Young People and Addiction

It’s difficult to know when a young person who’s drinking heavily or using drugs on a regular basis is simply partying too much with friends or has an addiction problem. Parents are faced with the problem of underage drinking and the fact that illegal drugs can cause legal problems, yet, many parents want to keep an open mind and not be too strict with their teenagers. Another concern is addiction. Yes, young people can become addicted to alcohol and drugs. Sometimes, young people become addicted quickly and great damage is caused. This is from NIH:

Many people begin to drink alcohol during adolescence and young adulthood. Alcohol consumption during this developmental period may have profound effects on brain structure and function. Heavy drinking has been shown to affect the neuropsychological performance (e.g., memory functions) of young people and may impair the growth and integrity of certain brain structures. Furthermore, alcohol consumption during adolescence may alter measures of brain functioning, such as blood flow in certain brain regions and electrical brain activities. Not all adolescents and young adults are equally sensitive to the effects of alcohol consumption, however. Moderating factors—such as family history of alcohol and other drug use disorders, gender, age at onset of drinking, drinking patterns, use of other drugs, and co-occurring psychiatric disorders—may influence the extent to which alcohol consumption interferes with an adolescent’s normal brain development and functioning.

It’s difficult for adolescents, and even their parents, to believe that drinking can cause such serious damage at such a young age. Young people tend to think they’re invincible and that normal rules of reality don’t apply to them. Parents see their kids as normal and healthy, and they want to give them the benefit of the doubt, overlooking “partying” as a part of growing up. In most cases the young person is not at high risk, but even moderate drinking can create problems if immature, undeveloped teenagers are acting in public with their judgment impaired from mood-altering substances. Parents should understand what young people are doing when it comes to alcohol and drugs — it can be low risk experimentation, or it can be the beginning of addiction that leads to very serious consequences.

Society should never be afraid to face the reality and possibility of young people and addiction– it’s a condition, and the more adolescents are educated regarding the risks, the easier it’ll be if they ever have to receive treatment. What makes treating teenagers so difficult is that society doesn’t want to fully accept and face the reality of addiction without shame and stigma. Parents would not normally refuse to face and talk about most other medical conditions. The possibility of addiction is real, and what happens to the brain when alcohol and other drugs are introduced is explained by science — denying reality and science is never helpful and always has consequences.