The Reality of Underage Drinking

Printed in the Family Post: Winter Issue 2008

The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a wakeup call to every American to join in solving the underage drinking problem. Parents and other caregivers, communities, governments—all sectors of society—are challenged to answer the call.

The Coalition for a Drug-Free Nevada County, the Substance Abuse Advisory Board, and Friday Night Live are working together to support local families and the community to answer this call to action. The ultimate objective is to slowly change the local environment for Nevada County’s youth. Almost 50 % of Nevada County’s youth consumed alcohol within the past 30 days (California Healthy Kids Survey). The alarming reality is that 36% of these youth reported they obtained the alcohol in their home. Parents who don’t condone this behavior may not be aware that their children’s friends have parents, who do.

ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS

• Partner with other parents in your child’s network to ensure that parties and other social events do not allow underage alcohol consumption, much less facilitate its use or focus on it.
• Persuade people in your community that underage use of alcohol is not an acceptable rite of passage but a serious threat to adolescent development and health. Indeed, as the call to action proclaims, “Underage alcohol use is not inevitable, and parents and society are not helpless to prevent it.”
• Work with others in your community to develop a broad commitment to stopping and preventing underage drinking. Alcohol use is not a parental problem alone, but a community problem that requires a collaborative effort to solve.
• Know the basic facts about underage alcohol use and its consequences. Armed with this knowledge, you will feel more confident when talking with children about alcohol.

ADVERSE AFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN

Youth who drink can have a significant reduction in learning and memory, and teen alcohol users are most susceptible to damaging two key brain areas that are undergoing dramatic changes in adolescence:

• The hippocampus handles many types of memory and learning and suffers from the worst alcohol-related brain damage in teens. Those who had been drinking more and over a longer period of time had a significantly smaller hippocampus.
• The prefrontal area (behind the forehead) undergoes the most change during adolescence. Researchers found that adolescent drinking could cause severe changes in this area and others, which play an important role in forming adult personality and behavior and is often called the CEO of the brain.

“AT LEAST SHE’S NOT TAKING DRUGS.”

This is what some parents may have thought a generation ago if they caught their daughter using alcohol. Back then, their attention was more likely focused on the dramatic increases in drug use. Those days are gone. Alcohol is considered to be a “gateway drug” leading to marijuana, methamphetamines, and prescription drug abuse.

Once you know how alcohol affects your son’s thinking, behavior, and learning skills in ways that can lead to lifelong problems, you will understand why it is essential to prevent your children and teenagers from using alcohol. Think about it. From the time your daughter was born, her brain kept her alive. It told her lungs to breathe, her heart to beat, her stomach to feel hunger, and to express discomfort when she was cold. Everything else, from feeding herself to skateboarding to making friends, she learned with her brain as she grew into who she is today. Talking occasionally to her when she’s in elementary school about not using alcohol can form the foundation for her healthy decision-making.

PATHWAYS TO POOR GRADES

Alcohol can negatively affect your son’s learning process. Using alcohol during his teen years damages the part of his brain that is responsible for memory, learning, ability, decision-making, and reasoning. It can reduce his ability to remember what is taught in class or what he reads by as much as 10 percent, compared with his schoolmates who do not use alcohol. In time, he will have lower grades compared with his schoolmates who do not use alcohol. In fact, a study showed that kids with the higher frequency of alcohol use (during the past month) were associated with lower academic achievements. By contrast, lower alcohol use is associated with increased likelihood of school attendance.

DEPRESSING TRUTH

In addition to learning, alcohol affects the part of your daughter’s brain that causes social problems, depression, and suicidal thoughts. For example, if she begins using alcohol before the age of 13, she is more likely to think about and attempt suicide than her friends who do not use alcohol. All teens experience normal behavioral changes. Some changes may indicate your child is using alcohol. The most common changes include loss of positive friendships with peers and family, as well as consistently arguing and breaking rules.

TRAIL TO TRUANCY

Alcohol use often leads to violence and other delinquent behaviors. In one survey, the percentage of youth reporting delinquent behaviors increased significantly with the level of alcohol use in the past 12 months. For example, boys who begin drinking before the age of 14 are 11 times more likely to report being in a fight while drinking or after drinking than those who do not use alcohol until they are 21. Other delinquent behaviors associated with alcohol use include stealing, carrying a weapon and selling drugs.

ALLEY TO ADDICTION

Alcohol, at least in small quantities, often acts on the part of the brain that makes your daughter feel good and less nervous. This may make her more likely to drink again when she wants to avoid feeling nervous. When alcohol leaves her body, it can cause feelings of stress that can be lessened by drinking more alcohol. This roller coaster of effects caused by alcohol use and withdrawal can contribute to your daughter continuing to drink, even when she knows that it is not good for her. Whereas, delaying alcohol use until after they turn 21 reduces their lifetime risk of serious alcohol problems by 70 percent. The same amount of alcohol can affect females faster than males. That is, if your daughter uses alcohol in her early teens, she is at greater risk of alcohol dependence at some point in her life. She is also at risk of becoming dependent more quickly and at a younger age.

YOUTH-LED TOWN-HALL MEETING

A youth-led town-hall meeting to discuss “Underage Drinking” will be held on March 5th from 3:00pm-6:00pm at Sierra Foothill High School at 140 Park Avenue in Grass Valley. The meeting will be conducted by youth from Friday Night Live and the Youth Sector from the Coalition for a Drug-Free Nevada County. Parents and community members are encouraged to attend and participate in a community-wide movement that honors the future of Nevada County’s youth.

TO LEARN MORE PLEASE CONTACT

Tasha Senn-Program Manager (530) 273- 7956 or tasha@drugfreenevadacounty.org