Social Support and Adolescents’ Alcohol Use: An Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

The trajectories at treatment of alcohol use and abuse among adolescents have become a major health concern. The purpose of this paper was to discuss alcohol use and abuse among adolescents and its relationship to social support. Integrative review has been utilized to address the issue. There is a presentation of findings from research examining social support concepts and their relationship to adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse. Treatment requires awareness of underlying causes in order to establish effective treatment approaches. Determining these underlying causes requires adequate knowledge of family, peers, and societal influences on adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse. Health professionals across disciplines have an important role in implementing multidisciplinary interventions. The purpose of this paper was to discuss alcohol use and abuse among adolescents and its relationship to social support. Results, controversies and concerns raised by the reported results are addressed. Implications for future research are delineated.