Abstract

Background; youths constitute the active population of a country .According to WHO a youth is anyone between the ages 15-24 years. Youths are constantly changing and discovering themselves whether biologically, socially or behavioral. Alcohol is one of the most abused recreational drug and has a wide range of effects on the health and academic performance of youths.

Objective; This study sought to Assess the effects of alcohol addiction among youths (18-25) years in the molyko community.

Method; This study used a descriptive method with a cross sectional approach using the non probability convenience sampling approach to assess the knowledge of youths on the effects of alcohol addiction in molyko, Buea.

Result; From the questionnaires administered ,data analysis showed that majority of the participants were between the ages 18-24 (50%) with most of them being male. Knowledge on alcohol addiction had a good remark as the majority of respondents 100(50%) undertood the concept of alcohol addiction effects. However the level of education did not influence the responses given.

Conclusion; The study found that most participants were quite knowledgeable on the effects , management and prevention of alcohol addiction, but this knowledge however did not result in its consistent use.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the background of the study, problem statement, objectives, research questions, significance of study, justification of study, scope of study and definition of terms.

1.1 Historical Background

Alcohol addiction also known as alcohol abuse, is the inability to control drinking due to both  physical and emotional dependence on alcohol. It is also a chronic disease characterized by uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol. Alcohol use disorder( AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational or health consequences. It encompasses the conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction and alcoholism.(National survey on drug use and health 2021).

Alcohol addiction (Levine et al.; 2000). was first described in America in the 18th century by Dr. Benjamin Rush in 1784 as an uncontrollable, overwhelming and irresistible desire to consume alcohol. Alcohol craving and withdrawal symptoms were integral parts of the concept of addiction. In several European countries and in the United States, temperance movements were stimulated by the excessive consumption of liquor and other highly distilled alcoholic beverages, which was uninhibited by cultural traditions and appeared especially problematic among poor working-class families during industrialization (Levine, 1984; Henkel, 1998).

There was, however, a fundamental difference to current concepts of alcoholism: the temperance movement suggested that anyone who consumed excessive amounts of alcohol would suffer from alcohol-related problems and did not suggest that alcoholism could affect certain specifically vulnerable individuals primarily (Derik Hermann et al.;2005).

In the first 30 years of the 20th century, degenerations and the successors of the temperance movement sparked widespread political activities in the field of alcohol addiction. In the United States, the Anti-Saloon League followed the approach of the temperance movement and focused on the general problems of alcohol consumption. It succeeded in the implementation of alcohol prohibition, which was legally enforced from 1919 to 1933.

Prohibition was initially successful in reducing alcohol intake; however, illegal alcohol consumption slowly increased in the late 1920s . Prohibition was finally abolished not so much because it failed to abolish alcohol intake, but because of shifting priorities in the Great Depression, when it was argued that liquor production would create jobs and that alcohol taxes might help to reduce income taxes (Levine et al . ; 2000).

Dr. James Royce defines alcohol  addiction  as “a chronic illness or disorder characterized by some loss of control over drinking, with habituation or addiction to the drug alcohol, or causing interference in any major life function such as health, job, family, friends or the law (Alcohol Problems and Alcoholism( John wiled et el ., 2003)  .

There are four phases of alcoholism, which are social drinking, seeking the mood change, constantly seeking the mood change and addiction. Social drinking is drinking for stress relief, which results in mood change and may begin as a result of peer pressure, to alleviate boredom or stress (L. J. Walker et al., 2003-2004).  Seeking the Mood Change on the other hand leads to drinking for the purpose of achieving mood change which drinking habits begin to fall into personal patterns such as certain times of the day (L. J. Walker et al., 2003-2004).

Constantly Seeking the Mood Change is the phase 3 that involves a regular pattern of drinking for the desired effects and this may take the form of regular, ongoing daily drinking or sporadic episodes of drunkenness followed by periods of abstinence which is often labeled as “periodic drinking” ( R. Harker et al., 2012)  The last phase is addiction, which is the situation where the cells of the alcoholic’s body adapt rapidly to the increasing ingestion of alcohol, resulting in a higher level of “tolerance”(R. Somers’s et al., 2007).The person is able to consume more alcohol without obvious physical effects or showing signs of impaired behavior and increased tolerance also demands that the person must drink more to achieve the effects mentioned in stage1

Behaviorism theory is a school of thought that emphasizes environmental control of behavior through learning. It occurs when youths observe the behavior of model. Through observation, youths learn that by drinking alcohol they can get pleasure out of it, just like an adult who is addicted to alcohol. Observation learning can be highly adaptive by others, (John Lock 2001).

The interaction theory is interested in how members of a family understand their role in a society. (George 2005) argued that families manipulate their roles of socializing and caring for children according to their cultural norms and values and leave the youths to learn from peer groups through interaction, without the families being aware of what they are doing.

The interaction theory centers around the assumption that through interaction with peers behavior is been learned. Social learning is when the individual learns on his own how to drink alcohol. (Possi, 1996) mentioned that the learning theory holds that opportunities for a person to use alcohol are generated by his association with other users of alcohol. Thus a person finds support and various reinforcing agents from his peers and becomes a member in the group.

Alcohol use disorders (AUD), which integrate alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse, are considered as an important public health problem. According to the 2016 World Health Organization global status report on alcohol addiction and health among youths, about 3million deaths per year worldwide (5.3% of global deaths) were attributed to harmful effects of alcohol, and 28.7% of the global burden linked to alcohol consumption worldwide in 2016 were due to injuries (WHO,2018).

Furthermore, the prevalence in England is among young people aged 16-25 years old. The largest proportion (19,533) were males, and it was increasing with age. While it is clear from this figure that excessive drinking by young people is a significant problem in the UK, it is not clear what impact this alcohol misuse has on their health and wellbeing beyond the immediate hospital episode.

In Africa, the prevalence of alcohol consumption is high in Uganda (54%) and Rwanda (76%). There was highest rate of addiction in Ethiopia and Rwanda (17.4%) and lowest in Madagascar (0.3%). The overall presentation is that Africa faces a major challenge with growing burden of alcohol consumption and lack effective implementation of policies hinders the fight against alcoholism.

Cameroon, in the central African region, was noted for high alcohol intake (NIS and ORC, 2004) with alcohol consumption rate estimated to be 2.6litres of pure alcohol per capital for young men and women older than 18years (WHO,2004). Generally, estimated 41.4%of young men and 25.8% of women consume alcohol regularly in Cameroon (WHO, 2004).

Effects of alcohol addiction among youths aged (18-25 years) in Molyko community, which was carried out over a period of 7 months from January 2023 to July 2023 in the Molyko community. The study took into consideration 200 youth participants. There is a large body of evidence which reports consistent trends between alcohol use among youths and a range of adverse effects. These evidences have been reviewed below.

Newborn and Shiner (2001) report it is likely that children’s inexperience of the effects of alcohol intoxication, and the fact that they are more likely to consume alcohol in ‘risky’ environments brings with it an increased risk of accidents and injuries leading to the need for hospitalization .

Alcohol use may be a significant contributor to injury in adolescents and may play a role in more than 50% of traumatic brain injuries in adolescents (Dickinson et al., 2005). Alcohol use was also linked to 80% of adolescent deaths from homicides, suicides and unintentional injuries (Rogers et al., 1987) and to an increased risk of illness and death at an early age, predominantly caused by suicide and violent accidents.

Also according to a study which has been carried out in Zanzibar, it was earmarked that children from the ages 18 – 25 years use cigarette, alcohol and cannabis and the reason for this use is stress relief, hunger, fatigue, religious customs and sex boosting. (Mdeme quoted police antidrug unit 2002).

Alcohol has been described as the most commonly used and misused recreational drug in New Zealand (Ministry of Health, 2007), and many other countries (Adam et al., 2011); According to World Health Organization (WHO) report, an estimated 2.5 million people worldwide die of alcohol-related causes in 2004, including 320,000 young people between 15 and 29 years of age (World Health Organization WHO 2010).

1.3 Problem Statement

The researcher lives in Molyko which is mostly populated by youths. There has been a steady increase in the number of bars, snacks and beer parlors in the last couple of years around the molyko community. The presence of these recreational facilities has made the consumption of alcohol quite alarming amongst youths.

Hence, many of them are involved in the abuse of alcohol which makes them susceptible to deviant acts and unlawful behaviors such as fighting, sexual abuses, truancy, poor academic performance among others. The researcher has witnessed many youths who are on alcohol indulge in risky practices and a host of other activities.

A female student aged 22 years old, could not complete her studies because she developed a drinking problem. She later on developed a liver problem which was the major cause of her dropping out of school. Becoming a burden to her family. All these prompted the researcher to carry out a research to investigate the knowledge that the youths have about the effects of alcohol addiction.

1.4 Objectives

1.4.1 General Objective

Assessing the effects of alcohol addiction among youths aged(18-25)  in the Molyko community.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

1. To assess youth’s knowledge on alcohol addiction.
2. To assess youth’s knowledge on the effects of alcohol addiction.
3. To assess youths knowledge on the prevention of alcohol addiction.

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