Teen Alcohol Addiction

They stimulate parts of the brain, killing off others for short term, artificial highs. For every up there is a down, and for every high, there is irreparable damage to the brain. Adolescents are at an important crossroad in the development of their brains. Their brains are working overtime to develop important reasoning, critical thinkings, and decision making skills for later life. Teenagers who use drugs halt the progress their brain makes on these fronts, and are bound to remain irresponsible and teenager-like well into adulthood. This is the cause of crime in our society. When people use drugs, they can no longer make the decisions necessary to understand the consequences of their actions. This causes people to self-destruct and cause harm to themselves and their personal

A recent study from Yale University suggests that drug is a development disorder, one that affects teens in particular. The reason for this is certain areas of teens brains that control impulsive behavior are not fully formed. During adolescence, the human brain begins to release more chemicals affiliated with new experiences and the desire to repeat them. Areas of the brain that adults use to think about the risks of behaviors are still developing in teens. The bottom line is this, teenagers are more likely to experiment with drugs than any other age group.

Every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash. A dangerous issue facing society today is the problem of teen drinking and driving. Currently an approximate of 10,076 people die in drunk driving crashes per year. If positive progress to ceasing this act does not happen, teens will continue to drink and drive putting everybody on the road at risk. Teens who drink and drive put everyone on the road at risk, causing serious crashes that could be preventable.

Many teenagers between the ages of 12-18 are exposed or already on their way to addiction to substances that are not good for our mental or physical health. Many teens experiment with drugs but aren’t addicted. According to addictioncenters.com “teen drug abuse can have long term cognitive and behavioural effects since the teenage brain is still developing.” A study also shows that half of all new drug users are under 18. This is because our brains are still seeking the “thrill” and temptation of substances. Other common reasons are curiosity, peer pressure, stress, emotional struggles and wanting a escape. Thankfully drug use among teens, despite popular opinion are significantly decreasing. The teenage brain is very immature. By doing drugs as a teen you are at a greater risk for being an addicted adult.

For my research project I decided to look at binge drinking in teens. Binge drinking interested me because so many teenagers drink alcohol when they go out and don’t know what consequences it has on the body. Binge drinking is the consumption of an unreasonable amount of alcohol in a short period of time. I have chosen to research ‘What are the psychological and physiological effects of binge drinking in teens?’. I chose this question because I wanted to inform myself and other teens on the effects of binge drinking. The research methods used throughout my research were internet articles and a survey.

The reason why most teens are abusing drugs is because they want to experiment and try new things. Also, teenage years are the most difficult because that is the time you want to make new friends and be cool. Teenagers are more susceptible to peer pressure. Another way it relates to psychology is that in certain situations people react differently especially in times of trauma. Some people become depressed which leads them to being addicted to drugs because they want to escape their issues. As you can see addiction of drugs and psychology are very

This review was written and conducted by Thomas Marcotte, Nicole Bekman, Rachel Meyer, and Sandra Brown. The title of the review is, “High-Risk Driving Behaviors among Adolescent Binge Drinkers”, and was published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (2012). The authors hypothesize that adolescent binge drinkers is are non-compliant of graduated license laws, engage in high-risk driving behaviors, and have more negative driving outcomes (crashes, traffic tickets), more than nondrinking adolescents. The participants were California residents between the ages of 16 and 18 years old and were recruited from different school districts as part of a longitudinal study. Altogether, there was a total of 38 participants. A total of

There is no simple answer to why a young person might begin using alcohol or other drugs. Many times, it is a combination of several factors, including society, family and peers. They may turn to drugs to escape stress or loneliness or to overcome shyness in social situations. They may want to be seen as grown up or as a risk taker. Or, they may simply be curious. Teens often want to be like their role models as well. So, if their favorite music group, older sibling, parents or a "cool" peer at school uses drugs or alcohol, they may also use drugs or alcohol to emulate their role model(s).

Many people who use drugs try it to cope with stress or anxiety, but after the effect of the drugs wear off they may feel much worse than before. Helping people find healthy ways to deal with stress may be one way to reduce the amount of drug addicts. (Butler Center for Research) Another thing to be aware of is a family history of substance abuse, you might try drugs with friends and feel addicted to the drug after the first use your friend might be perfectly fine. Also persuading the youth to stay away from drugs is a key in prevention. “Research indicates that adolescence who begin drinking or doing drugs before age 14 are significantly more likely to experience alcohol or drug dependence at some point later on in their lives compared to individuals who begin drinking after 21 years of age.” (Butler Center for Research) Strong family bonds and proactive parenting can play a big role in helping keep teens away from drugs and alcohol.

It starts at a young age, parents telling their kids what they can and can’t do. No matter what parents think, kids are going to do what they want despite how many times you tell them not to do it. In the end, the best you can hope for as a parent is that giving kids the information they need to make the right decision will prevent a disaster. Teens have to make decisions every day that could potentially affect the rest of their lives. Bending to peer pressure like whether or not to take drugs or a drink alcohol is something most teens will encounter early on. In the following paper I will discuss aspects and consequences of not only drinking but driving while under the influence as well.

The most immense reason teens start utilizing these drugs is because their friends were pressured through peer pressure. No one desires to be left out, and teens (and some adults, too) find themselves trying things they normally wouldn’t try, just to fit in with the crowd. In these cases, you either look for better friends that won’t pressure you to do irrational things, or find a reasonable way to say no. Teens should plan an exit strategy or plan ahead of time, to resist from giving into temptation. These teens become victims to peer pressure due to the fear of being insulted by making them feel deprived for not doing something, that they eventually do it.  Pressuring them by telling them why they should do it and the fear of rejection by

Some teenagers go through a depression stage with confusion and loneliness, some even consider harming themselves or taking drugs to cope with the depression. Some teenagers go through a period of stupid, reckless behavior. Some teenagers go through a period when drug addiction overrules their lives. When teens get peer pressured into taking drugs they think it will be cool, but throughout their addictive period they get involved with bad people. Research has shown that it take about 11 seconds after a teen takes a drug and they can be addicted. Teenagers have very high chances of addiction. Young people grasp things very quickly and can easily get addicted to things quicker, because their minds are constantly growing and it speeds up their learning process. According to the article, "Experts Link Brains' Immaturity, Juvenile Crime", Juveniles are more vulnerable and susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure. This peer pressure often comes from a persons closest friends. During the development of a teen brain it matures and grows. People overcome challenges in adulthood by remembering choices they made during their teenage years and what those choices led them

In the article, Smoking is the leading cause, I learned that “Cigarettes are accountable for 480,00 deaths annually compared to 88,000 a year from alcohol. The enormous gap in the death toll makes it unclear as to why it is legal to smoke at eighteen but not to drink. It is very hypocritical to allow smoking and ban liquor because cigarettes are more harmful than alcohol. This is because “[T]obacco smoke contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds are toxic. About 70 are known to cause cancer” which can be found in an article called “Smoked tobacco products”. These toxins are dispensed into the air, polluting it, and affecting the wellbeing of not only the smoker but for anyone around the smoker as well. Alcohol, on the

Teen alcoholism is a big problem in the United States and has not been resolved or at least no actions have been made to improve the situation, every year the numbers are still increasing and is getting worse. The rate of teen alcoholism increases every year. Therefore the United States government needs to establish more educational classes, alcohol abuse programs and set up more counseling for teenagers.

It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.