Why Alcohol Attracts Teenagers — The Science Parents Need to Understand
By: The Good Men Project
Tags: Parents, Advice, Alcohol, Teenagers, Parenting

The National Vital Statistics Report indicates that U.S. alcohol-induced deaths totaled 22,073 in 2006. These statistics, compiled by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, include deaths caused by alcohol poisoning, which are not broken out as a separate category. Alcohol-induced deaths included accidental alcohol poisoning, intentional alcohol poisoning and alcohol poisoning for which no intent could be ascertained. Each year around 50,000 cases of alcohol poisoning are reported, and once a week a person dies because of it. According to alcohol-information.com, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) found that teenagers who drink before they turned 15 were more likely by four times to develop an alcohol dependency than those who started drinking at age 21. It was determined that the earlier a person drinks, the more unintentionally irresponsible they may be with the alcohol.

To define this period of time we turn to renowned specialist Dr. William Peltz who writes “In the normal adolescent, one see’s these deviations: Restlessness, confusion, and impatience. They show a lack of stability with fluctuating enthusiasms and intense infatuations. Laziness, forgetfulness, and inconsistency fit within the framework of adolescence. There is aggressive self-assertion with desire for independence on the one hand and ever-present dependency on the other. They desire privileges but so frequently appear to lack a sense of obligation and responsibility. There are high ideals one moment and outrageous behavior in the next. They frequently have feelings of isolation and of not being understood. They have truly colorful daydreams and fantasies, all of which belong to this developmental period.” This definition about sums up what it means to be a teenager.

Adolescents operate from a different part of their brains than fully formed adults. The human brain does not fully mature until the age of 24. During adolescence, there is an enormous pruning back of the millions of dendrites that whips up the brain and reorganizes brain functions. The brain also initiates sexual maturity in the body, creating a maelstrom of fluctuating hormonal levels. Enormous numbers of neuronal connections in the grey matter and corpus collosum are shut down in kids ages 7 to 17. The grey matter that’s being re-wired is the cerebral cortex, the site of cognitive and motor functions. The corpus collosum is like a thoroughfare that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This pruning that begins at the back of the brain, and then moves forward during adolescence and controls the prefrontal cortex, responsible for judgment and impulse control but matures last.

It is suspected that the excess of synapses means the young adolescent mind can’t easily keep track of multiple thoughts, and it can’t gain access to critical memories and emotions that allow grown-ups to make sensible decisions. However, even without adult judgment, the dendritic pruning taking place throughout adolescence results in a brain (and body) that has faster reaction times, better memory, and increased speed in learning, as compared to adults. In other words, when teens think they’re smarter than their parents, it’s because they actually are, at least in some ways. They also feel immortal, like nothing can hurt them, which causes them to be heedless.

It’s no wonder that the military stocks the front lines with teens. They are not afraid of death. At the same time teens stop identifying with their parents and shift to other teenagers and/or pop stars. This means that teens are heavily influenced by their peer group which may not be good for them. This heady mix of hormones and wildly careening emotions sends some teens into a tail spin of wildly out of control behavior.