Clint Eastwood Youth Program - CEYP Newsletter

Issue 16: High vs hype: the truth about teenagers and alcohol

issue16.pdf

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 20. And teens have the highest crash risk of any age group. Combining most teens’ inexperience on the road and their risk-taking behavior with any drug or alcohol use increases the risk of disaster. Nearly one in five 16-year-old drivers is involved in a collision in his or her first year of driving. During a typical weekend in the United States, an average of one teenager dies every hour in a car crash; nearly 50 percent of those crashes involve alcohol. In California, 30 percent of 11th-graders reported either driving a car after drinking or being in a car driven by someone else who had been drinking. Young drivers make up 6.9 percent of the total driving population, but they constitute 13 percent of the alcohol-involved drivers in fatal crashes.

Is Alcohol Really That Much of a Problem for Teens?

• 10 million junior and senior high school students in America admit to drinking monthly.
• Teenagers report that they drink or use drugs for the following reasons:
  • 79% report that being drunk/high feels good.
  • 67% say drinking/drug use helps them forget problems.
  • 66% succumb to peer pressure (“Others do it”).
  • 47% say they have nothing better to do.
• The best predictor of risky sexual behavior is alcohol and/or drug use.
• Many teenagers who drink report that they can buy their own alcohol.
• 35% of 4th-graders report having been pressured by classmates to drink; 49% of 6thgraders report being pressured to drink.

The Truth About Alcohol

• Alcohol is a depressant. It slows down your ability to think, speak, move, react.
• Combining beer, wine, and/or hard liquor won’t make you more drunk than sticking toone type of alcohol. The percent of alcohol in your blood determines how drunk you are. If you drink enough, you will get drunk!
• Different factors affect your reaction to alcohol: body weight, time of day, body chemistry, how you feel mentally, your expectations, etc.
• Many people think a cold shower or a cup of coffee will sober them up quickly. Nothing sobers you up but time and the alcohol passing through your system.
• If you drink enough alcohol fast enough, it can kill you - sometimes in a matter of hours.
• Alcohol is a bigger problem than drugs. Alcohol kills 6 times as many people as cocaine, heroin, and other illegal drugs combined.
  • Alcohol is the #1 drug problem for adolescents.
• Alcohol interferes with the body’s ability to perform sexually. And because you don’t think as clearly when you’re drinking, it increases your risk of pregnancy, AIDS, sexual assault, etc.
• The more you drink, the less you think.

Parents to the Rescue

Children may experiment, they may push the limits and become involved in high-risk behaviors, and they don’t seem to learn from being told (even repeatedly), but parents are still the best offense against alcohol and drug use.

Be the Hero in Your Children’s Lives

• Provide regular parent involvement and supervision.
• Have clear rules, particularly around drinking, drugs, and driving.
• Provide consistent discipline when rules are broken.
• Know where your children are, whom they are with, and what they are doing.
• Arrange and support supervised, safe activities, including alcohol-free parties, graduations, and other celebrations.

The end of the school year often brings on cases of “summeritis,” where adolescents want and have increased freedom and decreased structure. Parent vigilance is needed. Help keep your children safe and “clean.” And remember, we’re here to help!