Why is teenage drinking bad

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a nonprofit, international drug education program proudly sponsored by the Church of Scientology and Scientologists all over the world. To learn more, click here. Who We Are About the Foundation. Start this Course How much do you really know about alcohol?

Flip through the Booklet. Reset Your Password. Please provide the email address you used when you signed up for your account. We will send you an email with a link to reset your password. Email Address. What is Alcohol? Drinking and Driving. Young People Versus Adults. Because experts now know that the human brain is still developing during our teens, scientists are researching the effects drinking alcohol can have on the teen brain.

Alcohol is a depressant , which means it slows the function of the central nervous system. Alcohol actually blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain.

This alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. In very small amounts, alcohol can help a person feel more relaxed or less anxious. More alcohol causes greater changes in the brain, resulting in intoxication. People who have overused alcohol may stagger, lose their coordination, and slur their speech. They will probably be confused and disoriented. Depending on the person, intoxication can make someone very friendly and talkative or very aggressive and angry.

Reaction times are slowed dramatically — which is why people are told not to drink and drive. People who are intoxicated may think they're moving properly when they're not. They may act totally out of character.

When large amounts of alcohol are consumed in a short period of time, alcohol poisoning can result. Alcohol poisoning is exactly what it sounds like — the body has become poisoned by large amounts of alcohol. Violent vomiting is usually the first symptom of alcohol poisoning. Extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood sugar, seizures, and even death may result. Experimentation with alcohol during the teen years is common. Some reasons that teens use alcohol and other drugs are:.

From a very young age, kids see advertising messages showing beautiful people enjoying life — and alcohol. And because many parents and other adults use alcohol socially — having beer or wine with dinner, for example — alcohol seems harmless to many teens.

Although it's illegal to buy alcohol in the United States until the age of 21, most teens can get access to it. It's therefore up to you to make a decision about drinking.

In addition to the possibility of becoming addicted, there are some downsides to drinking:. Researchers also are investigating other brainwave differences in COAs that may be present long before they begin to drink, including brainwave activity recorded during sleep 31 as well as changes in brain structure 32 and function Some studies suggest that these brain differences may be particularly evident in people who also have certain behavioral traits, such as signs of conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, sensation-seeking, or poor impulse control 34— For example, does a person who is depressed drink to alleviate his or her depression, or does drinking lead to changes in his brain that result in feelings of depression?

Other hereditary factors likely will become evident as scientists work to identify the actual genes involved in addiction. By analyzing the genetic makeup of people and families with alcohol dependence, researchers have found specific regions on chromosomes that correlate with a risk for alcoholism 39— Candidate genes for alcoholism risk also have been associated with those regions The goal now is to further refine regions for which a specific gene has not yet been identified and then determine how those genes interact with other genes and gene products as well as with the environment to result in alcohol dependence.

Further research also should shed light on the extent to which the same or different genes contribute to alcohol problems, both in adults and in adolescents. Environmental Aspects —Pinpointing a genetic contribution will not tell the whole story, however, as drinking behavior reflects a complex interplay between inherited and environmental factors, the implications of which are only beginning to be explored in adolescents And what influences drinking at one age may not have the same impact at another.

As Rose and colleagues 43 show, genetic factors appear to have more influence on adolescent drinking behavior in late adolescence than in mid-adolescence. Environmental factors, such as the influence of parents and peers, also play a role in alcohol use For example, parents who drink more and who view drinking favorably may have children who drink more, and an adolescent girl with an older or adult boyfriend is more likely to use alcohol and other drugs and to engage in delinquent behaviors Researchers are examining other environmental influences as well, such as the impact of the media.

Today alcohol is widely available and aggressively promoted through television, radio, billboards, and the Internet. Researchers are studying how young people react to these advertisements.

In a study of 3rd, 6th, and 9th graders, those who found alcohol ads desirable were more likely to view drinking positively and to want to purchase products with alcohol logos Research is mixed, however, on whether these positive views of alcohol actually lead to underage drinking.

Whatever it is that leads adolescents to begin drinking, once they start they face a number of potential health risks. Although the severe health problems associated with harmful alcohol use are not as common in adolescents as they are in adults, studies show that young people who drink heavily may put themselves at risk for a range of potential health problems.

Subtle changes in the brain may be difficult to detect but still have a significant impact on long-term thinking and memory skills. Research has shown that animals fed alcohol during this critical developmental stage continue to show long-lasting impairment from alcohol as they age Liver Effects —Elevated liver enzymes, indicating some degree of liver damage, have been found in some adolescents who drink alcohol Young drinkers who are overweight or obese showed elevated liver enzymes even with only moderate levels of drinking Growth and Endocrine Effects —In both males and females, puberty is a period associated with marked hormonal changes, including increases in the sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone.

These hormones, in turn, increase production of other hormones and growth factors 50 , which are vital for normal organ development. Drinking alcohol during this period of rapid growth and development i. Studies in animals also show that consuming alcohol during puberty adversely affects the maturation of the reproductive system A major unmet need exists in the treatment of alcohol use disorders: In , 1.

Moreover, much of the treatment available today does not address the specific needs of adolescents 2. For example, most young people prefer easy access to treatment, with strategies tailored to their age group 3 , and treatments that do not remove them from their home or academic settings 2.

Youth perceive traditional services e. Consequently, alternative formats, attention to developmental transitions, and social marketing are needed to better address alcohol problems that emerge during adolescence. Adolescent Treatment Interventions —Complex interventions have been developed and tested in adolescents referred for treatment of alcohol and other drug disorders.

Many of these patients are likely to have more than one substance use disorder e. Brief interventions are, as a rule, delivered to adolescents in general medical settings e. These settings offer an excellent opportunity for intervening with adolescents to address their drinking before they progress to serious alcohol use disorders and to prevent the development of alcohol-related problems 5. SMA 03— Facilitating change for adolescent alcohol problems: A multiple options approach.

In: Wagner, E. Innovations in Adolescent Substance Abuse Intervention. Oxford, England: Elsevier Science, Strategies for reduction and cessation of alcohol use: Adolescent Preferences. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research —80, Alcohol-related services: Prevention, secondary intervention and treatment preferences of adolescents.

Innovations in adolescent substance abuse intervention. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research —, Complex behaviors, such as the decision to begin drinking or to continue using alcohol, are the result of a dynamic interplay between genes and environment. For example, biological and physiological changes that occur during adolescence may promote risk-taking behavior, leading to early experimentation with alcohol. Continued drinking may lead to physiological reactions, such as depression or anxiety disorders, triggering even greater alcohol use or dependence.

In this way, youthful patterns of alcohol use can mark the start of a developmental pathway that may lead to abuse and dependence. Then again, not all young people who travel this pathway experience the same outcomes.

Perhaps the best way to understand and prevent underage alcohol use is to view drinking as it relates to development. Children mature at different rates. Developmental research takes this into account, recognizing that during adolescence there are periods of rapid growth and reorganization, alternating with periods of slower growth and integration of body systems.

Periods of rapid transitions, when social or cultural factors most strongly influence the biology and behavior of the adolescent, may be the best time to target delivery of interventions Interventions that focus on these critical development periods could alter the life course of the child 54 , perhaps placing him or her on a path to avoid problems with alcohol.

To date, researchers have been unable to identify a single track that predicts the course of alcohol use for all or even most young people. Instead, findings provide strong evidence for wide developmental variation in drinking patterns within this special population 55, Who Drinks? Rates of drinking and alcohol-related problems are highest among White and American Indian or Alaska Native youth, followed by Hispanic youth, African Americans, and Asians. Prevalence rates of drinking for boys and girls are similar in the younger age groups; among older adolescents, however, more boys than girls engage in frequent and heavy drinking, and boys show higher rates of drinking problems.

Intervention approaches typically fall into two distinct categories: 1 environmental-level interventions, which seek to reduce opportunities for underage drinking, increase penalties for violating minimum legal drinking age MLDA and other alcohol use laws, and reduce community tolerance for alcohol use by youth; and 2 individual-level interventions, which seek to change knowledge, expectancies, attitudes, intentions, motivation, and skills so that youth are better able to resist the prodrinking influences and opportunities that surround them.

Raising the Price of Alcohol —A substantial body of research has shown that higher prices or taxes on alcoholic beverages are associated with lower levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems, especially in young people 57— Increasing the age at which people can legally purchase and drink alcohol has been the most successful intervention to date in reducing drinking and alcohol-related crashes among people under age 21 NHTSA 1 estimates that a legal drinking age of 21 saves to 1, lives annually.

Since , these laws have prevented more than 21, traffic deaths. Just how much the legal drinking age relates to drinking-related crashes is shown by a recent study in New Zealand. Six years ago that country lowered its minimum legal drinking age to Family-based prevention programmes for alcohol use in young people.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism website. Alcohol screening and brief intervention for youth: a practitioner's guide. Updated February Accessed April 9, Updated by: Linda J. Editorial team. Risks of underage drinking. Alcohol Use and Teenagers.

The Best Time to Begin Talking. This means they: Get drunk Have accidents related to drinking Get into trouble with the law, their families, friends, schools, or the people they date The best time to begin talking with your teen about drugs and alcohol is now.

Alcohol can Cause Injury or Death. Alcohol use means any of the following are more likely to occur: Car crashes Falls, drowning, and other accidents Suicide Violence and homicide Being a victim of violent crime.