What influences teens to drink?

Teen drinking causes problems. That much is clear. But solutions to solving this major health risk are not as obvious. Perhaps, though, looking at why kids start drinking is a good place to begin.

Health teacher Morgan Quimby said she thinks such consideration is important.

“I wonder what is so bad in a child’s life that makes them feel they need to use drugs [or] be intoxicated to avoid feeling their pain,” said Quimby.

To discover themselves, teens naturally like to experiment with the world around them. Sometimes these experiments lead to drinking alcohol.

Choices that would make adults shake their heads might seem perfectly reasonable to an adolescent. The reason for this lies in teens’ brains. According to howstuffworks.com, a teen’s prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that regulates decision-making and problem-solving, is not fully developed. This means that teens are less likely to recognize they’ve made a mistake after a split-second decision. Not only that, teens’ brains have fully developed the part of the brain that seeks pleasure and reward, the nucleus accumbens, resulting in an uneven balance of the scales, according to howstuffworks.com. (For more information on the science behind teens’ brains and an example of this in action, see http://science.howstuffworks.com/ life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/teenage-brain1.htm )

Another biological factor includes the history of alcoholics in the teen’s family. Genetics can predispose some teenagers towards alcoholism and lower their tolerance towards the intoxicant. As a result, they can begin to feel intoxicated after only a drink or two.

Teens are also more likely to respond to alcohol the way people around them do. For example, teens whose parents view alcohol favorably are more likely to drink than those whose parents refer to it as undesirable.

It’s not just parents, either. According to Dennis Rice, a three-sport coach and health teacher, the media can persuade teens to use alcoholic products, even if commercials and advertisements are not targeted towards them.

“There is an undeniable positive association [with] drinking in the media,” Rice said. “[Teens] turn to the media, see positive association with drinking, and then say, ‘Well, that can be me.’”

Drinking can also be a form of relief for some teens, according to Quimby.

“[These teens] want to avoid a label or the stress it gives. A lot of it is [...] not knowing how to cope,” Quimby said.

In fact, young drinkers’ brains cannot rein in certain cravings and emotions, so they assess risks poorly and tend to be more impulsive.

Children with difficulty making friends or with issues at home are especially drawn to alcohol. Many tend to have rebellious attitudes, difficulty avoiding harmful situations, and can show signs of anxiety, depression, or stress, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

While teens may use alcohol to cope with stress, it comes at a heavy cost.

Intoxication puts teens at risk for physical and sexual assault, suicide, and homicide. Alcohol poisoning can also destroy livers and even lead to death, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Because the teen brain is still developing and forging mental connections, introducing an inhibitor such as alcohol can result in stunting this development. Alcohol can cause memory loss and stunt the brain’s growth, which may have long-term and permanent consequences.

Rice said studies show that, in adolescent girls, alcohol decreases spatial thinking and reasoning. In boys, it can decrease attention by up to 10 percent.

“In terms of school, the difference [is] between an A and a B- that’s a big difference,” Rice said.

It also hinders athletes, according to Rice. Alcohol can negate the gains of a workout, hamper muscle recovery, inhibit nutrient absorption, and restrict information processing.

“[Many teens] don’t even consider the fact that drinking after practice or drinking over the weekend could have a negative effect on their ability to perform well athletically,” Rice said.

DROPLET INFO:

24% of youth aged 12 to 20 years drink alcohol and 15% reported binge drinking.

28% of 8th graders and 68% of 12th graders had tried alcohol.

Teens who start drinking before 15 are five times more likely to be alcohol dependent later on in life than those who started at or after 21.

This is all according to the CDC at: http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm

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