Teens and Alcohol: In Bad Company

Many factors play a role in an often chaotic adolescent's growth. Still, among the three leading causes of death in teenagers, alcohol is at the core of the problem. Now researches think they might be closing in on the pressure zone and it might have more to do with bad company than alcohol at home.

"Several studies have found that peer drinking has more of an influence on an adolescent's drinking than his or her own parent's drinking," said Danielle Dick, a co-author of a study published on the December issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER).

Alcohol and Gender

For some years now, alcohol and adolescents seem to have reached a very serious problem among teens. About three million teenagers could be categorized as alcoholics and millions more cannot control their alcohol drinking, according to Focus Adolescent Services, a free online resource and information service for families with troubled and at risk teens.

But the results released by this latest study, examines more closely the role gender and friendship plays in alcohol use among adolescents. "Little is known about how influences on alcohol use may differ between the sexes during this developmental period," says Dick.

Alcohol and Girls

During their investigation, researchers found that girls may be more vulnerable to their friend's drinking than boys. And having friends from the opposite sex might compound the problem for both sexes, says Kenneth J. Sher, also a contributing author of the study. Sher wonders if this apparent female teen's susceptibility is due to her more intimate involvement with their closest friends.

The study suggests that peer-pressure might be at the center of alarming statistics from previous years. Even though alcohol consumption is illegal for people under 21 years of age, the average teenage boy's first alcohol drink is at the age of 11, while girls start at the age of 13, according to Focus Adolescent Services. By the time they reach their 15th birthday, those teens consume alcohol on a regular basis, they say.

This alcohol dependence appears to be supporting even more staggering numbers. "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," says Focus.

Being Cautious

To be effective, any preventing action at alcohol consumption among teens should start at their early years say scientists. Adolescents who start drinking alcohol before age 15 are four times more likely to increase their chances of alcohol dependence, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

More studies on gender, teens and alcohol are needed agree both Dick and Sher, who advice parents to be "very aware of their child's friends, as well as how they spend their time together... (And) is particularly important for girls, and when the friendship group consists of members of the opposite sex."