November 1st, 2010
Risk Taking
Everyone has gone through the stage in life known as adult initiation which occurs between adolescence and adulthood. Times like these may be very hard, especially for those who only know certain ways to cope with it. During this time, our body goes through many different changes that, for some, have only heard about it in textbooks, then they find themselves have to deal with it when their very own body must go through these changes. Our body and mind change mentally, physically, and in many other ways. Researchers believe that underage drinking starts with puberty and other adolescent issues. Adolescence is a time of having new experiences and trying new activities that are geared towards socialization and conformity (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa59.htm). These “new activities” may place young individuals at risk for initiating and continuing alcohol consumption. Exposing the brain to alcohol during adolescence may interrupt key processes of brain development which may possibly lead to mild cognitive impairment, as well as, further escalate of drinking. (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa59.htm). The transitions that our bodies go through in life (i.e. puberty and increasing independence) have been associated with alcohol use; it seems that the whole adolescent experience can be a risk factor in and of itself. According to the U.S. Surgeon General approximately 5,000 individuals under the age of 21 die every year due to underage drinking from things like crashes, homicides, and suicides (http://www.dontserveteens.gov/dangers.html). Some of these deaths also are linked back to alcohol poisoning (http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm). 
The brain does not stop developing until a person gets into their twenties (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm). During this time, the brain is developing important things like establishing communication connections and refining its function. It has been found that the length of the developmental period can be used to explain why teens seek dangerous situations like illegal alcohol consumption. The reason why illegal alcohol consumption is seen as a dangerous situation is because when it occurs anything can happen (e.g. death, injuries, and etc.). The developmental changes that teens go through offers the possibility of a physiological explanation for why teens act so impulsive and do not recognize that their actions have consequences. Currently there is still research being done on the affects alcohol has on the brain. This may take some time to figure out because it is a very difficult process because changes in the brain may be difficult to see, but it may still have a large impact on ones long-term thinking and memory skills (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm). Although controlling illegal alcohol consumption is hard, we must remember that adolescent brains are still maturing. One of the misconceptions about alcohol and there effects on the brain is that data collected on the matter using animals apply to humans as well. For every year that a person delays to start of drinking, the risk of having alcohol dependence is reduced by a total of 14 percent (http://www.dontserveteens.gov/dangers.html). This seems to be true because the later one starts to drink the less the alcohol has on the individual’s brain because the brain continues to develop at around the age of twenty, as mentioned above.
Another risk that is taken is the possibility of having Personality Characteristics and Psychiatric comorbidity. Children who start consuming alcohol before the age of 12 share similar personality characteristics that may make them more likely to start drinking once they have tried it (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm). Young individuals who happen to have conduct problems or have anti-social behaviors (e.g. being disruptive, hyperactive, aggressive, depressed, withdrawn, or anxious) are those that may be at a greater risk to have alcohol problems. (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm). One thing that is not mentioned is that even though these youths may have some of these issues, there may be a reason behind why they possess these symptoms. Some of these symptoms may be a side effect to some medicine/drug that they are taking or they may be acting rebellious of the situation in their home life (i.e.: divorce). A divorce is never easy on children so this is why it is simple to see why an individual would be acting this way during this time with symptoms such as being depressed or withdrawn. Underage drinking may also be connected to their parent’s background. For example if a child has two parents that are recovering alcoholics then the chances of them growing up to participate in underage drinking is possible; this is seen as a hereditary factor which may be directly linked towards genetics (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm) Statics from the show that Children Of Alcoholics (COAs) are between 4 to10 times more likely to become alcoholics themselves than children who have no close relatives with alcoholism. (http://pubs.niaaa.nih. gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm). COAs are also more likely to begin drinking at a young age and to progress to drinking problems more quickly (http://pubs.niaaa.nih. gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm). The study on hereditary factors is still being developed and as soon as scientists gather more evidence and data on the matter the better. The other risk for consuming alcohol is liver damage which has been mentioned in health classes. The risk of additional growth and endocrine effects can be associated with underage drinking. When one drinks before or during puberty it may cause an imbalance in the needed amount for normal development of one’s organ, muscles, bones, and other reproductive system (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publication s/aa67/a a67.htm). This means that due to the poor decisions that these youth make they are going to facing some physical consequences for it.
There are other major risks involved with underage drinking which are unimaginable. The first major risk that affects our society is suicide. As mentioned above depression and other symptoms are associated with cause underage drinking which results in suicide. Suicide happens to be the third leading cause of death among teens and adults between the ages of 14 and 25 years old (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa59.htm). These symptoms mentioned above (i.e. depression and stress) contribute to an estimated 300 teen suicides that happen per year because of alcohol consumption (http://www.dontserveteens.gov/dangers.html). Suicide is a very serious act that is committed because of various problems, and getting help for these problems is only a phone call. High school students who decide to drink are twice as likely to seriously consider the act of committing suicide compared to the high school students who are nondrinkers (http://www.dontserveteens.gov/dangers.html). One of the arguments that can be used against suicide being a risk of underage drinking is that suicide can be done by anyone and alcohol simply puts the person under the influence. Even though this may be true that the person is under the influence research has shown that 37% of eighth grade females who drank heavily reported attempting suicide, compared with 11% who did not drink (http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teensandalcohol.html). In the end, it may be true that suicide just places someone under the influence, but it increases the chances of attempting suicide compared to those that did not consume alcohol.
Even though the previous listed consequences are risks of drinking the biggest one that hurts not only the individual but others in society is driving while under the influence. Even though this act is not only done by underage alcoholic users but also by many others others, the bottom line is that drinking is a problem in general. It may be a bigger risk for underage drinkers because they may not know how to drive or have much experience driving as opposed to a person that is over the age of 21. As I mentioned in my previous blog post car accidents are the leading cause of death in youth who are the ages 15 to 20 (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa59.htm). This shows that even though these teens think they are invincible they are not because car accidents are the leading cause of their fatalities. The rate for 16 to 20 year olds involved in fatal car crashes involving alcohol is more than twice the rate for those 21years old and older (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa59.htm). Drinking and driving is a very serious risk factor in general because it hurts so many individuals in the long run whether it be the alcohol user or the innocent person behind the wheel. There are many stories about people being killed by drunk drivers that it breaks my heart because individuals should be responsible for what they are doing and have a designated driver at all times and if they are under the legal age limit to drink then they should NOT be drinking or be anywhere near a vehicle. People who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence in their lives compared to those who have their first drink at the age of 20 or older (http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teensandalcohol.html). So a person’s life depends on when they begin to drink because the sooner one begins to drink the quicker one might become an alcoholic.
There are some other risk factors such as the teens who consume alcohol are more likely than the individuals that don’t drink to use another type of drug or even carry a weapon (http://www.dontserveteens.gov/dangers.html). Alcohol can be seen as a gateway drug to other drugs and other inappropriate behavior. If an individual was peer pressured into using alcohol chances are they are going to be forced into trying something else. When an individual begins to use other drugs this is when they may begin to act out and show rebellion towards everything in their lives. This can be linked back to an individual’s academic performance changing, not only that, but also their school life in general. An individual may start to fall behind in their academics, by having absences in school and possibly fighting and lack of participating in youth activities that others are in (http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm). This is seen all over because when I was in high school there was always the group of individuals that did not care about their grades, never came to school, and when they did come to school they ditched or ran straight home right after school. 
People may see underage drinking as not a big problem, but in reality it is becoming a very big problem. Individuals under the age of 21 that are drinking are making themselves more prone to having issues when they grow older. There are many risks to underage drinking and something needs to be done to stop it. Enforcing our laws and really cutting back on what we as a society do to fight underage drinking could be a start to fighting against it, and also making programs to fight against it, but there are already many programs. Maybe a suggestion to help the programs would be to make every high school in our state make these programs mandatory instead of optional. I will later go into depth on these programs but in the mean time do you have any suggestions on how to stop this abuse in our society?
References
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm
http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teensandalcohol.html
http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teensandalcohol.html
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