The Rising Alcohol Addiction among Teens

The use, as well as the abuse of alcohol among teens, is fast increasing. It is believed that approximately 50% of junior and senior high teens drink alcohol on a monthly basis.  “Binge drinking”, is a growing concern with the teen generation.  The most popular type of binge drinking is the consecutive drinks of 5 to 6 at one sitting. Whatever the case, teenage alcohol consumption is a very dangerous activity, one that must be eliminated if possible.

There are serious consequences that go hand in hand with teen drinking. One such aspect is a decrease in an individual’s attention span. This can consume the teen with adverse effects pertaining to schoolwork, and jobs, as well as relationships.  The younger that an individual experiments with the intake of alcohol, the more chance that problems will arise later on in life with respect to alcohol and its addictive powers. Alcohol is responsible for many automobile accidents, and it has been proven that around 2000 people   under the age of 21 are killed in alcohol based auto accidents each year. Alcohol can also cause many emotional and mental problems, especially when used on a regular basis. Eighth grade girls are 3 times more likely to commit suicide when they engage in heavy drinking than non drinkers of the same age.  Teen drinking not only leads to the use of tobacco and drugs, but also illicit and unprotected sex that can result in pregnancy. This is yet another reason that teen pregnancy is on the rise.

Parents can help to prevent their teens from drinking by keeping the lines of communication open.  Teens who participate in extracurricular activities have less free time to devote to illicit behavior, including that of alcohol drinking, than do other young individuals who have a lot of excess time on their hands.  Most of drinking or negative behavior takes place after school between the hours of 3PM and 6 PM when parents are still at work or a getting   ready for dinner. This is a time that teens are not supervised or suspected of behaving in a negative manner.

Those young  individuals  who actively participate in church activities, communicate with their parents, and are taught good morals from a young age are less likely to have a problem with alcohol or any other substance addiction problems, than  do  others.