“Fun without challenge, without inner satisfaction, often comes from surrogate motivators influencing one's actions and perceptions. More often than not, something like this is considered "fun" because it is a lack of "pain", be it social, physical, or psychological pain. For example, if you are programmed with social expectations that drinking and partying are key steps in securing one's self-worth, and that not having a bar life makes one lame and unaccepted, then one can squander away much of life in a drunken stupor, blissfully thinking all is fun with this programmed lifestyle” Montalk. It’s no secret that drinking and driving is the number one cause of death for teenagers in the United States. That’s because alcohol has damaging effects on the brain. It causes impaired memory, blurred vision, slowed reaction time, blackout and memory lapses. These side effects greatly affect how much a person is alert and their driving ability. Researchers conducted an experiment to get the reaction of young adults and teenagers on the issue of drunk-driving and driving while under the influence of cannabis or marijuana, a new trend that according to researchers increases the risk of fatal car accidents. By obtaining these perceptions and reactions, researchers hoped to better understand the trend of driving under the influence of cannabis and increase the awareness of the potential risks it poses for young adults.
To begin the experiment, researchers used 5 different groups of 29 participants ranging from age 16 to 24 from England and Wales. They focused on this specific age group because it was estimated that 50 percent of the people in the age group had tried cannabis, and the number of them that were in fatal car accidents and tested positive for cannabis increased four times between the 1980s and 1990s. 22 of the participants were males and the rest were females. The fact that there were more males than females could have affected the results of the experiment. Maybe if there were more females in the group, the perception about driving under the influence of cannabis or alcohol might have differed slightly. Furthermore, the majority of the participants were in college while the others had jobs. A research method the researchers used was that they asked the participants to give an account of their peers’ experience with driving under the influence instead of asking for personal stories. Using this method would ensure a more accurate data.
When asked about the perceived prevalence of drunk-driving, the groups had a mutual agreement which was that the act was antisocial and wasn’t something they thought others would participate in because of the increased risk of death. They stated that they didn’t drink and drive and their friends didn’t either. In addition, the participants described alternative ways of getting transportation if they were to drink. Some said they would take a taxi and others said they would alternate between a friend that stays sober and drives. When the group members were asked about the issue of drunk-driving as it pertained to the law, most of them responded that driving while drunk was a reckless action because it put the drivers’ life in danger as well as others. The penalties were also a cause for alarm. If caught drinking and driving, the person’s license would be revoked and the high insurance would make it difficult for them to buy another car. In the United States, teenagers value the ability to have their own car and drive. If the law, in regard to drinking and driving was as strict as the law in England and Wales, maybe the number of teenagers in fatal car accidents would decrease. It’s also surprising how everyone agreed that drinking and driving was a dumb thing to do because in the United States, I’m sure every teenager knows not to drink and drive but yet it happens all the time. This might be the case because there is less awareness about drinking and driving. Perhaps implementing an awareness program starting from junior high would make a difference.
The participants also shared their thoughts on the use of cannabis. Again, there was a mutual agreement that it was very common for young people to use cannabis and drive. They believed that it was alright as long as a person didn’t consume too much. Some thought that taking cannabis actually made a person more relaxed when they drove. The groups reported that their peers living at home were more likely to smoke a large amount and then drive because they had no private area at home to smoke. Unlike drinking and driving, the participants said that police rarely cracked down on drivers who’d been smoking because they would have to take a blood or urine sample. All of the participants thought that there was a minimal risk concerning smoking cannabis and getting caught. To them it was more acceptable than drinking and driving. It’s possible that the group members or young adults associated cannabis with less risk because it hasn’t created a serious concern like drunk-driving. Although there seems to be a correlation with cannabis and car accidents, they feel as if there is no concrete evidence to convince them that smoking cannabis and driving is bad or could lead to a fatal car accident.
Danton, Kathy, Misselke Lousie, Bacon Rob, John Done.“Attitudes of Young People towards driving after smoking cannabis or after drinking alcohol” .Health Education Journal 2003 62:50
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fhej.sagepub.com%2Fcontent%2F62%2F1%2F50.full.pdf%2Bhtml
Montalk http://www.randomterrain.com/favorite-quotes-alcohol.html
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.talesfromtheotherside.com/images/ciggarettes1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.talesfromth
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/family-guy-4-big.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/07/07/connecticut-attorney-general-esrb-under-influence-regarding-alcohol-use-games&usg
No comments:
Post a Comment