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Phone no: 9779851180527 or email us: info@silvercrown.com.np
It is proposed that using information about differences between youth and adults will be helpful in directing future etiologic and intervention research by capitalizing on unique biological, psychological, and social factors that may affect the success of efforts to reduce alcohol use among early adolescents and youth. Although problem drinking may represent a transient phase in the lives of many adolescents, for others it can have profound and life-altering effects. Adolescence is now recognized as a period of continued neurologic development, and the adolescent brain may be especially vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol, especially given the typical ways in which youths drink. Problem drinking in late adolescence is directly linked to increased risk of an AUD in early adulthood. Less clear is how problem drinking influences other life outcomes, including risk for mental health problems and social achievement. Although there have been some notable successes, most efforts to treat and/or to prevent adolescent drinking have had limited success.
No study focusing on gender differences in the association between SES and early alcohol consumption was found. National household data reveal distinct differences in patterns of alcohol use between early adolescents and youth and adults with regard to number of drinking days per month and usual number of drinks per occasion (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] 2006). Adolescents (summed across ages 12–20) reported 6 drinking days per month on average, whereas young adults (ages 21–25) reported an average of 8 days per month, and adults (ages 26 or older) reported almost 9 days per month. However, adolescents reported an average of 5 drinks per occasion, compared with 4 drinks for young adults and 3 drinks for adults. Hence, drinking among adolescents is less frequent than for adults, but the amount consumed per occasion is considerably more, with average levels of drinking that meet criteria for binge or heavy episodic drinking.
By the three- to four-year follow up assessment, 328 youth were no/low drinkers, 120 were moderate drinkers and 100 were heavy drinkers (66). Moderate and heavy drinkers continued to exhibit altered neurodevelopmental trajectories, including accelerated cerebellar gray matter declines, white matter expansion, and cerebrospinal fluid volume expansion relative to controls. Recent U.S. historical trends regarding alcohol use among early adolescents and youth have indicated significant reductions in use that have been paralleled by substantial reductions in alcohol-related traffic fatalities among youth. These trends are positive and suggest that our efforts to modify early adolescent and youth drinking through intervention programs and alcohol policies are yielding valuable gains. Nevertheless, the epidemiologic data still indicate serious problems with alcohol use among early adolescents and youth, with the prevalence of binge drinking, drunkenness, drinking and driving, and driving with someone who has been drinking still at high levels. Sexual-minority youth are at particularly high risk for alcohol misuse, and adolescence is a critical phase in development for establishing personal and sexual identity.
The sample included all students in the selected classes, who were present on the day of questionnaire completion and who agreed to fill it in. In all selected classes, 87.0% of the students agreed to participate and eventually completed the questionnaire. Read about the mental health challenges facing teenagers at Healthline and Psych Central’s Youth In Focus series, which shares useful tips, resources, and support.
Researchers are also beginning to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive training as a prevention initiative for adolescent substance use (146–148), although early findings suggest this method may need to be supplemented with a substance use prevention program (149). Sexual orientation and the development of a sexual identity become especially prominent following puberty, with the occurrence of developmental tasks related to establishing a sense of personal and sexual identity, peer selection and socialization, and the initiation and escalation of romantic relationships. Relative to the longer-term study of sexual orientation how to open an inmates halfway house in 2023 business plan and alcohol use among adults, large-scale epidemiologic findings of adolescent sexual orientation and alcohol use have a relatively brief history. Nevertheless, several recent studies have yielded consistent findings with regard to sexual orientation and substance use, including alcohol use. Marshal and colleagues (2008) conducted a meta-analysis of existing studies on adolescent sexual orientation and substance use and reported that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth reported substance use at almost twice the rate of heterosexual youth and that subgroups at particularly high risk were bisexuals and sexual-minority females.
Determining how adolescent alcohol use may lead to overt cognitive and behavioral deficits is critical, and early structural and functional brain changes may help us understand this relationship. Studies have consistently reported accelerated decreases in gray matter volume and attenuated white matter growth of the frontal and temporal lobes, with poorer white matter integrity throughout related networks (65–73). The frontal lobe is thought to be critical for higher-order cognitive control, and the temporal lobe plays an important role in learning and memory (88, 89). Likewise, neuropsychological studies demonstrate a possible dose-dependent response of alcohol use on executive functioning ability (53, 55) and learning and memory (54, 60, 61). Preliminary functional neuroimaging and neurophysiological research complements findings from neuropsychological and structural neuroimaging studies; transitions into heavy alcohol use and binge drinking result in increased neural activation in fronto-parietal regions during executive functioning and attentional control tasks (79, 80, 85–87).
Neurogenesis involves formation of new neurons and integration into functional neural networks, which is a critical component of nervous system development (128). Repeated alcohol use in adolescence, but not adulthood, decreases neurogenesis (129), and such changes may be evident long after alcohol use has stopped (129–131). One suggestion is the suppression of neurotrophins, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is a regulator of the survival and differentiation of newly generated neurons. Adolescent alcohol use appears to decrease BDNF expression in the hippocampus and interrupts neurogenesis (132–135). Further evidence of the role of BDNF in neurogenesis disruption comes from a study where a BDNF agonist was administered to male rodents previously exposed to alcohol (133).
Adolescents are less sensitive than adults to many of the intoxicating alcohol effects that serve as cues to stop drinking, such as alcohol’s motor-impairing, sedative, social-inhibiting, and hangover-inducing effects (117). Comparatively, adolescents are more sensitive than adults to desirable consequences of low levels of alcohol use, including social facilitation and rewarding effects (117). Rodent studies show that as adults, former adolescent alcohol-exposed animals still exhibit ‘adolescent-like’ insensitivities to alcohol’s motor-impairing, sedative, and taste aversive effects (118–120), while retaining adolescent-typical increased sensitivities to alcohol’s rewarding effects (119, 121). Another set of studies demonstrated that youths who drank heavily exhibited greater brain activation while viewing alcohol advertisements25,52-54 than while viewing ads for nonalcoholic beverages.52 Adolescents are exposed to alcohol advertising materials on a daily basis in many countries.
The neuroscience research indicates that this phenomenon of heightened sensitivity to reward is unique to adolescence and does not occur in childhood or adulthood (Galvan 2010; Spear 2011). Spear summarized research conducted with adolescent rats supporting not only heightened sensitivity to the rewarding effects of alcohol but also to the facilitation of social behavior by alcohol, thereby contributing to rewarding effects of alcohol in social contexts. She further proposed that such reward-oriented propensities during adolescence may contribute to adolescents’ differential evaluation of the costs and benefits of alcohol use compared with individuals at other ages (i.e., adolescents would estimate that alcohol use has greater benefits and fewer costs). Several studies have examined the normative trajectory of alcohol use/problems during adolescence and early adulthood by using growth models representing the level (intercepts) and rate of change over time (slopes). In seeking to understand youth development and alcohol involvement, it is important to consider all dimensions of functioning, because the interrelated cognitive, biological, social, and affective changes that occur during adolescence not only affect each another but also influence an individual’s risk of problem drinking.
In 2022, reported use of any illicit drug within the past year remained at or significantly below pre-pandemic levels for all grades, with 11% of eighth graders, 21.5% of 10th graders, and 32.6% of 12th graders reporting any illicit drug use in the past year. Alcohol use among adolescents is heterogeneous, ranging from low, normative use to heavy, pathological use. Alcohol is the most frequently used substance, as it is generally the easiest for adolescents to access (33). The average age of initiation for alcohol use among US and Australian adolescents is 15 years (34, 35). Across Europe, most adolescents begin drinking alcohol between ages 12 and 16, with 25% of adolescents in this region first consuming alcohol by age 13 (36). The worldwide estimate of adolescents (age 15–19) who drank alcohol in the past month is 27%, ranging from 1 to 44% across countries (Figure 1; 33).
In addition, CMS is working closely with state Medicaid agencies to ensure compliance with the Early, Periodic, Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit that requires state to provide children and adolescents access to all medically necessary care including care for mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Research has focused on how brain development may influence adolescent alcohol use and vice versa—that is, how alcohol use may influence the developing brain. Although overall brain size achieves its peak in early childhood, maturational changes in brain cortical volume, axonal growth, and refinement of cortical connections (e.g., via synaptic “pruning”) continue, especially with regard to the limbic system, including the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex (Bava and Talpert 2010). These brain systems are involved in a broad range of cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes (e.g., learning, decision making, impulsivity) that, in turn, influence alcohol use and other co-occurring problems (e.g., risky sexual behavior). Intoxicating substances like alcohol have a much greater impact on developing brains compared to adult brains.
However, it’s still a good idea to reach out to them — regardless of the cause of their behavior, they may need guidance and support. Recognizing AUD in teenagers isn’t always easy, but it can be the first step in offering them the support they need. This study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse R25 DA (Back and Brady), U01 DA (Squeglia and Gray); and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism R01AA (Gray and Squeglia), K23 AA (Squeglia), and K12 HD (Tomko). There currently is limited evidence to suggest that 12-step programs are effective as standalone treatments; however, much like MI/MET, it may be an effective component of a more comprehensive approach to treatment.
If you’re trying to start a conversation with your teen because you think they may be using drugs, their response to being confronted will determine how you’ll need to approach the conversation. Nurturing that connection with them includes being involved in their lives and having open, honest communication. The American Academy of Pediatrics 7 ways to have fun at parties as the only sober person (AAP) recommends that teens be screened at each annual medical exam appointment with questionnaires that ask them about substance use and their knowledge of the risks. Here are some of the key statistics from the Monitoring the Future survey, which has been tracking youth substance use in the United States for over 40 years.
Although the studies varied considerably in terms of ages, waves, measures, and analytic strategies, several common trajectory groups were found across the studies (Table 3). The most commonly observed trajectory subgroup included abstainers, light drinkers, or very rarely heavy drinkers across all time periods assessed. Across studies, estimates are that approximately one third of adolescents and emerging adults fall into this group.79 Together, these 2 broad categories, which include relatively low-risk drinkers, include a large proportion of all young people. Late adolescence (ie, years of age) is a period characterized by escalation of drinking and alcohol use problems for many and by the onset of an alcohol use disorder for some. This heightened period of vulnerability is a joint consequence of the continuity of risk from earlier developmental stages and the unique neurologic, cognitive, and social changes that occur in late adolescence.
Further research therefore is needed to confirm whether any relationship between early alcohol use and family structure exists. Changes to brain structures are the most difficult to treat; however, among adolescents who drink too much, damage to the endocrine system and the liver can lead to long-term, understanding constipation after quitting drinking chronic health issues. Alcohol is known to damage the liver if a person consumes a lot of alcohol for months or years, so adolescents who abuse this substance are at much greater risk for liver-related problems, including alcoholic hepatitis, fatty liver, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
Among early adolescents and youth, alcohol use commonly co-occurs with other substance use and problem behaviors (Biglan et al. 2004). Furthermore, with new alcohol and tobacco products being created and marketed to early adolescents and youth, the field of alcohol research must consider the impact of recent historical events and trends manifested in related areas of substance use. Other programs that may offer treatment support include the National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health (NACBH) and the federal Health and Human Services Department (HHS), Office of Adolescent Health; this federal department provides online information specifically about adolescent alcohol abuse, with a list of treatment resources. Other medical research has found that the prefrontal cortex is especially hit hard if an adolescent drinks while that brain region is developing. This region is involved in working memory, voluntary physical movements, impulse control, learning social cues and rules, spatial reasoning, long-term planning, and decision-making.
