Binge drinking is a common occurrence among teenagers; and more dangerous than people might realize.
Binge drinking is the consumption of dangerously large quantities of alcoholic beverages in one session, or more specifically, it means having five or more drinks on one occasion. A person who engages in binge drinking might not consider them selves a heavy drinker or an alcoholic because they only "drink once in awhile." A binge drinker might say that they are a "social drinker" or "party-drinker" and do not drink at other times. While this might be true, the amount of alcohol that is consumed at these social or special occasions is still considered "binge drinking." Teens are not exempt from this, and in fact might be more susceptible to binge drinking than adults.
Studies show that more than 35 percent of adults with an alcohol problem developed symptoms""such as binge drinking""by age 19. Recently released studies highlight the problem of binge drinking among college students, but binging isn't unique to them. It's also a problem with high school students, including those as young as eighth grade. Binge drinking is part of the social milieu on weekends for American adolescents. It's how partying is defined. But, the brains and bodies of teens are still developing, and alcohol use can cause learning problems, or make adult alcoholism more likely. People who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin at age 21. A nationwide survey reports that 13 percent of eighth-graders, 25 percent of 10th-graders, and 30 percent of 12th-graders said they had had five or more drinks in one sitting in the two weeks prior to the survey. Actual consumption could be more. Parents should know that any kid today who drinks is at risk for binging.
Alcohol accounts for half of all adolescent deaths. It also increases the incidence of date rape, fights, and motor vehicle accidents. Teenagers who drink are more likely to become dependent on alcohol faster than adults because the teenage brain is not fully formed. The younger a teenager is when he begins to drink, the greater the risk for alcoholism. For young teens, there usually is some degree of "normal" drinking before a first binge; with older students, a binge can be the first drinking experience. Although parents typically imagine binges happen at parties, a binge is just as likely to happen with two or three people as with ten.
The greatest danger from binges may be that teenagers don't think they are dangerous. They're at a stage of development where they don't see long-term consequences. Teenagers might not they think that four, five or more drinks constitute a problem. However, the truth is that this form of drinking is more dangerous than people realize because drinking large amounts of alcohol at one time or very rapidly can cause alcohol poisoning, which can lead to coma or even death.
There are several reasons why teenagers say they start drinking: boredom, curiosity, a wish to be more grown up, or because their parents do. What young drinkers all have in common, however, is available liquor, usually from an older teenager or a parent's cabinet; a lack of supervision, especially when both parents work; and a friend who's game. It's not that peers actively lobby each other to drink. Rather, teenagers tend to assume that the behavior of their own peers is what's normal, so the pressure they feel is internal. A lot of kids who binge look around to see what others are doing.
Teenage drinking is a problem with teenagers all over America. Teenagers are drinking at a very early age""55 percent of sixth graders have tried alcohol, 75 percent of eighth graders have tried alcohol, and 90 percent of tenth graders have tried alcohol. Almost all senior high school students are involved some way with alcohol""92 percent have tried alcohol, 60 percent are regular monthly users of alcohol, 33 percent are involved with binge drinking at least once every two weeks, and 4 percent of high school seniors drink daily.
Even though 17 percent of drivers are ages 16-24 they create 36 percent of all alcohol related fatal car crashes. Teenagers that drink alcohol are also more likely to have sex; as a result of this, 10 percent of women ages 15-19 get pregnant and 3 million teens every year get a sexually transmitted disease. A teenager who has drunk alcohol and smoked cigarettes in the last month is 30 times more like to smoke pot than a teenager that has not. Teenagers that have drunk alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and smoke pot are 16 times more likely to use hard drugs such as cocaine, heroine, and LSD.
The average age when youth first try alcohol is 11 years for boys and 13 years for girls. According to research by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, adolescents who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21. It has been estimated that over three million teenagers are out-and-out alcoholics. Several million more have a serious drinking problem that they cannot manage on their own. The three leading causes of death for 15- to 24-year-olds are automobile crashes, homicides and suicides""alcohol is a leading factor in all three.
