by Jadyn Barrow
Druid Hills High School
Each day, more and more underage young adults continue to be involved with the use of alcohol, whether it was due to peer pressure, stress, or problems regarding mental health. With more involvement, this leads to a higher chance of developing a substance use disorder. According to American Addiction Centers, 9.7 million young adults from the ages of 18 to 25 dealt with a substance use disorder.
According to National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a factor of young adults developing a substance use disorder is that they are unaware of the potential risks. Some of the risks include changes in brain development, alcohol poisoning, long-term effects on heart, lungs, pancreas, and kidneys and increased deaths and injuries. If more young adults become aware of the risks that come from drinking early on, many instances of underage drinking could be prevented.
One problem many young adults don’t realize is that their surroundings can have an influence on their decisions. In situations where everyone is drinking, it’s easy to fall under peer pressure and the drinking habits of others can impact the underage. According to Cleveland Clinic, a 5% increase in adult binge drinking leads to a 12% increase in the chances that the children or teenagers around them will drink.
With that being said, whether it’s involving drinking or not, your surroundings and peers tend to hold an influence on you.
Researchers said in the NIAAA, “Evidence suggests that the most reliable predictor of a youth’s drinking behavior is the drinking behavior of his or her friends. Many research–based interventions target the child’s relevant behavioral skills, such as his or her ability to react appropriately to peer pressure to drink, as well as his or her knowledge, attitudes, and intentions regarding alcohol use.”
Many health consequences come with underage drinking, and that can vary from poor health issues as severe as changes in brain developments. Because the brain continues to develop into your 20s, the use of alcohol before that can mess up the full development. According to the NIAAA, underage drinking can ruin the brain structure and functions, such as causing learning problems. Due to this, the brain wouldn’t be able to function properly compared to the brain of a young adult who didn’t participate in underage drinking.
Along with physical effects, underage drinking affects the emotional and behavioral well-being of an individual as well. The National Library of Medicine stated that involvement with alcohol at a young age can cause low self-esteem, depression and suicide. And it’s more common for mental health problems to occur in those who use alcohol at a young age.
Dr. Avani K. Patel, a psychiatry resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, told the American Medical Association, “It can also worsen your psychiatric disorders if you’re experiencing anxiety or depression,” or even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), she said. “It actually worsens PTSD and can be associated with other substance-use disorders, so you may pick up another substance to supplement what you’re already doing.”
Many people have different beliefs whether underage drinking is harmful to young adults or not. However, there are potential risks in underage drinking and it’s best to be aware before participating in such activities.
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