Alcohol addiction amongst teens

There have been several researches conducted on the health effects of both short-term and long-term use of alcohol among adults.  Long-term hazards are: liver damage, pancreatitis, some cancers, and literal shrinkage of the brain.  Alcohol consumption is the second leading cause of dementia; one simple ages faster on alcohol.  But professionals today are worried about a steady raise in adolescent alcohol abuse and the possible negative health effects.  According to an article published by the British Medical Association (BMA) entitled:  “Alcohol and Young People”, “…there was a general increase in the proportion of 11 to 15 year-olds who drink alcohol frequently, but also there is an increase in the quantity they are drinking on each occasion.” 

    Adolescence is a transition time when the body is undergoing several important changes, such as hormonal alterations and brain development.  It is also a time when young individuals begin to associate more with friends and associates beyond their childhood contacts.  They feel an important pressure to ‘fit in’ or ‘go along with the crowd’ to be accepted socially. These new circumstances can be confusing and hard for the teenager to understand and deal with.  Frequently, their ability to make right or safe decisions is also at a stage of immaturity. Exposing the brain to alcohol during this period might stop key processes of brain development, possibly leading to mild cognitive impairment as well as to a further escalation of drinking.

    Alcohol is absorbed extremely quickly into the blood stream from the stomach lining, in as short a time as 5 to 10 minutes and its effects last for several hours depending on the quantity ingested and how quickly it was consumed.  Women absorb alcohol quicker than men because their bodies contain less water.  The water dilutes the alcohol and so the same quantity of alcohol will produce a more elevated concentration in the blood.  After drinking only 2 to 3 normal strength beers, or 4 or 5 standard glasses of wine, the majority of individuals will feel less inhibited and more relaxed.  Anything consumed after this quantity, most individuals slur their speech and become less coordinated and clumsy.  Certain individuals have increased emotional reactions.  More alcohol might result in staggering, double vision, and loss of balance, nausea, vomiting and an impression of the room spinning.

    According to data issued from the U. S. government publication entitled Prevention Alert, adolescent alcohol abuse showed many negative side effects. “Subtle alcohol-induced teenager learning impairments could affect academic and occupational achievement.  In one research, short-term memory skills were evaluated in alcohol-dependent and nondependent teenagers’ ages 15 and 16.  The alcohol-dependent youth had more hard time remembering words and simple geometric designs after a 10-minute interval.  In this and similar researches, memory problems were most usual among adolescents in treatment who had experienced alcohol withdrawal symptoms.  The emergence of withdrawal symptoms usually demonstrates an established pattern of heavy drinking.  Their appearance at an early age underscores the necessity for early intervention to prevent and treat underage drinking. Early alcohol consumption might have long lasting consequences.  Individuals who start drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their lives compared with those who have their first drink at age 20 or older.  It is not certain whether beginning to drink at an early age actually causes alcoholism.  Environmental factors might also be involved, particularly in alcoholic families, where children may start drinking earlier because of easier access to alcohol in the home, family acceptance of drinking and lack of parental control.

    Besides the fact that underage drinking is illicit, it poses an elevated risk to both the individual and society. 

Drinking and Driving

    Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of fatality among youth ages 15 to 20.  The rate of deadly accidents among alcohol-involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol-involved drivers 21 and older.

Suicide

    Alcohol consumption interacts with conditions like depression and stress to contribute to suicide, the third leading cause of fatality among individuals between the ages of 14 and 25.  In one research, 37 percent of eighth grade females who drank heavily admitted attempting suicide, compared with 11 percent who did not drink.

Sexual Assault 

Sexual assault, including rape, happens most commonly among women in late adolescence and early adulthood, generally within the context of a date.  In one survey, about 10 percent of female high school students admitted having been raped.  Study suggests that alcohol consumption by the offender, the victim or both, increase the possibility of sexual assault by a male acquaintance.
  

High-Risk Sex

 Study has related adolescent alcohol use with high-risk sex, for instance, multiple partners or unprotected sex.  The results of high-risk sex also are usual in this age group, especially unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.  According to a recent research, the relation between high-risk sex and drinking is affected by the amount of alcohol consumed.  The possibility of sexual intercourse is increased by drinking quantities of alcohol sufficient to impair judgment, but decreased by drinking heavier amounts that result in feelings of nausea, passing out, or mental confusion.    

Binge Drinking.

Even though most college drinkers would deny it, young individuals do die solely from drinking.  In 1995, 318 individuals ages 15 to 24 died from alcohol poisoning alone, several of them after a night binge at college.  At the University of Virginia, a tradition that has seniors drinking a fifth of hard liquor at the final game of the football season (so-called “Fourth-year Fifth”) has killed 18 individuals since 1990.

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