Adolescence is a time for teenagers to experience and find their place in society. It is commonly admitting that it is a time for risk-taking experiences too, included heavy drinking. The consumption of alcohol in high proportion during adolescence has become a serious issue. Heavy drinking or “binge drinking” has several meanings. It can refer to a heavy use of alcohol in a short time to get drunk fast. It can also refer to a heavy use of alcohol that lead to a loss of control. Researchers seems to agree on binge drinking as the consumption of five or more drinks on one occasion.
At the age of sixteen, 88% of French adolescents have already try at least once alcohol and 36% report they have been at least once drunk in their life (Legleye, Spilka, Le Nézet, Hassler & Choquet, 2009). The weekly use of alcohol seems to be relatively constant between 2005 and 2010 (respectively 37,2% and 31,9% of the 18 – 25 years old). The binge drinking experiences however have known an important raise: 42% for the 18 – 25 years male and 16% for the 18 – 25 years old female in 2010 have experienced at least one binge drinking experience in the month against respectively 17% and 6% in 2005 (Richard, Beck & Spilka, 2013). Nevertheless, in France, there is a lack of data about this phenomenon, and most of the studies are from the United States. In Germany, studies report an increase of admission in hospital for alcohol intoxication. In 2000, about 9600 case were reported against 19500 in 2006 (Martini, 2009). These data raised the question of causes and consequences for adolescents.
Kuntsche, Rehm and Gmel (2004) have shown that adolescent heavy use of alcohol is linked to two divergent kind of motivation:
- Adolescents consumption of alcohol is based on the expectation of fun, pleasure and facilitation in social contact. The goal is to overcome social inhibitions. Use of alcohol is seen here as a “positive” experience that facilitate social interaction with others.
- Adolescents consumption of alcohol is based on the will of reduce anxiety, tension and stress. The heavy drinking behaviors is here seen as a self-medication behavior for adolescent, who want to regulate negative affect. Use of alcohol is seen here as a way to “escape” from real life.
About the predictors that influence heavy drinking behavior, the strongest one seems to be the influence of peers (Patrick & Schulenberg, 2010). Indeed, adolescents seems to have higher consumption of alcohol if they have friends who get drunk. During adolescence, research shows that teenagers care about how their peers see them. The risk-taking of heavy drinking is directly linked with the social acceptance of the peers. Some other studies have shown that achievement in school is negatively link with binge drinking and a positive school attitude has a beneficial effect in preventing heavy use of alcohol for low-achievement adolescents (Patrick & Schulenberg, 2014). Sports practice has also an influence on binge drinking with a two-side effect. Practicing exercises seems to be negatively correlate with heavy use of alcohol whereas team sports correlates positively (Terry-McElrath, O’Malley, Johnston, 2011).
Most of the studies on the subject show that a high consumption of alcohol during adolescence can have several negative consequences. The use of alcohol and the risks associated are often denied or underestimated by the adolescents. On a somatic side, the first obvious risk is intoxication. There are also diseases that are linked with heavy drinking behaviors such as cardiovascular or digestive disorder, but they are less obvious due to the fact they are more linked with a drinking behavior over several years. On a behavior side, the use of alcohol is linked with risk-taking and traffic accidents, violent behavior, suicidal behavior and illicit substance use. Next, binge drinking is also related to a lot of psychological disorders: low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, stress, etc. (Windle, 2004). Finally, it is also linked with early pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and a higher risk of alcohol dependence. The effect of heavy drinking behavior on the brain are not harmless, especially for the adolescents. The excessive use of alcohol over several years is linked with neurotoxic effect, a reduction of the hippocampus volume and neurodegenerative damages.
Some studies have drawn up a list of intervention based on prevention about the use of alcohol. These interventions can be separated into two types: general intervention that included all population; and intervention that focuses on one specific population. They can also be direct or indirect. For the younger, interventions will mostly focus on prevention of violent behaviors. Between 10 and 15 years old, studies show some great benefits with some school intervention that aim to develop psychosocial skills and family intervention. For the 16 years old teenagers, we can find a lot of intervention with different purpose (Guillemont, Clément, Cogordan & Lamboy, 2013).
To conclude, heavy drinking or binge drinking during adolescence seems to extend over years. The negative effect on the development can lead to dramatic conclusions such as somatic diseases, behavioral problems, psychological troubles and even death. Research show that adolescents seems to underestimate the effect of heavy use of alcohol.
Words I have learned:
- to lack : manquer
- harmless : sans danger
- drunk : ivre
- expectation : attente, prévision
- several : plusieurs
Bibliographical references
Guillemont, J., Clément, J., Gogordan, C. & Lamboy, B. (2013). Interventions validées ou prometteuses en prévention de la consommation d’alcool chez les jeunes : synthèse de la littérature. Santé Publique, 1(1), 37 – 45.
Kuntsche, E., Rehm, J. & Gmel, G. (2004). Characteristics of binge drinkers in Europe. Social Science & Medicine, 59, 113 – 127.
Legleye, S., Beck, F., Spilka, S. & Le Nézet, O. (2009). Genre et caractéristiques sociales des consommateurs de drogues à l’adolescence, France, 2000 – 2005. Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire, 10-11, 94 – 96.
Martini, H. (2009). Le binge drinking ou l’assommoir des jeunes. Après-demain, 2(10), 21 – 25.
Patrick, M.E. & Schulenberg, J.E. (2010). Alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking prevalence and predictors among national samples of American eight and tenth grade students. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 71(1), 41 – 5.
Patrick, M. E. & Schulenberg, J. E. (2014). Prevalence and predictors of adolescent alcohol use and binge drinking in the United States. Alcohol Research, 35(2), 193 – 200.
Richard, J.B., Beck, F. & Spilka, S. (2013). La consommation d’alcool des 18 – 25 ans en 2010 en France : spécificités et évolutions depuis 2005. Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire, 16-17-18, 168 – 171.
Terry-McElrath, Y.M., O’Malley, P.M. & Johnston, L.D. (2011). Exercise and substance use among American youth, 1991 – 2009. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40(5), 530 – 540.
Windle, M. (2004). Suicidal behaviors and alcohol use among adolescents: a developmental psychopathology perspective. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 28(5), 29 – 37.