© The Stauros Foundation (known as Stauros) is a Scottish Charity, SC014253
The Problem with Alcohol
Drinking Motives
“Why do people drink too much?” is a question many people ask. In Stauros
we asked over 200 people and we found some interesting answers.
The majority of people, almost three quarters (74%), said they drank because
all their friends drank socially, but over two thirds (69%) said they never felt
pressurized into drinking.
Drinking was a shared activity among these people, as they wanted to
conform to the peer group they identify with.
Very high percentages of Stauros people drank to over come shyness (79%)
and to help them relate to other people in a social context (87%). Sometimes
individuals felt the need for confidence in a social context. Many Stauros
people drank because it made them feel good (95%), indeed 80% reported
they drank because it made them feel better about themselves. But many
also said they drank to take away negative feelings. Over three quarters (76%)
said they drank because their mind was troubled, and even more (82%)
because their feelings were troubled.
Many Stauros people use alcohol as a coping mechanism. Many said they
drank to cope with their insecurities (82%), with stress (71%) or to help them
forget the past (68%).
•
Pray for people who lack confidence and who drink because it makes them
feel better about themselves.
•
Pray for people who drink because they are unhappy for one reason or
another, that they will find courage to share their problems and be set free
in Christ.
•
Pray for those who live in places where drink is the prevalent culture, for
those who find it difficult to escape its influence.
Next page