Alcohol Use and Teens: The Role of Adults

What are you telling your teens (with words or actions) about alcohol use? There was a very thought-provoking article in Time Magazine last week about alcohol use and teens. In spite of the fact that it focused on the negative and forgot to point out that nearly half of teens do not drink alcohol and 80% do not binge drink, it presented some very interesting facts including:

• more than half of underage teens drank alcohol;
• 40% of the underage drinkers got their alcohol from an adult; and
• 20% of underage drinkers have participated in binge drinking (5+ in a sitting).

The article also forgot to point out that alcohol is involved in most sexual assault and rape cases, which I think should always be mentioned. However, as disturbing as those facts are, the thing that bothered me the most was the critical and enabling role of adults. The article suggested that teens who binge drink are likely to come from families where an adult binge drinks, and much of the alcohol consumed was provided by adults.

I think this topic brings up several important assumptions and suggests a couple of key decisions for parents to make. First, the assumptions - do you as a parent think that it is inevitable that teens drink? Do you assume that if you do not provide teens with alcohol that they will get it somewhere else? Do you believe that teens who are prohibited from drinking are more likely to binge drink when they get to college, or turn 21? Do you believe your child would not drink and drive or get in a car with someone else who had been drinking? Do you think your child understand the vulnerability for sexual assault associated with alcohol use? Do you believe that your own relationship with alcohol use is healthy?

Now the decisions - will you allow your teen to drink at special occasions or dinner? Will you allow other teens to drink in your home at special occasions or dinner? Will you allow your teen to drink more than a small amount during the meal? Will you provide alcohol to teens during a party in your home? If alcohol is served at a party, should the parent be a) present, and b) liable for anything that happens? Will you drink more than one in front of your children? Will you drink and drive?

These are sticky questions and translate in real problems for adults who may not be responsible drinkers and for the few teens with a propensity for alcoholism and risk taking. I realize that your answers may be different if you grew up with an alcoholic parent, your child is a risk taker, or you live in a very alcohol-oriented community, but I think it is important to think about these issues and talk through them with your children.

As always, teens are more likely to abide by rules that they participate in making, seem fair, and have clear consequences if broken. Good luck!

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Labels: Alcohol, Healthline, Parenting, Teen Health

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Teens and Alcohol - What is Normal?

People, people, people, most teens do not drink! I am frustrated by the media's continued insistence that they do. Just last week there was another article in my local paper saying things like: "alcohol is the drug of choice for young people" and "... underage drinking ... has reached epidemic proportions."

Some of the things the article said that did not bug me were "parents are young people's role models. The way they drink, where, when, and what provisions they put into place to stay safe and not drive are critical."

It is true that some teens drink, and those teens are likely to have a drinking problem when they get older, but the majority of teens do not drink regularly and when they do, they are not meaning to "get drunk." Every time we "lie" to teens we undermine our credibility and make it harder for teens to hear our concern for their well-being.

If a teen is drinking, it is a problem and worthy of intervention with doctors, counselors, the school, and community. However, if we portray drinking as the norm, we encourage it- which I know cannot be what people truly want to be doing.

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Labels: Alcohol, Healthline, Teen Health

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Social Norms and Teen Drinking

Oh my, teachers are having DUI courts in middle school these days, suggesting that teen drinking and driving is a frequent enough occurrence to warrant early prevention, but the data says otherwise.

I believe it is our own bad habits and the media that are driving our perception that teens are drinking and driving more frequently. In fact, in 2006 there were 63% fewer teen DUI-related deaths than there were in 1982! Teens are getting it - drinking and driving do not mix! In fact, they are getting many of the anti-drug messages and rates of marijuana use are declining, as are rates for alcohol and other drug use. You can check out the Monitoring the Future Report for more information, and the California-specific press release at safestate.org.

If we continue to portray drug and alcohol use as "normal," we are doing serious damage to all teens - we are not acknowledging those making healthy decisions and we are ignoring those who may be developing addictions. The social norms campaigns being waged by PTAs across the country are trying to do just that and are worth taking some time to explore.

Photo credit: Mike "Dakinewavamon" Kline

Labels: Alcohol, Healthline, Substance Abuse, Teen Health

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Collge Students and Stress

Stress is actually a pretty normal part of college and adult life. Stress tends to result from balancing different aspects of our lives. Schoolwork has to be done, there are financial worries, extracurricular activities that can add pressure, as well as family issues back home, relationships, friends, work, health, and worrying about getting a job or into graduate school after college. Stress is not always a bad thing - for many of us, it keeps us focused and productive.

Stress can be a problem if you find you cannot sleep, or wake up after a few hours of sleep, do not feel like eating, are feeling too tired to do things you usually enjoy, find yourself pulling away from social activities or friends, or get agitated more easily than usual. If you are experiencing any of those symptoms for more than a few days, it is a good idea to call your college health center and ask about resources for stress.

Most adults develop strategies for coping with stress that include exercise, meditation, or regular activities with friends, which are healthy ways to cope with stress. If you find yourself using drugs, alcohol, or risky sex to manage stress, those behaviors suggest some counseling is in order.

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Labels: Alcohol, College, Healthline, Mental Health

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Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction

Abuse and addiction to alcohol, nicotine and illegal substances cost Americans nearly one trillion dollars a year in medical costs, lost wages, and criminal proceedings. There is no way to measure the social impact and the damage that abuse does to families living with addiction. In addition, every year more than 100,000 American deaths are related to illicit drugs and alcohol and 440,000 deaths are linked to tobacco use.

The National Institute of Drug Addiction (NIDA) has a downloadable 30-page full-color booklet that explains in layman's terms how drug addiction is a brain disease that affects behavior, versus being a moral flaw. One of the goals of this publication is to reduce stigma against addictive behaviors, and help people understand why people become addicted and how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug use.

This booklet discusses reasons people may begin to take drugs, why only some people become addicted, how drugs work in the brain to reduce a person's ability to make sound decisions and use self-control, and how addiction is treated. By treating addiction like any other chronic disease that can be successfully managed, this booklet helps people understand how, with ongoing treatment, people can regain control of their lives.

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Labels: Alcohol, Substance Abuse

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Alcohol Use and School Attachment

Alcohol use in middle school has become an increasing concern after the 2003 wave of the Monitoring the Future study reported that 20% of the 8th graders completing a survey reported having ever been drunk, and 7% reported having been drunk in the last 30 days. This is an obviously disturbing fact by itself, but to make matters worse, we know that addiction that starts early is harder to control as an adult.

A research article in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of School Health suggested that improving the school climate may result in less substance abuse among students. This conclusion is based on their results which suggest that regardless of a student's own level of school attachment, students who attend schools where pupils tend to be attached to the schools are less likely to use alcohol, have less intention to use alcohol, and perceive that fewer other students in school use alcohol.

Their data was collected between 1999 and 2003 from 4,216 youth in 32 middle and junior high schools across the United States using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The results of this study would suggest that while most interventions attempt to change individual behavior, the more effective interventions may focus on changing the school climate to enhance attachment to school. Attachment is stronger when the school environment is pleasant, there are positive bonds between faculty and students, when teachers and students participate in activities together, and that student have the opportunity to serve in leadership roles.

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Labels: Alcohol, Research, Substance Abuse

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Teens Who Work May Be in Danger

There was some bad news from research, done with more than 900 teens done at the University of North Carolina, published in the March issue of Pediatrics. The article suggested that teens aged 14 to 18 who work in retail and service jobs during the school year put in an average of 16 hours a week, often at dangerous and unsupervised jobs. Too many and late hours, using dangerous machinery, handling large sums of cash, and serving alcohol were some of the violations of federal child labor laws reported by the teens who participated in the research.

Like I suggested in earlier post about Teens & Work on Teen Health 411, if your teen works, know the laws in your state and help them understand the importance of not doing anything that violates those laws. In addition, parents should be willing to step in if their teen is being asked to violate those laws.

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Labels: Alcohol, Employment

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Unintentional Injury & Adolescents and Young Adults

The National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC) has just released a new fact sheet on Unintentional Injury in Adolescents and Young Adults, which is the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults. In 2004 the leading causes of death in people ages 10 - 24 included:

• motor vehicle accidents (31.3%);
• homicide (14.2%);
• suicide (12.3%);
• and all other unintentional injuries (e.g., poisoning, drowning, fires/burns, and falls) (14.1%);
• with the remaining 28.1% being other causes.

Lack of driving experience, alcohol use (three out of ten) and lack of seat belt use contribute to motor vehicle accidental death rates, which are highest among American Indian/Alaskan native youth. A previous post on Teen Health 411 discusses Teen Driving.

The good news is that the unintentional injury death rate for this age group has gone down during the last 20 years, although males and young adults still have higher unintentional injury and death rates than females, and adult males 18-24 years old have the highest rates. I know we want to believe that our teens are not stupid enough to drive after drinking, get in a car with someone who has been drinking, or not use seat belts, but the statistics suggest that teens are doing all of those things. I cannot encourage you strongly enough to talk to your kids about alcohol and driving and have a safety plan that includes a ride home with no questions asked, and no consequences.

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Labels: Alcohol, Injuries

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Substance Abuse: Teens & Young Adults

The National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC) has just released a new fact sheet on Substance Abuse in Adolescents and Young Adults that actually included some good news. Black teens were the least likely to drink and smoke, Asian youth were the least likely to use illicit drugs, and alcohol and cigarette use has declined (slightly) overall since the mid-1990s, while illicit drug use remains about the same.

Now the bad news:

• 20% of 12th graders smokes cigarettes daily (with white youth leading the charge);
• approximately 50% of white and Hispanic 12th graders used alcohol in the past 30 days (with 3 out of 5 12th graders who drink reporting binge drinking); and
• initiation of substance abuse occurs between grades 7 and 10.

It is amazing to me that the number of high school students who smoked in the last 30 days has remained stable (between 25% and 35%) since 1975, in spite of numbers of people dying from lung cancer, the lawsuits, the public service announcements, and the health education in schools.

The most disturbing trend reported was the dramatic increase in the use of MDMA or "ecstasy," which doubled among 12th graders between 1996 and 2001 (from 4.6% to 9.2%). The data also reflect what psychologists and researchers have known for a very long time - the kids who are drinking and smoking cigarettes are also the most likely to be using illicit drugs.

This information should tell us all that this would not be the right time to reduce the amount of health education in schools or families. The message about smoking, drug use, and alcohol use is obviously not getting to many teens. Every parent needs to talk to their kids and encourage them to avoid trying cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs.

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Labels: Alcohol, Substance Abuse

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