Visit Parenting Teens . Kenneth Blum Four decades of research on addiction strongly suggest that alcoholism is caused by a genetic anomaly affecting the functioning of neurotransmitters within the brain. Blum, a pharmacologist, and Payne, Executive Director of the National Foundation for Addictive Diseases, summarize major research in this field, including Blum's own dramatic work in identifying a defect in the dopamine D2 receptor gene. Dealing with Adolescent Experimentation . Visit Drugs and Teen Substance Abuse .
Alcohol is the drug used most often by high school seniors.
Several million more have a serious drinking problem that they cannot manage on their own. Teenage drinking problems account for tens of thousands of highway deaths and nearly half of all teenage suicides each year. Dependence on alcohol and other drugs is also associated with psychiatric problems such as depression , anxiety , oppositional defiant disorder , or antisocial personality disorder . A newspaper column produced by Hazelden about chemical health and the prevention and treatment of chemical dependency and related addictive disorders. Can't Give You .