Alcohol’s Effect on Adolescents Alcohol can have catastrophic effects on the human body, especially when it comes to adolescents. According to Brown, adults would need to consume twice as many drinks to suffer the same alcohol related damages as adolescents (Underage Drinkers’ Risk of Brain Damage). The main reason is during adolescence the brain is still developing and maturing which allows the alcohol to have a more profound effect on adolescents (Ketcham 44). Therefore, adolescents are more vulnerable to alcohol induced impairment that affects reasoning, logic, and memory-skills later on in life. When it comes to the short-term effects of this drug, adults’ motor skills are more sensitive, which causes them to go to sleep earlier. Whereas,
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Results from a study indicate 44.9 percent of high school students reported drinking in the last 30 days (Miller). Several adolescents start drinking as early as 12 years old. Each year about 3.3 million children between ages twelve and seventeen will start drinking alcohol. As a result, the constant use of alcohol in adolescents is categorized as “America’s No. 1 public health problem” (Maney). The adolescent’s brain is still maturing and developing which allows alcohol to have a greater effect on adolescents by short circuiting the normal processes of development and leading to long-term problems with memory, learning, speech, mood, and personality (Ketcham 43). From images called SPECT scans we have learned that alcohol tends to shrink the brain. This occurs when alcohol is regularly consumed, blood vessels in the brain constrict, and brain activity slows down (Ketcham 78). Also, alcohol consumption at a young age may alter brain function such as blood flow in certain brain regions and electrical brain activity (Chen). When alcohol breaks down in the liver a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde is formed. This chemical destroys cells in the long-term …show more content…
During adolescences, the brain continues to grow and the interruption of alcohol during this period has a long-term impact on the brain function. Also, adolescence is the period of time when critical educational, occupational, and social decisions are made and the interruption of alcohol could substantially affect the adolescent’s future (Tapert). Teens also lack the judgment and coping skills to handle alcohol responsibly (Lawton 167). Alcohol is extremely risky for kids. The longer teens put off and delay alcohol use, the less likely they are to develop any of the problems that are associated with alcohol (Lawton 169). Alcohol damages and destroys adolescents’ brain, body, mental state, and causes violence, death, and delinquent behavior in
Results from a study indicate 44.9 percent of high school students reported drinking in the last 30 days (Miller). Several adolescents start drinking as early as 12 years old. Each year about 3.3 million children between ages twelve and seventeen will start drinking alcohol. As a result, the constant use of alcohol in adolescents is categorized as “America’s No. 1 public health problem” (Maney). The adolescent’s brain is still maturing and developing which allows alcohol to have a greater effect on adolescents by short circuiting the normal processes of development and leading to long-term problems with memory, learning, speech, mood, and personality (Ketcham 43). From images called SPECT scans we have learned that alcohol tends to shrink the brain. This occurs when alcohol is regularly consumed, blood vessels in the brain constrict, and brain activity slows down (Ketcham 78). Also, alcohol consumption at a young age may alter brain function such as blood flow in certain brain regions and electrical brain activity (Chen). When alcohol breaks down in the liver a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde is formed. This chemical destroys cells in the long-term …show more content…
During adolescences, the brain continues to grow and the interruption of alcohol during this period has a long-term impact on the brain function. Also, adolescence is the period of time when critical educational, occupational, and social decisions are made and the interruption of alcohol could substantially affect the adolescent’s future (Tapert). Teens also lack the judgment and coping skills to handle alcohol responsibly (Lawton 167). Alcohol is extremely risky for kids. The longer teens put off and delay alcohol use, the less likely they are to develop any of the problems that are associated with alcohol (Lawton 169). Alcohol damages and destroys adolescents’ brain, body, mental state, and causes violence, death, and delinquent behavior in