Notes: Drinking can cause longterm damage. You can ruin your kidnys, kill brain cells, cause you to black out, law inforcement is tuff on aclohal users, DUI- driving under the infuence
citation;"Youth and Underage drinking; an overview." health.org. 1 Sep 2005. 26 Oct. 2005
.
The reasons why adolescents use alcohol are complex but include curiosity, a need to fit in with friends, and a desire to relax and escape problems.20 For some, additional factors may be involved.
Highlights from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Alcohol Alert on Youth Drinking21 include the following risk factors:
* Genetic Factors: Children of alcoholic are significantly more likely to initiate drinking during adolescence and to develop alcohol use disorders, but the relative influences of environment and genetics have not been determined and vary among young people.
* Childhood Behavior: Research has shown that children who are very restless and impulsive at age 3 are twice as likely to be diagnosed with alcohol dependency at age 21. Aggressiveness in children as young as ages 5 to 10 has been found to predict alcohol and other drug use in adolescence.
* Psychiatric Disorders: Among 12- to 16-year-olds, regular alcohol use has been significantly associated with conduct disorder; in one study, adolescents who reported higher levels of drinking were more likely to have conduct disorder. Whether anxiety and depression lead to or are consequences of alcohol abuse is unresolved. In a study of college freshmen, a DSM-III diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence was twice as likely among those with anxiety disorder as those without this disorder. In another study, college students diagnosed with alcohol abuse were almost four times as likely as student without alcohol abuse to have a major depressive disorder. In most of these cases, depression preceded alcohol abuse. In a study of adolescents in residential treatment for alcohol and illicit drug dependence, 25 percent met the DSM-III criteria for depression – three times the rate reported for controls. In 43 percent of these cases, the onset of alcohol and/or illicit drug dependence preceded the depression; in 35 percent, the depression occurred first and in 22 percent, the disorders occurred simultaneously.
* Suicidal Behavior: Alcohol use among adolescents has been associated with considering, planning, attempting, and completing suicide. In one study, 37 percent of 8th grade females who drank heavily reported attempting suicide, compared with 11 percent who did not drink. Research does not indicate whether drinking causes suicidal behavior, only that the two behaviors are correlated.
* Parental and Peer Influences: Parents’ drinking behavior and favorable attitudes about drinking have been associated with adolescents’ initiating and continuing drinking. Early initiating of drinking has been identified as an important risk factor for later alcohol-related problems. Lack of parental support, monitoring, and communication also has been significantly related to frequency of drinking, heavy drinking, and drunkenness among adolescents. Peer drinking and acceptance also influences adolescent drinking behaviors.
* Expectancies: Positive expectations from alcohol use have been found to increase with age and to predict the onset of drinking among adolescents.
Additional Risk Factors include:22
* Being a sibling of an adolescent who uses alcohol and illicit drugs
* Experiencing learning disorders or other academic problems
* Delinquency
* Teen Pregnancy
“Your Time – Their Future” is a campaign of the Center for Substance Abuse prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It urges adults to become actively involved in working with children, ages 7 to 14, to develop healthy and useful skills and interests. The campaign encourages adults to volunteer to spend more quality time with youngsters in need of guidance and mentor them toward productive and rewarding lives. Research has shown that such adult involvement can and does help children and young adolescents to resist the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs which are dangerous and illegal.
