Motivations for Alcohol Use in Late Adolescence and Educational Strategies of Intervention

Alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. Alcohol use and consumption is a global problem which compromises both individual and social development. The statistical incidence of the alcohol users is high on adolescence age. Empirical research showed that many adolescents start to drink at very young ages from different reasons. This papers aims to identify some of the important motivations which cause and sustain the alcohol use among older adolescents and to evidence the multidimensional aspects of this behavior. Participants were adolescents, first year students, with ages from 19 to 22 years. It was used the self reported-questionnaire method. The findings highlighted the variability of the reasons and beliefs which determinate the alcohol use in the late adolescence and were analyzed in relation to actual theoretical explanatory perspectives. Some possible educational directions and strategies with a preventive purpose in school counseling have been discussed.