The problem of high prevalence of alcohol addiction in Ukraine is further complicated by the emergence of modern transformed malignant variants of it. The early onset and the impact of a complex of biopsychosocial negative factors (including premorbid ones) challenge clinicians and scientists. In order to overcome the disease, it is important to focus on establishing an early diagnosis, prevention and reconstruction system. One of the components of this process is the study of the current features and regularities of the mechanisms of formation and further development of alcohol addiction. Material and methods. The article presents the results of a medical and sociological study of male students of vocational training schools aged 15-19 (abstinence as health control group; people who regularly drink alcohol; people with certain signs of alcohol addiction) and groups of young people aged 21-33 years (group of disease control), patients with alcohol addiction, reflecting the stages of its formation. We applied the questionnaire of medical and sociological researches. Results and discussion. It turned out that almost every fifth student of vocational training schools had individual signs of alcohol addiction. There was a rejuvenation of the age of first alcohol consumption – from 15.8% to 26.7% of the studied adolescents (who regularly drink alcohol) got acquainted with alcohol at the age of 10. An additional evidence of the system of interests and values deformation was a significant percentage of positive assessment of alcohol consumption: 21.7% of those surveyed (aged 15-19 years) enjoyed drinking or did not see anything wrong in it; 31.17 % regularly consumed alcohol (from 2-3 to 15-20 times per month). The relationship between positive subjective perception of intoxication status and the stage of alcohol addiction formation is clearly traced: only 8.8% of abstinent said that it was pleasant to drink; it was significantly higher for II (47.4%) and III (55.6%) groups and for most of the clinical group (88.5%). As far as preferences are concerned – most teenagers preferred beer (57.6%). The study found out that the main effect of alcohol for teenagers was a tonic, mainly used to improve mood (44.2%). 31.2% of the surveyed students were gradually increasing their dose; 13.6% said palimpsests; in 7.8% of the surveyed there was a loss of quantitative control and another 6.5% felt a craving for alcohol. Conclusion. The revealed features of modern variants of alcohol addiction, in view of their transformation and malignancy, indicated their particular danger for the further development of the individual.
Keywords: alcohol dependence, adolescents, modern forms
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