested that educators should consider self-esteem building activities when devising and incorporating alcohol education programs directed at the teenage population.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Hetherington

, Attitudes and Knowledge About Alcohol Among Saskatchewan Adolescents, Canadian Journal of Public Health, 70, pp. 247–259, 1979.

Smart

, The New Drinkers, Addiction Research Foundation, Toronto, 1976.

Margulies

Kessler

, and Kandel

. A Longitudinal Study of Onset of Drinking Among High School Students, Journal of Studies Alcohol, 38, pp. 897–912, 1977.

Singer

, The School Counselor and the Drug Problem, School Counselor, 19, pp. 284–288, 1972.

Samuels

, Low Self-Concept As A Cause of Drug Abuse, Journal of Drug Education, 4, pp. 421–437, 1974.

Warner

and Swisher

, Alienation and Drug Abuse: Synonymous?, National Association of Secondary School Principals Bulletin, 17, pp. 65–71, October 1971.

Blane

, Alienation, Self-Esteem and Attitudes Toward Drinking in High School Students, Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 29, pp. 350–354, 1968.

Straus

and Bacon

, The Problems on Drinking in College, Society Culture and Drinking Patterns, J. Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1962.

Coopersmith

, The Antecedents of Self-Esteem, McGraw Hill Company, New York, 1975.

10.

Rosenberg

, Society and the Adolescent Self-Image, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1965.

11.

Morrison

, Self-Esteem and Self-Estimates of Academic Performance, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 41, pp. 412–414, 1973.

12.

Johnson

and Spatz

, Internal Consistency of Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 33, pp. 875–876, 1973.

13.

Simon

, Some Sociometric Evidence for Validity of Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 34, pp. 93–94, 1972.

14.

Hillmer

and Stotland

, Identification, Authoritarianism, Defensiveness and Self-Esteem, Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology, 62, pp. 420–425, 1962.

15.

Jessor

, Expectations of Need Satisfaction and Drinking Patterns of College Students, Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 29, pp. 101–110, 1968.

16.

Stacey

and Davies

, Teenagers and Alcohol, Health Bulletin, 30, pp. 318–319, 1973.

17.

Wechsler

and Thum

, Teenage Drinking, Drug Use and Social Correlates, Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 34, pp. 1220–1227, 1973.

18.

Farnsworth

, Drug Use and Young People: Their Reasons, Our Reactions, Resource Book for Drug Abuse Education, National Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., pp. 3–8, 1975.

19.

Smart

and Fejer

, High School Drug Use: A Survey with Implications for Education, Resource Book for Drug Abuse Education, National Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1975.

20.

Kane

and Patterson

, Drinking Attitudes and Behavior of High School Students in Kentucky, Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 33, pp. 635–646, 1972.

21.

Hamachek

, Encounters with the Self, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., New York, 1975.

22.

Rotter

J. B.

, Social Learning and Clinical Psychology, Prentice Hall, New York, p. 7, 1954.

23.

Alcohol and Alcoholism: Problem, Program, Progress, National Institute of Mental Health, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland, 1972.

24.

Fitts

, The Self-Concept and Delinquency, Nashville Mental Health Center, Tennessee, 1970.