Alcohol Use in Micronesia - Essay Example

Alcohol Use in Micronesia Hypothesis Culturally defined and accepted alcoholism in Micronesia impacted less on community drinking rituals and rules unlike communities where alcohol was introduced by external force like colonial power and introducing a new source of problems linked with alcohol abuse. Geographical area Palau’s are situated in the Pacific region. The group is uniquely characterized alcohol consumption habits amongst men and women both in private and in public since the 1970s.

Prior to the Japanese administration, chewing of betel nut was common, until the Japanese introduced alcohol and it is now a part of their traditional and modern day occasions except house parties intended for financial exchanges (Nero 78). Truk culture is located in Moen Island where alcohol abuse is a common practice. Like the Palau culture, alcoholism originated from United States immigrants, embedded into Trukese cultural system, and perpetrated by their cultural attitudes and values (Mac 733).

Additionally, Truk compares to Palau in that marriage stability occurs with age where men become less violent and are only alcoholics unlike youngsters who drink and engage in fights. The Marshallese people are located in Moen islands and originally consumed alcohol in Joker during transition of young males to manhood. However, bottled alcohol or liquor was introduced to them by Americans resulting to changes in youth ethos to take charge of their own affairs and not blindly following the community elders (Carucci 147).

Consequently, the elders lost control over community resources to the youth intending to empower their community. Analysis of youth drunkenness in Micronesia The Palaun’s today are associated with high drinking capacities. This drunkenness is linked to increased wife-beating which is today more common than ever for this culture. Abuse origin is thought to be the administration of the Japanese who introduced corporal punishment as a mode of discipline and for violence against women by their husbands, and increased drunkenness amongst Palauans men resulting to high Palauan aggressiveness.

Compared to the Palauan’s, young males Trukese are alcohol abusers identified through destructive conduct and aggressiveness and fights. These drunkards are mostly identified as high school dropouts, and unemployed wage workers (Mac 134). Alcoholism amongst Marshallese unmarried youths and married adults is adapted as the path to acknowledgment and results to ego-alteration. Marshall defines ego-definition as attributed to alcohol consumption as signifying transition to manhood hence a way of proclaiming the identity of any male (Carucci 11).

Impacts of alcohol on culture Palauan’s youth and adult alcohol consumption result to uninhibited functions that contribute to higher frequency and intensity of domestic violence. Actually, drunkenness is a culturally acceptable excuse or time-out amongst the Palauan’s for incidents of excessive behavior and as a frustrations’ outlet. However, this negatively invokes culturally defined control against spouse abuse that is accepted by wives and other non-alcoholic members as a false representation of the husband.

In 1986 and 1987, the use of knives in battery and assault was common with 95% involving drugs and alcohol and common amongst young blood related males. Such extremes the breach of norms illustrates the high cross-gender violence (Nero 86). Marshallese youth’s alcoholism results to unrestraint due to intoxication that dissociates the drunk from one’s self and granting a permit to expose injustices arising from the society but is ignored due to societal hierarchy (Carucci 13). The use of alcohol amongst Marshallese youth is a form of avoiding liminal societal boundaries resulting from injustices and the need to raise their voice to draw community attention to such issues.

Additionally, youth alcoholism resulted to alterations in grandparenting relations due to repatriation. Age groups at high risk Middle aged men between twenties and thirty nine years are at high risk of excessive drinking and alcohol linked domestic violence which then declines with age especially due to marital stability. (Nero 78) The young students amongst the Chuuk the social problems include fighting, destruction of people’s property, interference with studies and insecurity on others.

Unlike Palauan’s aggression results to intergenerational antagonism thus resulting to stale external relations. For the Trukese youngsters’ aged 16-25, alcoholism and drug addiction are common resulting to instances of delinquency especially due to the search for alcohol or money to purchase it hence inclining to theft (Mac 733). Consequently, there are high instances of homicide, assault, and suicide linked to alcoholism given that most young people drink out of unemployment frustrations.

Unlike the Palauan’s and like the Trukese, Marshallese unmarried youth are the most frequent alcohol consumers (Carucci 13). However, drunkenness is associated with frustrations and shows of disenfranchisement while suicide adamantly was an avenue for community attention. Works Cited Carucci, Laurence, Marshall. "Working Wrongly and Seeking the Straight: Remedial Remedies on Enewetak Atoll." OCM 21.3 (1949): 1-27. Print. Mac, Marshall. Weekend Warriors: Alcohol in a Micronesian Culture. Palo Alto, California: Mayfield Publisher Company, 1979. Print. Nero, Karen, L.

"The Hidden Pain: Drunkenness and Domestic Violence in Palau." OCM 13.3 (1990): 63-92. Print.