Alcoholism In Teens

It is common knowledge that some teenagers use drugs and some become addicted. When the behavior is looked at closely, we find that teenage alcoholism exists in some. These individuals can be solely alcoholics rather than others who are also addicted to other drugs found in our culture. That shouldn’t surprise us when we see alcohol as one of the drugs teens use. Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by teenagers. About half of junior and senior high school students drink alcohol on a monthly basis, and 14% of teens have been intoxicated at least once in the past year.

Why do teens drink? “According to the 2007 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study of 6,511 teens, the number one reason teens see for using alcohol/drugs is to deal with the pressures and stress of school. In this national study, 73 percent of teens reported that school stress is the primary reason for drug use, indicating that teens’ perceptions of motivating factors for using drugs are dramatically different than past research has indicated.”

Family risk factors for teenagers developing drinking problems include low parent supervision or communication, family conflicts, poor parental discipline, and a family history of alcohol or drug abuse. Individual risk factors include problems managing impulses, emotional instability, thrill-seeking behaviors, and perceiving the risk of using alcohol to be low. Teenage peer pressure from other drinking teens tends to be strong.

As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “alcohol dependence is a negative pattern of alcohol use leading to a number of problems, which may include needing more alcohol to get intoxicated (tolerance), difficulties that occur when the effects of alcohol wear off (withdrawal), using more alcohol or for longer time than intended, and other life problems because of the use of alcohol.”

What are the symptoms of teens drinking? Some of the most common symptoms of alcohol abuse in teenagers include the smell of alcohol on their breath or body, mood swings, stealing, and changes in friends, lying, making excuses, breaking curfew, staying in their room, becoming verbally or physically abusive toward others, having items in their possession that are connected to alcohol use.

Adolescents may have established regular usage, have become preoccupied with getting intoxicated (“high”) and have developed problems in their social, educational, vocational, or family life as a result of using the substance. Teenage drinking and driving endangers not just the teenager, but other people as they become victim to the reckless teenage driving brought on by intoxication.

The final and most serious stage of alcohol or other drug use is defined by the youth feeling normal only when they are using. During this stage, risk-taking behaviors like stealing, engaging in physical fights, or driving while intoxicated increase, and they become most vulnerable to having suicidal thoughts.

These teens can change and put their drinking into manageable levels or even abstinence. Recovery may require that the whole family’s behavior to be looked at and evaluated as it relates to the teenager. This requires some change. For the teenager, new thinking needs to be introduced, healthier friends need to be found, and a few limits need to be applied. A stay in rehab may be in the teen’s future, but these facilities and their treatment approaches need to be evaluated before putting a teen in one. Furthermore, many support groups are available, but some are not going to be helpful, and some groups aren’t safe for minors. Some groups teach abstinence while others are centered on moderation.

To begin to understand all the options, start by visiting the largest online site containing non-12-step addiction articles, http://www.addictioninfo.org/. If you need help sorting all this out, I suggest visiting Marc Kern, Ph.D.’s website, http://www.habitdoc.com/, where one-to-one help is offered.

There is hope, teenagers do change, and so do their families.