Frequent intake of alcohol can cause negative impacts on the brain regions that operate on one's memory, speech, learning, and visual and spatial thinking.
Parents might think that teen alcohol may not be that big of a deal compared to other teen issues nowadays, especially if they recall their own experiences and assume that some drinking is part of the teenage years. However, a pediatrician warns that if they look closer at what alcohol does to a child's developing brain, they would see that it is riskier than they thought.
According to pediatrician Wendy Hasson, it will be beneficial for everyone, especially parents, to understand that the human brain continues to develop until age 25. Thus, teens who frequently drink dangerously disrupt their brain development, causing serious neurological consequences.
Most of the time, experts find that adolescents who drink are low in their learning, speech, and memory skills, as well as visual and spatial cognition, compared to non-drinkers. This is because alcohol damages the brain areas responsible for these skills.
Negative effects on academics
The negative impact of alcohol on one's brain, along with its immediate effects on one's daily functions, explains why underage drinking creates serious difficulties in school.
Hassan pointed to the federal study by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (now known as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health) for evidence.
According to the study, alcohol problems are connected to lower grades, poor school attendance, and an increase in dropout rates. Teens who binge drink are four to six times more likely to skip classes than non-drinker students. Not only do they miss class, their school work is poor, they are reported to be disobedient, and they are also five times more likely to drop out of school. High school students who do not drink and take drugs scored higher on reading and math tests.
This is not an isolated case for middle and high schoolers only, as drinking and hangovers are reported to be the causes of college students missing class and falling behind in school work. Moreover, 40 percent of all academic problems in college are linked to drinking issues, and 28 percent of college students who choose to leave school before they get their degrees point to drinking as one of the culprits.
Negative effects on behavior
Hassan emphasized that alcohol also drastically changes the way one thinks and acts. Thus, it is linked to behaviors that can seriously cause harm to oneself and others.
She further stated alcohol consumption allows teens to have higher risks of engaging in premarital and unprotected sex, leading to sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
Teens under the influence of alcohol can also have a higher risk of physical and sexual violence and even unintentional injury-related deaths like car accidents involving drunk drivers.
Underage drinking can also lead to mental health risks such as depression and suicide.
The pediatrician sighted that the usual factors that motivate these teens to try drinking and eventually get addicted to it are peer pressure, stress caused by family history and environments, or bias and discrimination.
But here's the silver lining for parents to know.
Hassan wants to remind parents that kids care very much about what they say and think. They are more willing to discuss alcohol use with their parents if they can. The study revealed that parents are the first reason they avoid drinking.
Thus, parents need to embrace and be intentional with what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends to them - talk about underage drinking to kids as early and as often as possible.
Related Article: Do's and Don'ts to Follow When Parents Catch Teens Drinking Alcohol
