Harmful Effects of Underage Drinking

Harmful Effects of Underage Drinking

By, Julia Brownfield

Alcohol is the most commonly abused drugs in the United States. Most people begin to consume it during their adolescence or youth years. Also during this period, young adults experience binge drinking. Binge drinking is the most common pattern of alcohol drinking in the United States where people drink until they black out. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking raises the concentration of alcohol in the blood (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This pattern often results when a man drinks more than five drinks while a woman drinks at least four drinks. Whichever form of drinking youth engage in; alcohol can have destructive effects on their lives – ranging from mental problems to even death.

Teenage drinking is the consumption of alcohol by young people below the drinking age of 21 years. It can also be referred to as underage drinking. Teenagers have been drinking alcohol for centuries, but it was until recently when the issue of underage drinking became a national issue. In the United States, underage drinking is a serious problem that is having a negative impact on the lives of young people, and the problem seems to be growing each day. According to national statistics, for example, every day more than 4,750 American kids who are below the age of 15 years take their first complete drink of alcohol. In 2015 alone, a survey by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found out that 20% of youth aged between 12 and 20 years are alcohol consumers, and 13% reported binge drinking in the last four weeks. Peer pressure has been highly associated with teenage drinking, among other factors such as curiosity, taste for freedom and many more others.

Alcohol consumption in the lives of young people has detrimental effects on the structure of the brain. Binge drinking particularly has been associated with poor neuropsychological performance such as memory loss. Binge drinking also impairs or halts the growth, differentiation, and integration of certain brain structures which can later be led to other negative effects. Proper brain functioning may also be altered as a result of alcohol consumption such as abnormal blood flow in certain brain regions, disoriented brain electric circuits and so on.

However, several studies have proven that the effects of alcohol on the neuropsychological performance and brain development in young people vary from one youth to another. Whereas some young people are more prone to the harmful effects of alcohol consumption, some are less susceptible to them. The degree of impact depends on moderating factors such as family history of alcohol and other drug-related disorders, age at onset drinking, drinking behaviors or patterns, gender, and co-occurring psychological illnesses. Nevertheless, alcohol has a negative impact on the brain of young people because during this period the brain is actively developing and hence any foreign toxic substance is more likely to alter, change or interfere with the normal developing patterns.

It is dangerous to drink due to the negative effects or impact that drinking has on an individual and the society. Youth who drink are more likely to experience school problems, social problems, physical problems such as physical and sexual assault, memory loss, stunted growth and development, risky engagement in sexual activities and even death. Alcohol drinking is also dangerous because it puts one in a risk of being an addict. According to the U.S Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), adolescents who consume alcohol before the age of 15 are five times more likely to become alcoholics or binge drinkers. Alcohol consumption especially binge drinking can have disastrous mental and physical health challenges on the drinkers. Brain development is affected, liver diseases, sexual dysfunction, and intoxication.

Drinking affects the alcoholics, the people around them, the government and the whole society in general. Binge drinking, for example, cost the U.S. billions of money. In 2010 alone, U.S. spent close to $250 billion regarding the loss in productivity, crime, healthcare, and other expenses. Binge drinking covered up for about 77%. Alcohol consumption also reduces the productivity of individuals which in turn affects themselves, their families, friends and the society. A nation which has more youth alcoholics or binge drinkers is at a risk of having no future. Also, drinking may get other innocent people into problems for example when a drunk youth physically or sexually assaults another person or drives while drunk ending up causing road accidents and hurting or killing innocent people.

In extreme cases, alcohol consumption leads to deaths of both the drinkers and innocent people. Death can result from physical assault, illnesses, physical injuries, and road accidents. According to national surveys, some teenagers drink until they stop breathing or are alcohol-poisoned while others drink and drive. A 2015 survey by Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported that 8% of youth drove after drinking while 20% rode with a drunk driver. Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to report alcohol-impaired driving than non-binge drinkers. In 2014, about 9,967 people died due to alcohol-impaired driving which is equivalent to 31% of traffic-related deaths in the United States. Young drivers who drink and drive are 17 times more likely to die in a road accident than those who drive but have not been drinking.

If you or someone you know needs help call PEER Services at 847-492-1778 www.peerservices.org

References

Butler Katy, (2006) “The Grim Neurology of Teenage Drinking” The New York Times. Web. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/health/04teen.html

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), (n.d) “Fact Sheets - Underage Drinking” web. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), (n.d) “Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking” Web https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm

Squeglia, L. M., Jacobus, J., & Tapert, S. F. (2009). The Influence of Substance Use on Adolescent Brain Development. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience : Official Journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS), 40(1), 31–38.

Susan F. Tapert, Lisa Caldwell, and Christina Burke, (n.d) “Alcohol and the Adolescent Brain—Human Studies” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Web. https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh284/205-212.htm

Tara, Haelle, (2015) “Alcohol can rewire the teenage brain” Science News For Students.