NO ONE TREATS LIQUOR LIKE A DRUG

Alcohol is treated so casually in our society that most teens never think about the consequences of drinking a few beers, glasses of wine, or even hard liquor every once in a while. "You wouldn't call a few friends and ask them to come over and do drugs," said Lisa, mother of two teens. "But you would invite them to a wine and cheese party. Young people don't view alcohol as a potentially lethal drug because most adults don't."

For parents, it's important to understand how teens think about drinking and why many of them drink to excess. Rebellion, peer pressure, curiosity, even boredom drive binge drinking, but the biggest enemy may be ignorance.

A study by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2004, found that one third of young people surveyed do not understand the intoxicating effects of alcohol and don't think there is a big risk to binge drinking. According to the SAMHSA 2004 survey,

• 10.8 million young people between the ages of 12-20 (28.7%) had consumed alcohol within the past month

• 7.4 million (19.6%) of these were binge drinkers

• 2.4 million of these were heavy drinkers

• Only a little over a third (38.1%) of those surveyed understood that binge drinking could be highly dangerous

LIQUOR AND THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN

Teens are still growing, as any parent with an empty refrigerator well knows. In addition, teen brains continue to grow and develop until age 20. Studies on the brains of adolescent rats (humans could not be used for this experiment) show that the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning, can be permanently damaged from too much alcohol. As with any drug, too much alcohol can damage developing brain mechanisms.

Blackouts - not remembering what happened during a drinking binge, appear to be more common in young drinkers. In a recent survey of college students, half of those who drank confessed to at least one blackout in their lives.

Many teens use alcohol to relieve stress, reduce anxiety, and improve their mood. Says Susan Duron, PhD., co-author of the National Education Association's "Can We Talk About Drugs?" parent training program, "Young people need to learn life's important lessons about dealing with stress by facing difficult situations clearheaded and sober. By depending on alcohol as a coping mechanism, young people do not learn how to cope in a healthy manner."

TALK ABOUT DRINKING EARLY, AND KEEP TALKING

If you don't talk about alcohol - especially if you drink yourself - your child can never learn from your mistakes. Your opinion and your personal experiences really count. You need only a few minutes to start a talk, perhaps during a drive to the store, a walk in the mall, or at the dinner table. You can open the floor for questions by citing something you've seen on television or read in the paper. Help your child see both sides of alcohol use, and the specific effects on a young person.

• Explain why you drink (if you do) and how much.

• Talk about your family rules (spoken or unspoken) about alcohol when you were growing up.

• Describe the sensations and effect you get from alcohol.

• Explain why alcohol affects young people very differently than adults, especially when they have no experience with the feelings alcohol brings on.

• Talk about how much is too much. When does alcohol use become misuse?

• Talk about peer influences that support binge drinking.

• Assure your teen that you are open to discuss anything and everything about drinking.

• Remind your teens that underage drinking is illegal and there are severe consequences to those who serve minors as well as minors themselves.

• Encourage your child to find friends who don't drink.

• Model the ability to deal with stress, anger, insecurity, and other emotions without drinking.

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Issue: October 2007