Early Drinking Linked to Alcoholism

By Kia Wakefield

When researchers with the University of Washington wanted to find out if teen and adolescent drinking could lead to alcoholism and bad decision-making later in life, they used rats in an experiment.

• Over a period of 20 days, the research team gave one group of young, adolescent rats gelatin shots of alcohol, and gave another group of rats nonalcoholic treats.
• Several weeks later when the rats were considered adults they gave the rats two choices. The rats could push a lever that spit out two sugary treats, or push another lever that gave them either four yummy pellets or possibly nothing at all.
• The rats that drank as adolescents were much more likely to push the lever that had the possibility of dispensing nothing at all. These rats were more inclined to make a risky choice.
• The non-alcohol rats consistently chose the lever that would give out consistent rewards.

Human adolescents behave similar to the rats used in the experiments. There is a neurobiological link between alcohol abuse early in life and bad decisions that are made in adulthood.
   
The region of the brain that is responsible for decision-making takes time to develop. This development continues during adolescence, which is why alcohol use can impact decision-making later in life. Teenage brains have the potential to be permanently changed by alcohol use. Dr. Karen Norber reported that the frequency and intensity of drinking in late adolescence could have long-term effects on adult substance use.

Preventing Teen Drinking   

In the United States, where the legal age to drink is 21, researchers believe that delaying the legal use of alcohol is one key to preventing substance abuse in the future of children.

Researchers have discovered that when individuals could legally purchase alcohol before the age of 21, they were more inclined to have drinking and drug problems later on in life. The lower the drinking age, the more likely an individual will experience problems with drugs and alcohol in the future.
   
Even if early drinking didn’t increase risk factors later in life there is no denying the immediate risks that are associated with adolescent alcohol abuse. Alcohol affects self-control and depresses the central nervous system. This will lower an individual’s inhibitions and impair judgment.
   
Adolescent alcohol abuse can also lead to binge drinking later in life. Binge drinking is defined as having more than five drinks on one occasion. More than 35 percent of alcoholic adults were binge drinking by the age of 19.
   
Parental Drinking

According to the medial news website ScienceDaily, parental drinking plays a significant role in early drinking by adolescents. Parents who drink directly influence their adolescent children. When the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics examined the relationship between the drinking behavior of parents and their children they discovered that there was little question that a drinking parent influenced alcohol use.

In addition to influencing adolescents’ early alcohol abuse, parental drinking also affects a person’s ability to parent responsibly. Parental alcohol use, intoxication, and other problems related to substance abuse are far from healthy behaviors, and can lead to a range of problems within the family.

Other Influences

Parental drinking isn’t the only thing that may influence a child to start drinking. Marketing efforts such as alcohol-branded apparel is also linked to early drinking. Children who wear hats, t-shirts, or other items that promote alcoholic beverages are much more likely to start drinking and become binge drinkers.

In the United States, roughly three million adolescents own alcohol-branded merchandise. The most common merchandise owned by adolescents with alcohol branding is clothing, hats, key chains, posters, pens, and shot glasses.

It is critical that the early initiation of alcohol use is prevented. Each day, 5,000 children under the age of 16 start drinking. Children that start drinking this young are four times more likely to abuse alcohol as an adult and become alcohol-dependent. They are also much more likely to be involved in alcohol related violence or car accidents.

Alcohol continues to be the main drug of choice among youth, and underage drinking is a prominent public health problem.

Although more than one million adolescents meet the criteria of alcohol dependence and abuse, many never receive treatment. It is vital that young people who suffer from alcoholism get the help they need in order to lead healthy drug-free lives.