The growing number of teenagers who drink alcohol is alarming. Studies show that about 50% of junior high and high school students drink alcohol at least once every month, and about 14% have been highly intoxicated at least once in a year and 8% drink more than five bottles of alcohol in one night.
Parents and professionals are alarmed by the increase in teenage alcohol abuse. One study conducted by the British Medical Association showed that even kids as young as 11 years old drink alcohol on a regular basis.
Adolescence is perhaps one of the hardest stages in a person’s life as they undergo a lot of changes during this part of their lives. From hormonal alterations to brain development, the changes they experience can be very overwhelming. Young adolescents can be very impressionable, and going through a lot of changes in their lives may be hard for them.
Teenagers often perform rebellious acts to show their parents that they are not kids anymore. Most of them become closer to their friends than their family members. Sometimes they do things due to peer pressure without thinking of the adverse consequences. Most cases of teenage alcohol abuse are associated with hanging out with the wrong people. Since they are just developing their sense of right and wrong, they often make a lot of bad decisions.
Drinking alcohol at a young age can be very dangerous to one’s health, as exposing the brain to alcohol may hinder the brain from fully developing. The bloodstream absorbs alcohol very rapidly; alcohol can travel from the stomach lining to the blood in just a matter of 5 minutes. The effects of alcohol can last for several hours, depending on how much is consumed.
Teenage alcohol abuse has many negative effects, including:
- Learning impairment. Teenage alcohol abuse can affect academic achievement; but most importantly, it can affect the person’s cognitive processes, causing them to learn much slower than others. Some adolescents who have become dependent on alcohol exhibit a mild case of short term memory loss.
- Adolescents who started drinking at a young age have difficulty remembering simple geometric designs and words.
- Teenage alcohol abuse can lead to vehicle crashes as some teenagers still drive even when they are heavily intoxicated. Statistics show that one of the most common cause of deaths in teenagers aged 15 to 20 are motor vehicle accidents. The number of teenagers who die because of drunk driving is even higher that those who are 21 years old and older.
- Suicide. Teenage alcohol abuse can potentially lead to suicide as the withdrawal symptoms of alcohol can lead to major depression.
- Female teenagers who get intoxicated with alcohol have a higher chance of being raped as they tend to be vulnerable when drunk. Women drinking in bars may all be potential victims of date rape. One survey shows that 10% of female high school students have been victims of rape.
Teenage alcohol abuse is a disturbing fact that the society must face and address. It is better for parents to prevent their kids from abusing alcohol rather than to address the problem at a later stage.