Teen Drinking

teenager drinking

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Parents who are both present and engaged are the very best way of preventing teenagers from consuming large quantities of alcohol. Adolescents who smoke, stay out with their friends and have access to alcohol – from their parents, for example – when they are as young as 13 are at greater risk of becoming binge drinkers in their late teens, reveals a new thesis from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

“Initiatives that focus on strengthening the parent-child relationship and limiting parental provision of alcohol can prove effective in limiting risky consumption among adolescents,” says Anna-Karin Danielsson from the Department of Public Health Sciences. “Parents also play an important role when it comes to teaching young people how to resist peer pressure to drink.”
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© iStock

Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have behavioural and attention problems and suffer from anxiety and depression, a team led by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has reported.

The team’s study was based on a survey of nearly 9000 Norwegian teenagers aged 13-19 years and was published in the online journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. Fully 80 per cent of the teenagers said they had tried alcohol, while 29 per cent said they had been drunk more than 10 times in their lives.

Boys who drank frequently were more likely to report conduct problems, while girls who drank frequently reported attention and conduct problems, along with depression and anxiety. [continue reading…]

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© iStock

Here’s a pretty worrying statistic a new national study 1 in 5 young adults need treatment for alcohol or illicit drug use. The study also showed that 1 in 10 young adults needing treatment receive it.

Nearly 7 million Americans aged 18 to 25 were classified as needing treatment in the past year for alcohol or illicit drug use according to a new national study.  The study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also shows that that 93 percent of these young adults did not receive the help they needed at a specialty treatment facility.  These levels have remained relatively stable since 2002. [continue reading…]