This study explores factors leading to alcohol abuse by young people with particular
reference to Botswana. Youth is the period when an individual experiences physical,
psychological, and social changes. In other words, it is a transitional stage to
adulthood and it presents many challenges on biological, physical, social,
psychological, and emotional levels.
The objectives of this study were to explore the connection between parental
influence and alcohol abuse among the youth; to interrogate the significance of peer
relationships with regard to alcohol abuse among young people; to identify the
relationship between socio-economic status and alcohol use and abuse among the
youth; and to consider the relevance of die findings of international (and specifically
African) studies to the situation in Botswana.
The social learning theory developed by Bandura (1977) was used as the theoretical
framework. According to this theory alcohol use and abuse is learned behaviour and
factors contributing to that learning process are attention paid to the model; retention
of observations; motor reproduction or replication; reinforcement or reward; and the
environment or milieu, which helps to shape the behaviour.